Anti-crime activists in Manila concerned new casino could turn city into 'Wild West' of Asia
Opening of City of Dreams complex in Manila has anti-crime activists concerned about its impact on money laundering, other illicit activities
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 15 January, 2015, 5:34am
UPDATED : Thursday, 15 January, 2015, 5:34am
Raissa Robles in Manila
De Niro, Scorsese and DiCaprio in the ad. Photo: SCMP
Anti-crime campaigners fear Manila could possibly become the “Wild West” of Asia as a second major casino complex prepares to open next month amid an unprecedented crackdown on money launderers and gangsters in Macau.
City of Dreams Manila, owned by Australian billionaire James Packer and Macau business partner Lawrence Ho, will officially open before Chinese New Year hoping to lure high-rolling gamblers from China and the rest of Asia.
Teresita Ang-See, founding chairwoman of the NGO Movement for Restoration of Peace and Order, said the absence of a national anti-money-laundering law specific to gambling could complicate efforts stop the flow of illicit funds through casinos. She also said that Metro Manila’s police were ill-prepared to secure the 100-hectare site dubbed “Entertainment City”, which will eventually house four sprawling casino entertainment complexes, including the US$1.2 billion City of Dreams.
“I think there is truth to the ‘Wild West’ tag,” she said.
“We have too many loose firearms around that people will just resort to violence because of gambling debts.”
She said her NGO had previously helped out mainland tourists who had amounted large gambling debts after being preyed upon by criminals.
“When they lose a bundle, they confiscate the passport, hold them hostage, call their relatives in China and say they have been kidnapped,” she said.
“Some of them (debtors) end up being drug couriers when they owe the syndicates big money. We have asked the Chinese embassy, (for help) and apparently they are aware of the problems.”
The NGO’s last meeting with the embassy was in November last year.
But Kevin Sim, chief operating officer of the City of Dreams Manila, tried to alleviate concerns, saying that while casinos in the city were not covered by any anti-money laundering law, “Melco Crown Philippines ... has several internal policies in place to ensure the prevention of money laundering in the operations of City of Dreams Manila”.
Sim also said Melco would follow Philippines law barring those under 21 from entering the casinos and said if a proposed law imposing a 3,500 pesos (HK$608) “entrance fee” on all local gamblers is passed, City of Dreams Manila would comply. Eugene Manalastas, a member of the board of directors of the Philippine Amusement & Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) – the state regulator for gambling – described attempts to curb anti-money laundering through gambling as “a work in progress”.
Macau has been trying to reduce its reliance on a gaming industry that depends on high-stakes gamblers. President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign has helped reduce the influx of high-end players, denting Macau’s VIP revenue from wealthy high rollers to US$26 billion last year from US$29 billion in 2013.
Pagcor’s gaming and license chief Francis Hernando said both the regulator and the casino operators were looking at the “Macau model” for curbing money laundering.
However, the agency cannot compel casinos to report suspicious transactions.
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Casino hits trifecta of stars
[video=youtube;H-7HEWm6PV8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-7HEWm6PV8[/video]
Not every gambling resort in Asia gets an endorsement from a top Hollywood celebrity, but Melco Crown’s City of Dreams Manila has managed to get three.
Actors Leonard DiCaprio and Robert De Niro and director Martin Scorsese all appear in a slick video uploaded on YouTube promoting the US$1.3 billion Manila casino entertainment complex.
The video lasts only one minute but reportedly cost US$70 million to make, according to Esquire magazine, with DiCaprio and De Niro each reportedly paid US$13 million for their brief efforts.
The ad is shot as if it were a trailer for an actual movie. The plot sees the principles playing themselves, with DiCaprio and De Niro invited to the hotel by Scorsese to compete for the same role.
In the hotel lobby, Scorsese, who directed De Niro in the 1995 movie Casino, tells the two actors: “The main thing is I want you to see where we are in Manila, because this place is incredible.”
It ends with the two actors in a stand-off, each claiming he’ll get the part. The trailer fades out with the words “City of Dreams: See it before the rest”.
