{"id":901,"date":"2021-03-17T04:53:48","date_gmt":"2021-03-16T17:53:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/?p=901"},"modified":"2021-03-17T04:59:31","modified_gmt":"2021-03-16T17:59:31","slug":"skycity-adelaide-faces-legal-onslaught","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/skycity-adelaide-faces-legal-onslaught\/","title":{"rendered":"SkyCity Adelaide faces legal onslaught"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wealthy Chinese businessman, Linong Ma has levelled a lawsuit against two junket operators and SkyCity Adelaide. The legal action follows allegations that the junketers, Xiongming Xie and his associate, Zhuangqian Fang, defrauded Ma to the amount of A$4.84 million and that Xie has close ties to organized crime.<\/p>\n

For SkyCity Adelaide\u2019s part, the operation is accused of breach of trust and negligence.<\/p>\n

Junket gambling in a nutshell<\/strong><\/p>\n

Junkets were invented in the 1950s and provide casinos with high profile clients that they effectively scout in exchange for a monthly commission, provided the clients produce an expected level of profit for the house. Once these punters return to where they came from, the junket and the casino will settle any outstanding balances.<\/p>\n

Chinese Junket clients pay money to junkets via bank transfer before they embark on their trips and these amounts are converted into \u201crolling chips,\u201d non-negotiable tender accepted at VIP rooms of specific casinos.<\/p>\n

This practice subverts the Chinese government\u2019s disdain at large sums of money being taken out of the country and allows high rollers to sail past any potential bureaucratic obstacles.<\/p>\n

The set-up<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The events leading up to the filing of the lawsuit paint a sordid tale of deception.<\/p>\n

Ma arrived at SkyCity Adelaide on May 21st, 2019 as part of a junket put together by Zhuangqian Fang. Ma later began to strongly suspect that Xie was actually behind the operation and using Fang\u2019s junket license to obscure his role.<\/p>\n

Ma was accompanied by a Ms. Goh on his junket, an individual identified by the lawsuit as being \u201cemployed or engaged by Mr. Xie as an escort or hostess for high-rollers.\u201d A Ms. Zhang, also apparently employed by Xie, was also present, playing Baccarat<\/p>\n

Ma withdrew $400,000 in chips with his sights set on baccarat <\/a>and unfortunately promptly lost $370,000.<\/p>\n

The next day saw Ma emerge with renewed energy, evident in his withdrawal of a further $600,000. The night\u2019s rest seemed to have changed his fortunes and he found himself on a red-hot winning streak. He eventually walked away having accumulated $5,048,500 over and above his stake.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately for Ma, this is when his luck ran out.<\/p>\n

The con<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Ma made the practical decision to cash out his chips, but his assigned companion, Ms. Goh, advised him that this could only be done the following Monday. A heated exchange with his escorts ensued, with the lawsuit describing the escorts as \u201cbehaving in a furtive and suspicious manner.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ma had to travel to Hong Kong for his son\u2019s graduation and had the chips secured in a SkyCity<\/a> safety deposit box that came with the promise that he had exclusive access to its contents.<\/p>\n

Ma\u2019s plans to return in June and collect his chips were dashed when it became evident that the bulk of his winnings had been transferred by SkyCity on May 29th.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit alleges that the beneficiary of the transaction was Xiongming Xie and that no effort has been made to return Mr. Ma\u2019s winnings to him.<\/p>\n

Unmasking Xiongming Xie<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Xie\u2019s shadowy presence in this incident has dragged this reclusive individual into the light and several details have emerged.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit claims that Xie has \u201csubstantial gambling debts\u201d and that he is a known associate of junket operator Tom \u201cMr. Chinatown\u201d Zhou, a criminal wanted by INTERPOL. The lawsuit further alleges that Xie is a \u201cdangerous and violent criminal\u201d who has been barred from all Australian casinos.<\/p>\n

A 2016, assassination attempt at his Sydney home left Xie with multiple stab wounds that he managed to survive.<\/p>\n

Three years later in 2019, he found himself being accused of being at the other end of the blade when he faced criminal charges in Australia after allegedly menacing a man with a knife while demanding a $10 million property transfer.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit also claims that he has \u201clinks with Asian Triad criminal gangs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u200b<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wealthy Chinese businessman, Linong Ma has levelled a lawsuit against two junket operators and SkyCity Adelaide. The legal action follows allegations that the junketers, Xiongming Xie and his associate, Zhuangqian Fang, defrauded Ma to the amount of A$4.84 million and that Xie has close ties to organized crime. For SkyCity Adelaide\u2019s part, the operation is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"content-sidebar","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nSkyCity Adelaide faces legal onslaught - UberPokies.org<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Chinese millionaire has targeted SkyCity Adelaide with legal action, alleging theft of millions in baccarat winnings and collusion with known criminals.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/skycity-adelaide-faces-legal-onslaught\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SkyCity Adelaide faces legal onslaught - UberPokies.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Chinese millionaire has targeted SkyCity Adelaide with legal action, alleging theft of millions in baccarat winnings and collusion with known criminals.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/skycity-adelaide-faces-legal-onslaught\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"UberPokies.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-03-16T17:53:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-03-16T17:59:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/skycity-adelaide-faces-legal-onslaught\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/skycity-adelaide-faces-legal-onslaught\/\",\"name\":\"SkyCity Adelaide faces legal onslaught - UberPokies.org\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-16T17:53:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-03-16T17:59:31+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/#\/schema\/person\/4af999ce3a56730268eb48858b2a9072\"},\"description\":\"A Chinese millionaire has targeted SkyCity Adelaide with legal action, alleging theft of millions in baccarat winnings and collusion with known criminals.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/skycity-adelaide-faces-legal-onslaught\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/skycity-adelaide-faces-legal-onslaught\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/skycity-adelaide-faces-legal-onslaught\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"SkyCity Adelaide faces legal onslaught\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/\",\"name\":\"UberPokies.org\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/#\/schema\/person\/4af999ce3a56730268eb48858b2a9072\",\"name\":\"Admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d178e443e483175a0ea59f02ba293da2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d178e443e483175a0ea59f02ba293da2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/author\/lisae\/\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"SkyCity Adelaide faces legal onslaught - UberPokies.org","description":"A Chinese millionaire has targeted SkyCity Adelaide with legal action, alleging theft of millions in baccarat winnings and collusion with known criminals.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/skycity-adelaide-faces-legal-onslaught\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"SkyCity Adelaide faces legal onslaught - UberPokies.org","og_description":"A Chinese millionaire has targeted SkyCity Adelaide with legal action, alleging theft of millions in baccarat winnings and collusion with known criminals.","og_url":"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/skycity-adelaide-faces-legal-onslaught\/","og_site_name":"UberPokies.org","article_published_time":"2021-03-16T17:53:48+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-03-16T17:59:31+00:00","author":"Admin","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/skycity-adelaide-faces-legal-onslaught\/","url":"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/skycity-adelaide-faces-legal-onslaught\/","name":"SkyCity Adelaide faces legal onslaught - UberPokies.org","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-03-16T17:53:48+00:00","dateModified":"2021-03-16T17:59:31+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/#\/schema\/person\/4af999ce3a56730268eb48858b2a9072"},"description":"A Chinese millionaire has targeted SkyCity Adelaide with legal action, alleging theft of millions in baccarat winnings and collusion with known criminals.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/skycity-adelaide-faces-legal-onslaught\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/skycity-adelaide-faces-legal-onslaught\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/skycity-adelaide-faces-legal-onslaught\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"SkyCity Adelaide faces legal onslaught"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/","name":"UberPokies.org","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/#\/schema\/person\/4af999ce3a56730268eb48858b2a9072","name":"Admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d178e443e483175a0ea59f02ba293da2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d178e443e483175a0ea59f02ba293da2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Admin"},"url":"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/author\/lisae\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/901"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=901"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/901\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=901"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=901"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=901"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}