Macao gaming magnate Stanley Ho Hung Sun passed away in Hong Kong at the age of 98 today, his family announced outside Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital. Macao’s “king of gambling” had retired after an accident at his home in Hong Kong in 2009.
His daughter Pansy Ho Chiu King told reporters that her father died at the hospital at 1 p.m. His family issued a statement this afternoon, that said that “Dr. Ho was a larger-than-life figure whose unparalleld vision, entrepreneurial spirit, resourcefulness and fearlessness were widely recognised and well-respected”.
“To us, he was and forever will be our inspirational role model. He had passed on important value to us. He taught us to see possibilities in new and uncharted territories, to embrace challenges with tenacity and resilience, to be compassionate and empathic, to give back to society, to appreciate our cultural heritage and, most of all, to be patriotic to our country.”, the adds.
Stanley Ho was the co-founder of Macao’s gaming company STDM which ran the city’s casinos under a monopoly concession granted by its then Portuguese administration in 1962 until 2002 when the government of the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) liberalised the gaming industry. STDM’s gaming operations were transferred to SJM, which was also headed by Stanley Ho. SJM is now one of six rival casino operators in Macao.
Stanley Ho retired gradually from his role as Macao’s “king of gambling” after an accident at his home in Hong Kong in 2009. Macao’s Portuguese-speaking community endearingly called him “Tio Stanley” (“tio” means “uncle” in Portuguese).
Stanley Ho, born into a Eurasian family in Hong Kong on November 25, 1921, is survived by three of his wives and 15 of his 17 children.
(The Macau Post Daily/Macau News)
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