Trial could begin in 2018
Fifteen years after the Las Vegas Sands Corp. dropped its joint venture partner in Macau, that partner, Asian American Entertainment Corp. Ltd. is taking the U.S.-based casino company to court.
According to the Macau Daily Times, the move follows a series of applications, appeals and counter-appeals in Macau’s court system. The parent company of Sands China initially partnered with AAEC, led by Taiwanese businessman Marshall Hao, then dropped it in favor of Hong Kong’s Galaxy Entertainment Group. It ultimately secured one of the city’s Big 6 concessions.
AAEC claims the alliance was unjustly breached; Sands says its deal with Hao’s firm had expired by the time it merged with Galaxy.
A legal source told the Times, “There is no doubt the agreement was breached; the question is whether it was still in force” when Sands joined with Galaxy. The Sands Corp. “did all they could to avoid a trial, but they lost this battle. Losing the battle does not mean that they are losing the war. Not at all. That has not yet even been discussed. But they have spent millions to no avail in trying to avoid a trial.”
“Asian American had over 70 percent of a joint venture with Sands, which we invited to bid in Macau. However, Sands got a whole gaming sub-concession, while we got nothing,” Hao told the Times. “This decision from the Court of Appeal confirms that Asian American will have a trial and will see its claim adjudicated by an independent court for the first time in over 15 years. It is only fair for Asian American to be compensated.”
Hao wants compensation for the breach of contract and has demanded a 70 percent stake in the concessionaire company. “Asian American had over 70 percent of the joint venture, which we invited to bid in Macau. However, Sands got a whole gaming subconcession, while we got nothing,” he told the Times.
It is an inopportune time for Sands to be dragged into a legal faceoff, as the Big 6 concessionaires go up for renewal by the local government. “The case threatens to unearth secrets from the 2001 and 2002 negotiations involving the other gaming concessionaires, the local government under former Chief Executive Edmund Ho, and possibly even Beijing,” the publication reported.
The legal source added, “Under trial all sorts of secrets come out. When witnesses are under pressure, sometimes they say things that they had not intended.”
The trial is expected to begin in 2019, but it could start as early as next year, reported the Asia Gaming Brief.
