Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada’s Universal Entertainment funneled at least $30 million to an ex-consultant for the state gambling regulator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor), who is now at the center of a bribery investigation, according to sources and company records.
State-owned Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) said that apart from the allegation of bribery hounding Universal Entertainment, it must settle a land ownership issue, which Pagcor described as “contentious,” at Entertainment City.
The license issued to Universal Entertainment Corp. of Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada to operate a casino in Manila will be canceled if it is found to have been obtained through bribery, Malacañang said Monday.
State-owned Philippine Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) on Sunday welcomed the discovery of what it said was new evidence of alleged corruption involving Rodolfo Soriano, a former consultant of the agency and a close associate of then Pagcor chairman Efraim Genuino.
Lawmakers on Monday called for banning American casino tycoon Steve Wynn from putting up a gaming business in the country for denigrating state-owned Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) as part of his gambit to forcibly oust his partner, Japanese pachinko king Kazuo Okada, in Wynn Resorts and Wynn Macau.
Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. Chairman Cristino Naguiat Jr. told lawmakers that other countries were out to undermine the Philippines from gaining any headway in attracting investments from casino companies.
The board of casino operator Wynn Macau on Friday dumped Japanese gambling tycoon Kazuo Okada as a director over what it called “unacceptable conduct” involving alleged corruption in the Philippines.
The chairman of state-owned Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) on Wednesday denied allegations made by an owner of US-based casino giant Wynn Resorts that he had received undue perks and favors from a Japanese businessman.
The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) confirmed Wednesday that top officials accepted free luxury accommodation from a Japanese tycoon but denied these were bribes to ensure a new Manila casino was built.
