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Agence France-Presse

Casino magnate Lawrence Ho – son of Macau gaming legend Stanley Ho Hung-sun – is eyeing a major foray into Japan as he seeks to broaden his family’s reach beyond the world’s biggest gambling hub.
His father was credited with transforming Macau from a sleepy Portuguese outpost to a gaming boomtown boasting revenues surpassing Las Vegas.
But the younger Ho, whose casino-to-resorts firm Melco International rivals his father’s gaming empire, is keen to strike out beyond familiar family turf, with plans for a major investment in Japan’s untapped casino market.
The 40-year-old, with a net worth put at US$2.6 billion by Forbes earlier this year, has already broadened the firm’s international footprint, with casino resorts ventures in the Philippines and Russia.
He is now squaring up to crack into Japan’s gaming industry after strict bars on casinos were lifted last year.
“Nothing will hold me back there,” he said.

Japan already has an appetite for other forms of gambling, including horse and boat racing and pachinko, a slot machine-style game that is played in thousands of smoky parlours and is a huge revenue generator.
Fears over gambling addiction and organised crime were swept aside as the country passed a controversial bill to legalise casinos in 2016, a move seen likely to ignite the gaming market in the world’s third biggest economy.
Ho promised an ambitious pitch for the coveted casino licence.
He has already sought to diversify his Macau offerings in recent years as the industry came under pressure from a slowdown in the Chinese economy and a corruption crackdown by President Xi Jinping that curbed high spenders.
Operators scrambled to bolster their mass market appeal to offset a dramatic drop in revenues from the VIP sector.

Ho’s Studio City built the world’s first and highest figure-of-eight Ferris wheel and launched with a star-studded fanfare in 2015 featuring actors Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Other attractions in Melco’s City of Dreams include a theatre that holds millions of litres of water for aquatic-themed performances and a now-cancelled cabaret show which he “personally loved” but “wasn’t well understood” by mainland customers.
Stanley Ho, 95, is largely retired since a serious fall in 2009 that left him requiring brain surgery.
At the Forbes Global CEO Conference in Hong Kong Wednesday his son lauded the elder businessman for having “revolutionised” the industry.
But Lawrence Ho said his father lacked the motivation to keep growing – an aspect where their philosophies diverge.
“My father was super lucky to have a monopoly for forty years, but the Macau government wanted to open it up to competition. It was the right decision,” he said.
Macau has seen a recovery in casino revenue in the last year, with a strong VIP-sector, propped up by mainland high rollers.
But Macau is under pressure from Beijing to diversify away from gambling.
China has halved the cash machine limit for UnionPay cardholders visiting the gambling enclave, in an effort to curb massive capital outflows caused by the falling yuan.
Ho said he was confident that his casino licence, set to expire in 2022 along with other operators’, would be renewed.
Melco International is now worth US$4.36 billion in market capitalisation and Ho said that Macau would continue to be the linchpin of his business.
“Macau will always be the best integrated resort gaming market in the world because it’s on the doorstep of China,” he said.


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Macau casino magnate Lawrence Ho bets big on Japan gambling venture

Macau casino scion squaring up to crack into Japan’s gaming industry after strict bars on casinos were lifted last year

General view of Studio City Macau. 20SEP17 SCMP/Nora Tam

A visitor puts his hands on a mock casino roulette table at an international tourism promotion symposium in Tokyo, Japan September 28, 2013. REUTERS/Yuya Shino/File Photo

Lawrence Ho, chairman and chief executive officer of Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd. Photo: AFP

Hollywood comes to Macau: Scorsese, De Niro, DiCaprio called in to boost flagging fortunes

Studio City's opening attracted a star studded cast. Photo: SCMP Pictures

(From left) Melco Co-Chairman Lawrence Ho, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese attend a press conference during the opening day of the Studio City in Macau. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese attend a press conference during the opening day of the Studio City in Macau.

(From left) Melco Co-Chairman Lawrence Ho, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, filmmaker Brett Ratner and billionaire James Packer, co-chairman of Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. attend a press conference during the opening day of the Studio City in Macau. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

Why Singapore is seen as the model for Japan’s casino gamble

Despite being one of the world’s top casino gambling destinations, Singapore is a mere shadow of Macau or Las Vegas, with its only two casinos tucked away inconspicuously in sprawling resort facilities meant to beckon residents with other delights rather than betting. File photo: AFP

The exterior pool at Marina Bay Sand Hotel- Singapore TRAVEL WEEKENDER. Lifestyle Post, 24 August 2012.

A croupier waits for gamblers at a blackjack table inside the Resorts World Sentosa casino on Singapore's Sentosa Island in this February 14, 2010 file photo.Singapore's two multi-billion-dollar casinos bear evidence of China's economic recovery: high rollers returned in force last quarter to the resorts run by Genting Singapore Plc and Las Vegas Sands Corp. China typically accounts for at least half of the VIP gamblers in Singapore, Asia's second-largest gambling market after Macau, with the rest coming primarily from Indonesia and Malaysia. Singapore's casino business had slowed earlier in 2012 when China's economy cooled. Picture taken February 14, 2010. To match story GENTING-VIPS/ REUTERS/Vivek Prakash/Files (SINGAPORE - Tags: SOCIETY BUSINESS TRAVEL)

Bloomberg Best of the Year 2016: The Singapore Flyer operates at night as the Marina Bay Sands hotel and casino, left, and commercial buildings in the the central business district are illuminated in the background at night in Singapore, on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2016. Singapore's Infocomm Development Authority plans to auction additional mobile spectrum this year as it seeks to lure a new entrant to compete with the city's three existing providers. Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg

Japan’s parliament approves contentious casino bill despite opposition

A dealer demonstrating how to play roulette at a leisure exhibition in Tokyo. Photo: AFP

A woman walks in front of a pachinko parlor in Tokyo on December 14, 2016. Japan's opposition launched a last-ditch bid on December 13 to stall passage of a controversial bill to legalise casinos. / AFP PHOTO / KAZUHIRO NOGI

Macau casino scion Lawrence Ho bets big on venture in Vladivostok

Lawrence Ho is betting a lot on Russia. Photo: Edward Wong

Tigre de Cristal is the first casino resort to open in the Primorye Integrated Entertainment Zone. Photo: SMP

Tigre de Cristal hopes to attract North Asian gamers to Vladivostok. Photo: SMP

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Macau casino scion squaring up to crack into Japan’s gaming industry after strict bars on casinos were lifted last year


Macau casino magnate Lawrence Ho bets big on Japan gambling venture

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Macau casino scion squaring up to crack into Japan’s gaming industry after strict bars on casinos were lifted last year

Macau casino scion squaring up to crack into Japan’s gaming industry after strict bars on casinos were lifted last year