The court case between Taiwanese businessman Marshall Hao and gaming giant Las Vegas Sands (LVS) started yesterday. Hao is seeking approximately 70% of Sands Macao’s profits from 2004 to 2022.
This comes after the businessman claimed that the gaming operator wronged him when Sands subsequently switched partners in acquiring a gaming license.
The U.S. firm originally partnered with Hao’s Asian American Entertainment Corporation to bid on one of the Macau gaming concessions.
However, it is alleged that Sands abandoned Asian American. Sands subsequently partnered with Hong Kong group Galaxy Entertainment instead.
Yesterday, the court session saw debate about when Asian American and LVS severed their ties.
It was in February 2002 when the Macau SAR government granted casino operating concessions.
Hao is seeking damages of approximately 70% of Sands Macau’s profits from 2004 to 2022 which Reuters estimated at around USD12 billion (MOP95.9 billion).
Sources linked to the plaintiff said that they were “utterly satisfied with the trial,” adding that it was “a very successful day.”
The lawsuit is considered an obstacle for LVS, especially amid heated competition for the renewal of gaming concessions in Macau.
The city’s six casino licenses are due to expire in June 2022.
Previously, Hao told Reuters that “Asian American has been winning all major legal battles in the Macau lawsuit since we filed it in 2012, […so] we are confident.”
The legal dispute between Asian American and LVS has been a long-running battle since 2007, when the lawsuit against LVS was first filed in the U.S. and subsequently dismissed for exceeding the statute of limitations and other procedural reasons.
Jorge Menezes of FCLaw Lawyers & Private Notaries is representing Asian American, while LVS and its units are represented by Luis Cavaleiro de Ferreira of CFS – Luís Cavaleiro de Ferreira, Ricardo Silva & Associados.
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