How the Communist Party knocked down Macau's house of cards in just six weeks
It took just six weeks for graft-busting Beijing authorities to show the city's gambling kingpins that there is no such thing as a sure thing
They say that when it comes to casinos, the house always wins. But as Macau's gaming behemoths digest the incredible events of the past six weeks, they must be thinking that whoever coined the phrase never played against the Communist Party.
The gaming grandees of the former Portuguese enclave thought they held all the aces after 10 years of highly lucrative liberalisation. But in less than two months they have been shown a future where the certainty of a winning hand no longer holds.
In Macau, its called the New Normal. The old ways of doing things are out, and not just for the casinos and the shady network of junket operators that have formed the bedrock of their success, but in the way the whole city conducts its business. This is change with a capital "c".
When the senior-casino-executive nephew of Stanley Ho Hung-sun - the Hong Kong-based octogenarian tycoon who monopolised Macau casinos for four decades - is arrested for running a prostitution ring in the property that was considered the city's flagship gaming venue back in the day, you know something has changed, forever.
In the wake of the arrest of SJM executive Alan Ho, Macau police said they were following the trail left by HK$400 million in payments linked to a prostitution ring run in the basement of the old Lisboa Hotel. It's clear they mean business, and their confidence stems from the power at their back - President Xi Jinping's "tigers and flies" anti-corruption drive and its international arm "the fox hunt".