How Alvin Chau's Suncity empire touched casinos from Vladivostok to Melbourne, and what his downfall signifies for China, casinos and Macau.
Macau’s junket king has fallen. Late last month, police in the gambling enclave arrested Suncity boss Alvin Chau, whose company has for years led the market in funneling high-rolling Chinese gamblers to VIP suites across the region, for alleged links to illegal cross-border gambling. A day earlier, authorities in Wenzhou, China, accused him of “severe damage to the social order of the country” and issued a warrant for his arrest.
Junket operators like Suncity are more than just high-end
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Bob Fu's relationship with China has gone through phases. First, he thought money would solve his problems there; then he joined protesters at Tiananmen Square, thinking the politics could change. In the end, he determined, only God could save China, and he's been fighting for religious freedom in China ever since he resettled in Texas. With his nonprofit, ChinaAid, prospering like never before, he says the U.S. is finally catching on.
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Hear why things are so complicated now. Host Jane Perlez, former New York Times Beijing bureau chief, talks with diplomats, spies, cultural superstars like Yo Yo Ma, and more to understand why the dangers are so high, and why relations went awry.