Wynn Macau Multi-Million Dollar Casino Theft Causes Further Concerns
Macau’s gambling industry has suffered ever since the anti-corruption campaign was launched by Beijing. The scrutiny of the authorities into the spending of VIP gamblers at Macau’s casinos scared them away and as a result Macau’s casinos lost more than $100 billion during 2014.
The shortfall continued into 2015 and will most likely extend into 2016 as Macau continues to follow Beijing’s anti-corruption policies. Macau’s casinos counted heavily on junket operators who partnered with the casinos to bring in VIP gamblers who were responsible for generating more than 50% of casino revenue. The anti-corruption crackdown has also impacted these junket operators who have found it difficult to sustain their business in a declining casino market.
Dore Holdings, one of the junket operators that partnered with Wynn Macau and operated within is premises finds itself in the middle of an embarrassing situation as one of the junket operators employees has been accused of siphoning millions of dollars from VIP customers at the Wynn Macau. The exact amount stolen is yet to be determined but Jamie Soo, an analyst from Daiwa Capital Markets believes that anywhere between $25.8 million to $258 million has been taken.
Wynn Macau has not lost any money from its account as the employee from the junket operator ran a highly sophisticated scam that siphoned money directly from his VIP clientele.
Dore Holdings runs 25 VIP tables at the Wynn Macau and hence it is hard to determine how much money was taken during an extended period of time. This news has not gone down well with the Macau casino and junket operator industry as it creates a lot of distrust.
Dore Holdings stated that one of their managers conducted unauthorized transactions that resulted in money being stolen. In a statement, a representative from Dore said that his actions
severely impacted the company’s interest and reputation. Due to the seriousness of this event, which involved fraud, the group has filed a police report.
The manager has been terminated and will have to defend himself in court.
The few VIP gamblers who still visit Macau and use junket operators are now suspicious and a lot more hesitant to visit Macau. Daiwa Capital Markets reported that a number of VIP gamblers have already approached Dore Holdings to withdraw their winnings. If Macau’s government decides to relax their strict anti-gambling stance, the industry will recover pretty quickly and VIP gamblers will start to return forgetting all things that have passed.
