PETER GEORGE, the former Hilton Group chief executive, was yesterday appointed head of international operations for Park Place Entertainment in a move that could presage the US gaming group’s entry into the UK market.
Mr George, who quit Hilton last year when it became apparent that its focus had switched from its Ladbrokes gaming operations to hotels, has been asked to investigate opportunities for Park Place in the UK in anticipation of the expected move towards deregulation of the gaming industry.
Thomas Gallagher, Park Place’s chief executive, said that his appointment as senior vice-president and managing director of its international arm would be “especially helpful to us in looking at opportunities, particularly as the UK Government considers the Budd Report, which has recommended the introduction of the country’s first large-scale gaming enterprises”.
Analysts believe that Park Place, the world’s biggest gaming company and owner of Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, may be interested in bidding for London Clubs International sbobet88, which has looked vulnerable to a bid since it became embroiled in the struggling Aladdin hotel and casino in Las Vegas.
Park Place owns a third of Aladdin’s bonds and has long been tipped as a possible rescuer for the troubled resort.
Macau opens casino industry to outsiders
MACAU (AP) – Ready to end a four-decade monopoly for gambling magnate Stanley Ho, Macau will start taking bids Friday for casino licenses–and some Las Vegas figures have indicated they’d like to get in on the action.
Despite facing competition for the first time since 1962, Ho hopes for the foreseeable future to remain the dominant player in the industry that is the backbone of Macau’s economy.
The fate of Ho’s 11 casinos, run by his company The Macau Tourism and Amusement Co. Ltd., is yet unclear but it is widely expected that Ho’s bid for a new license will be successful.
Macau officials say they are liberalizing the gaming industry in the hopes that competition will improve it. Gaming tax accounts for roughly half of the government’s revenue.
Macau has said 22 companies have expressed interest in bidding. Four U.S. companies–the Macau-Las Vegas East Development Corp. Inc., Crown Group Inc., the Venetian and the MGM Mirage–are among them.
Other interested parties include Aspinall’s Club Ltd. from Britain, Malaysia’s Genton International Consortium Ltd., and various joint ventures including one made up of investors from Hong Kong, the Philippines and New Zealand.
Macau will award three casino licenses next year, after meeting individually with groups that submit their bids by the deadline of Dec. 7, Secretary for Economy and Finance Francis Tam Pak-yuen said in statement.
Most of the gamblers in Macau come from nearby Hong Kong, where casinos are outlawed. Macau was returned from Portugal to China in 1999 but continues to operate under a great deal of autonomy.
Site Title 