O’MALLEY CRONIES PICK CASINO OPERATOR TOO ‘MOBBED UP’ FOR NEW JERSEY

A casino operator is thrown out of New Jersey because of its ties to organized crime.

So who does a group of Maryland Democratic and O’Malley insiders select for a casino license that has been described as one of the most lucrative to be awarded in the past decade? They pick the very same company that was too mobbed up even for New Jersey, MGM.

In decision worthy of a Sopranos or the Wire plot, last month the Maryland “Video Lottery Facility Location Commission” picked MGM, and their National Harbor location from among three applicants for a Prince Georges County casino license.

In doing so, Maryland ignored a New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement report that details MGM’s intimate financial relationship with Pansy Ho, the daughter of Macau gambling magnate Stanley Ho. The report finds: “MGM pursued partnerships with persons that it knew were associated with those aspects of gaming in Macau most heavily penetrated by organized crime.”

According New Jersey’s MGM report: “Numerous governmental and regulatory agencies have referenced Stanley Ho’s association with criminal enterprises, including permitting organized crime to operate and thrive within his casinos.”

MGM’s own private-investigation firm report concluded that: “Stanley Ho was ‘linked closely’ to 14K and Sun Yee On, two major Macau triads, or organized crime groups, and also had links to Russian organized crime and North Korean authorities.” However: “They partnered with Ho anyway.” (NJ MGM Report )

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