Very interesting article from The Japan Times that provides an overview of the junket model in Macau and the massive credit some of the VIP players are extended.
If we are to believe the facts of this article, the debtor in question, Mr. Lou would be by far the biggest gambling debtor of all time with over $450 Million USD owing to the casinos/junket operators.
That’s enough money to build TWO of the original Sands Macau!!
In total it is estimated that over $12.9 Billion USD is owing to the Macau casinos/junket operators and unless there is a mechanism to collect this money (gambling debts are not enforceable in China) someone will have to take big write downs on this bad debt.
While the Macau junket model for VIP players is certainly broken, it is here to stay as most of the VIP action is brought in through these channels. We will have to see how this will be dealt with in the future as the model certainly needs some work.
Click on the link below for the original article:
Read the whole story at The Japan Times
Alex Igelman