The suit, filed Tuesday in Las Vegas district court, said that Mr Okada had sought a gaming license in the Philippines and made the payments despite Wynn Resorts’ telling him not to do so.

Wynn Resorts is the parent company of Wynn Macau Ltd.

The lawsuit comes after Wynn Resorts decided to forcibly buy out Mr Okada, who was the U.S.-based gaming operator’s largest shareholder, with a 20 percent stake.

The buyout was triggered by a year-long internal investigation that concluded that Mr Okada allegedly offered payments and gifts totalling US$110,000 (MOP880,000) to executives at the Philippines Amusement and Gaming Corporation, breaching U.S. anti-corruption laws.

The suit also accuses Mr Okada of paying for trips by South Korean officials to Wynn properties to boost his chances to build a casino in the Incheon Free Economic Zone.

Wynn Resorts stated it took back Mr Okada’s shares to protect the company’s gaming licenses.

Mr Okada has already said he will take all legal actions necessary to prevent a forced redemption of his shares.

Yesterday, Wynn Resorts Ltd. held a conference call on the Okada case, explaining the details to analysts.

Following the call, Deutsche Bank analysts Carlo Santarelli and Kelly Knybel said Wynn had “clearly outlined its case.”

However, the two analysts say “lingering ambiguity remains, and is likely to remain for some time” on issues like what happens to the shareholder agreement between Steve Wynn, his ex-wife Elaine and Mr Okada, and what implications it will this have on Wynn Resorts’ future development prospects.

That said, Mr Santarelli and Ms Knybel continue to view Wynn Resorts stocks “as a solid risk reward story with limited expectations and strong free cash flow.”

According to a report from Reuters, Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. has expressed interest in investing in a project in Entertainment City Manila.

The company was “very interested” in the project, Cristino Naguiat, chairman of the state-owned gaming operator cum regulator Philippine Amusement & Gaming Corp (Pagcor), told Reuters on Tuesday after meeting with Melco officials last week in Manila.

Mr Naguiat said that Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd. was also interested in investing in Entertainment City Manila and that the company was in talks with local groups for a possible partnership.

According to a Sands China Ltd. statement, the man was installing lights on the exterior of a building when he slipped. He was found dead in the fourth floor pool area.

The worker was a blue card holder from Hong Kong employed by Young’s Engineering Co. Ltd., a subcontractor of site manager Hsin Chong Construction Group Limited.

“Sands China and Hsin Chong are cooperating with an investigation underway by the police and the Labour Department to try and ascertain the exact circumstances of the accident,” the statement reads.

Although it is not the first time a worker dies at a casino construction site in Cotai, it is uncommon for gaming operators to issue statements in such cases.

Macau operations reported an operating profit of HK$42 million (US$5.4 million), up by 163 percent year-on-year.

Revenues rose by 35 percent to HK$179 million driven by higher revenue from both local and roaming services, the company said.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose by $40 million to $71 million.

All units offer three en‐suite bedrooms and views of Macau’s Nam Van and Sai Van Lakes. Some are available with balconies.

Priced from HK$58,000 per month, rental is inclusive of premium furnishings, fittings and decoration, management fees, maid service and access to a 24‐hour concierge desk.

Launched in 2010, the Waterside’s occupancy rate now stands at 70 percent.

Karen Lau, property manager at Sniper Capital which manages the Waterside, says that “the launch of the Sapphire Suites follows rapidly rising occupancy levels of our standard suites and further caters to the steadily increasing demand in Macau for the very finest in fully furnished luxury rental accommodation.”

This is the highest it has been since November 2008.

Figures from the Statistics and Census Service show that the increase was mainly attributable to meals bought away from home and outbound package tours.

For the 12 months ended January 2012, inflation increased by an average 5.96 percent.

In January alone inflation increased 0.93 percent over the month of December.

According to Portuguese-language newspaper Jornal Tribuna de Macau, the Macau Civil Aviation Authority has received requests by Thai Smile to begin bi-weekly flights between Bangkok and Macau from July 1 onwards.

Mandarin Airlines requested to fly daily between Taichung and Macau starting April 21.

For the fourth quarter of 2011, new residential mortgage loans approved by Macau banks fell 27.7 percent quarter-to-quarter to MOP4.6 billion (US$575 million), of which 91 percent was extended to residents.

When compared with the same period in 2010, new approvals of residential mortgage loans dropped 90.5 percent.

After registering an increase in the previous quarter, the number of new commercial real estate loans approved declined by 24.9 percent quarter-to-quarter to MOP10.5 billion, of which, 93.5 percent was granted to residents.

On an annual basis, new approvals of commercial real estate loans rose by 39.1 percent.

Wynn Macau is a subsidiary of Wynn Resorts.

The head of the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, Manuel Joaquim das Neves told local Portuguese language daily Ponto Final that Wynn had informed the regulator about its decision first hand, but that more details were requested.

“I suppose they [Wynn Macau] will reply to us rapidly. Then we will look into whether we need to act or not,” Mr Neves said.

He also said the brawl between Wynn Resorts and Mr Okada shouldn’t have a direct impact on Wynn Macau’s operations since the Japanese businessman is not a direct shareholder of the local gaming operator.

On Sunday, Wynn Resorts announced it would forcibly buy out Mr Okada at a 20-percent discount. He owned a 20 percent stake in the U.S.-based company.

Wynn Resorts’ decision came after a year-long internal investigation that concluded that Mr Okada allegedly offered cash payments and gifts totalling approximately US$110,000 (MOP880,000) to executives at the Philippines Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor), breaching U.S. anti-corruption laws.

Mr Okada was awarded a license in 2008 to operate a casino in the future Entertainment City Manila. The Wynn Resorts board opposed Mr Okada’s decision to invest in gaming in the Philippines, which led to a split between both sides, made public earlier this year.

Wynn Resorts said it took back Mr Okada’s shares to protect the company’s gaming licenses.

Yesterday, Mr Okada’s Universal Entertainment Corp. said it will take legal action against Wynn Resorts over this “outrageous” decision.

Pagcor has also reacted. In a press release, the government-run gaming operator cum regulator said Mr Okada had visited its office in Manila yesterday “apologizing for the inclusion of the state-run gaming agency and its officials” in the case.

Pagcor chairman and chief executive officer Cristino Naguiat was quoted as saying that Mr Okada explained that the US$110,000 represented various accommodations granted to Mr Okada’s business associates not only from the Philippines but also from other countries from 2008 to 2011.

Mr Naguiat said that this was part of standard industry courtesy and reciprocity. He emphasized that other than complimentary accommodations, no gifts in cash or in kind were received by Pagcor officials during his tenure.

“Although admittedly Pagcor officials received complimentary accommodations from Wynn Resorts, it is highly unlikely that the same amounted to US$110,000 from July 2010 up to the present considering that there were only at least three official visits by Pagcor executives in Macau and Las Vegas combined,” Mr Naguiat said.

Sands Cotai Central is scheduled to only open in April, says a press release from Sands China Ltd issued yesterday.

There is still no official opening date yet.

On February 1, Sands China’s parent company, Las Vegas Sands Corp. had said the first phase of Sands Cotai Central would open approximately eight weeks from that day.

Accommodation reservations can already be made for stays on May 2 and onward, starting at HK$1,198, the same press release adds.

Sands Cotai Central will feature 600 rooms and suites from Conrad, and over 1,200 guestrooms and suites from Holiday Inn.

When Sands Cotai Central is fully completed in 2013, Sheraton will offer an additional 4,000 well-appointed guestrooms and suites, bringing the combined Sands Cotai Central accommodation offering to nearly 5,800 rooms and suites.