Greek Mythology Casino not affected by shuttering of Beijing Imperial Palace Hotel

The firm behind Greek Mythology Casino has announced that a decision by the Macau Government Tourism Office to temporarily close the Beijing Imperial Palace Hotel would not force it to permanently shutter its under-renovation gambling venue within the property.

In a filing released on Sunday, Hong Kong-listed Amax International Holdings declared that Greek Mythology Casino may continue to operate in the Taipa hotel, which was forced to close on July 16 due to serious administrative irregularities and a failure to carry out essential fire safety measures.

“As advised by the company’s lawyer in Macau, under the law of Macau, Greek Mythology Casino can continue to operate notwithstanding the close down of the hotel,” read the filing from Amax International Holdings, which is controlled by local businessman Ng Man Sun and holds a 24.8% stake in casino operator Greek Mythology (Macau) Entertainment Group Corporation Limited. “However, the temporary close down of hotel may have a negative impact on the number of visitors and its business plan.”

Greek Mythology Casino operates under a third-party license deal with Sociedade De Jogos De Macau and temporarily closed at the end of the year to undergo renovations. The filing explained that the venue would now establish a special working committee in partnership with the hotel to address and resolve the issues raised by government authorities in hopes of resuming full operations within the next six months.

“The company could only conclude appropriate actions to be taken after communicating and clarifying with government departments in Macau to make a detailed assessment of the overall situation,” read the filing.

Also known as Kai See Wai, Ng obtained the gambling license for the Beijing Imperial Palace Hotel when his Empresa Hoteleira Macau enterprise bought the property then known as the New Century Hotel in 1996. However, an alleged squabble with former girlfriend Chen Mei Huan in 2012 precipitated an ownership dispute that has lasted until the present day.

May saw Empresa Hoteleira Macau announce that it had transferred ownership of the Beijing Imperial Palace Hotel to an entity named Victory Success Holdings Limited in October while Ng claims that he still owns “the lawful legal title” to the property.