The death of the 98-year-old gambling entrepreneur Stanley Ho marks the end of an era for Hong Kong and the Macau gambling industry.
One of Asia’s richest men, with an estimated fortune of some $10bn, Ho was the father of James Packer’s former Macau business partner, Lawrence Ho.
But while both were wealthy, the Ho family was unlike the Packer family given that Stanley had 17 children with four different women or “wives” as they were called in Hong Kong, despite their varying legal status.
While James was only one of two children of Kerry Packer, and heir to his father’s fortunes, Lawrence grew up in Canada (his mother was Stanley’s second wife), and was always having to distinguish himself from his father, being one of only many Ho children.
Unlike James, who had to share his father’s fortune with his only sister, Lawrence had to vie for a slice of his father’s wealth which was spread among a long list of mainly sisters: Pansy, Daisy, Maisy, Josie, Florinda, Laurinda and Angela.
In the beginning of their relationship, it was the strong reputation of James Packer and his Crown Casino group which Lawrence was attracted to, Packer giving Lawrence Ho a way to show the world that he was a very different man to his colourful father who some dubbed the Godfather of the Macau gambling industry.
While the world came to regard Stanley Ho, who had a Eurasian background, with great suspicion (he was effectively banned from entering the casino industry in NSW decades ago), with constant allegations of his possible links with Chinese “triads”, he had a much more nuanced reputation in Hong Kong.
There he was also known as an entrepreneur and philanthropist with a sprawling family network of business interests in Hong Kong and Macau.
The South China Morning Post Tuesday described him as “an idiosyncratic man who defied categories”.
While gaming regulators around the world were determined to keep Stanley off their patch, some older Hong Kongers had some sympathy for him as a self-made man. As a young man living in wartime Hong Kong, from mixed Causian and Chinese heritage, he had to survive with a combination of entrepreneurial skill and rat cunning.
Living in Macau during World War 11, living in near poverty after his father’s business collapsed, Stanley made his fortune smuggling luxury goods across the Chinese border from Macau and setting up his own construction company in the then Portuguese controlled territory.
Ho went on to dominate the Macau gambling industry for four decades, an industry known for its mixture of seedy casinos and attractive Russian hookers, centred around Ho’s legendary circular white and gold Lisboa casino/hotel. The city also gained notoriety for its role as money laundering centre, including a way to funnel money to and from North Korea.
There were rumours that on occasions, during that era in Macau, unsuspecting gamblers who might have won a little too big at the tables might find themselves visited in their hotel rooms later by other “gentlemen” who helped themselves to a share of their earnings. Ho founded Shun Tak Holdings, which owned many businesses in Macau including tourism, shipping, real estate, banking and air transport and remains as a major employer in the city.
Pressure to clean up Macau’s image
It was pressure to clean up Macau’s image which saw the government of the Special Administrative Region of China decide in 2003 to open up its casino industry to other players — a decision which opened up the way for Lawrence to enter into the industry in his own right with partner James Packer. Together they built Macau’s City of Dreams and other upmarket properties in the city.
The entry of new players including Packer and Steve Wynn, and Sheldon Adelson from Las Vegas helped to reinvent Macau’s image, although Stanley Ho and his business interests still remained big players in the city.
Together they helped build up Macau’s role, riding the riches of gamblers from increasingly wealthy mainland China where gambling is illegal, to surpass Las Vegas as the biggest single gambling hub in the world.
Ho, who died in Hong Kong on Tuesday, worked into his nineties, officially retiring in 2018 just months before his 97th birthday.
The WeChat account of China’s state broadcaster described him as a “patriotic entrepreneur.”
Ho’s questionable reputation was one of the factors which prompted the NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority last year to launch an investigation into the implications of the move by Lawrence Ho’s company Melco to buy a 9.99 per cent stake in Packer’s Crown group last year.
Before it was suspended because of COVID, the commission had attempted to put together a complex web of corporate ties and potential links between Lawrence Ho and Stanley Ho’s broader financial interests.
With Melco selling out of Crown earlier this year, it removes one potential area for investigation by the Commission. It also relieves Lawrence Ho from potential investigations in other jurisdictions about his links to his father.
In Hong Kong, where wealthy tycoons are part of the city’s rich landscape, Ho will be remembered for his personal charm and his love of ballroom dancing. Dressed in an elegant black and white formal suit, Ho would take his latest wife for regular spins on the dance floor.
Stanley Ho’s rags to riches story will remain an indelible part of Hong Kong’s history.
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