Australian tycoon Packer eyes casinos in Japan

@globalwatcher: Since this is Packer story, please check Biden article comments if you are a democrat. OK, Packer will not successful in Japan because he does not know gambling in Japan is illegal. He does not know his $2 billion assets are not enough to create one casino hotel. He inherited media business but he shifted to casino business without knowing what cost. so, you don;t have to worry for a while. He probably spent some money in Macao but he probably was not aware eyes in everywhere in casino. He probably don;t know illegal gambling activities in Japan. /big businessmen, wealthy politician use and pay tera-sen at gambling operators; niwa-ba. If you are in tokyo, you can visit Kyojuto-kai;s niwaba, /don;t worry, if you see little fingerless chinpira. Just observe gambling and see mounted terasen. don't drink alcohol before you go. Just observe to see why an organization is pushing legalization of casinos in Japan.

;@globewatcher: Many people, especially democrats hate Adelson. Why don;t you create movement in Japan to get rid of Adelson? Last election he donated so many to GOP Presidential candidates inckuding that Womanizer Gingrich, etd. USA will love if you begin to have movement, Talk or hoping will not obstrucdt multi billionaires. He is not succeeding to step inot Japan for years. So, maybe you wukll do if you hate casinos. Oh, I forgot. Just like Adelson, you are a foreigher, but you can try like Adelson does. Dofggon. you are not Japanese who want to bosstrying to boss Japanese govt action.

Adleon of Sands in Vegas has been trying to have Japan legalizing gambling in Japan for years but he and other Las Vegams who already have casino hotels built in SE Asia haven't pushed Japan or commented like Packer did

Please keep these scums away from Japan and keep them in the cage in Las Vegas. Adeleon, pffff.

@MaximumMan: Packer's unfinished casino plan is not going to be accepted by Japanese group who a=are pushing legalization of casinos in Japan. He has a plan to finish construction in 2019. Also, he target to gyp Japanese people. Casinos in Macao, Singapore, Hong Kong, and other places just want to have Chinese billionaires and multi millionaires. Also, Casino hotels are not same as casinos. Adleon of Sands in Vegas has been trying to have Japan legalizing gambling in Japan for years but he and other Las Vegams who already have casino hotels built in SE Asia haven't pushed Japan or commented like Packer did. It is Japanese law. Unlike his plan, casino hotels have entertainment arenas and fancy restaurants including all you can eat buffets where you can eat a variety of sushis, teppanyaki, Mongolian barbecued beef, variety of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean food, and many more. Very very expensive to construct. Eyes in sky all over, Casinos have to worry cheaters. In some place, locals are not welcome unless they are very rich. Not discrimination but /casinos do not want local people's money. Jobs? How to get employed in casinos? How you can become dealers, etc? The fastedt way to become a Jr. executive? I let you know funny custom of Vegas outfits later.

GlobalWatcher. You can call US Military office by yourself. I am a Japanese so, no dice for me. My American daughters are not interested in finding as they are n USA, not in Japan.

Bidenberg may have shotgun or rifle permit in Japan. Hunters, etc obtain gun permit. I don;t know it they give guns hoting range test to foreigners, though. I haven;t checked. /////////////////////////Keishicho does not go after iforeigners who owns guns. Local police can do, Keishicho does not go on foot police work. If you want to report hearsay, be careful. There are attorneys who specialize in sueing for hearsay tippers for big money.

no thanks Packer

Casinos would be a great economic boost for Japan. I think it's unfair to blame casinos for the addictions of gamblers - no one forces them to get out of bed and go to the casino.

I copied about gun situations in Japan.

During the Tokugawa period in Japan, starting in the 17th century, the government imposed very restrictive controls on the small number of gunsmiths in the nation, thereby ensuring the almost total prohibition of firearms.[56] Japan, in the postwar period, has had gun regulation which is strict in principle. Gun licensing is required, and is heavily regulated by the National Police Agency of Japan. The weapons law begins by stating "No-one shall possess a fire-arm or fire-arms or a sword or swords", and very few exceptions are allowed The only types of firearms which a Japanese citizen may acquire are rifles or shotguns. Sportsmen are permitted to possess rifles or shotguns for hunting and for skeet and trap shooting, but only after submitting to a lengthy licensing procedure Without a license, a Japanese citizen may not even hold a gun in his or her hands. The former ruling Liberal Democratic Party, in response to violent crimes by minors and gangsters, has called for rewriting the constitution to include even further stringent firearms control measures. In January 2008 Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda in a policy speech called for tighter regulations on firearms.

@Crazedin japan. This is a copy from wikipedia.

His father dismissed the idea of sending young James to university by saying "Why would he want to go there? To learn how to smoke marijuana?"

Hope he has a masters degree in organized crime and the psychology behind it !

Good luck Japan. I am hoping for the best for you. Once you open the gate for casino, you will be inviting all international criminal activities to Japan. Hope Packer is ready to go home.

globalWatcher: Foreclosure has nothing to do with Nevada Govt. That is private sector. Foreclosure was done by private banks which force to foreclosure and sell the properties to suckers. Then foreclose for minor things such as the owners did not pay monthly payment for 1 week. Well, these are being investigated right now. Are you connectung this with Packer's plan for Casino in Japan? BTW, Detroit is bankrupting. Not Las Vegas. The dity in worst State you claimed. Have you checked foreclkosure in Vegas and other cities in Nevada? Las Vegas <> Ndevada. Like Detroit <> Michigan. You were writing about American casinos. Or are you suggesting Nevada should correct income taz like Michigan?

toshikoAug. 17, 2013 - 09:40PM JST

@GlobalWatcher: Nevada do not have state income tax

The State of Nevada earned a disgraceful reputation as the foreclosure capital USA. There is a strong link between a poverty and crime and a foreclosure.

II wondered why Las Vegas media never mentioned Packer. Then I found out, Paxker's casono plan is to open in 2019 while Vegas expanded casinos are already built and open. His asset is just 6 billion dollars. To make a casino in Japan? Casino is not legalized in Japan. Pachinkos are considered non-gambling in Japan. Our casino-hotel corporation big shots make more than $2 billion a year. /So, the corporations they are major stockholders income and asset, not like this guy. I don;t think the group trying to legalize casinos in Japan get influenced by this guy;s talk. This guy seems to be ignorant of what casino business is. /casino-hotel to lure /wealthy Chinese are all over in S.E. Asia. Vietnamn /Phillipine, and many more.

Packer!

Go home you drone.

@GlobalWatcher: Nevada do not have state income tax. To cheat US income tax is the purpose to invest many billion dollars in SE Asia to earn Many billion dollars a year? Are you kidding? They are not interested in locals. they just target billionaires and multi-millionaires from mainland China who have been spending plenty in Vegas for years. We don't even have sales tax. How state operate without tax? Business tax casinos pay/ I don't know this person above so I will not wriite guess on him or Australia but GlobalWatcher sure have imagination on Amewrican bilillionaireso owners. Who are you writing? Name them . You can get from Fovbes Magazine. - iincome and name of the cprporation they heahttp://www.gravatar.com/d.

It sure helped detroit when they brought the casinos in...oh wait

Detroit has jus filed bankruptcy. You knew that before making this comment.

Packer and the government will speak about more jobs and money in the economy. The money is in the economy, doesn't need to be lost to Packer and the government. Let these greedy entities find other ways and keep casinos out.

This goes ahead I can see many more people getting into debt, borrowing from the men in dark glasses and the suicide rate going up because they can't pay it back.

Weasel - I dunno why, but for some reason the photo of Packer makes me think of some shady used car salesman.

So, you are familiar with the antics of the Packer family empire.

Another example of greed helping destroy others lives, like tobacco companies. Just because you CAN do something doesn't mean you should. Good luck breaking into Yakuza-controlled Japanese gambling.

It sure helped detroit when they brought the casinos in...oh wait

@unholyimage I would hope that a large resort casino would be subject to better planning etc. than the awful eyesore pachinko parlours. In the town I used to live, they pulled down a newish pachinko palour, bulldozed the site, built a new one and have to this day, never used it. It is now covered in kudzu with a carpark full of weeds. Nth Saitama is festooned with ghost parlours rotting into the ground.

I know Packer's casinos in Australia, and while they are huge operations with restaurants, brand shops, cinemas etc., and done well, once inside the gaming area it is old folk and disability pensioners emptying their pockets into slot machines - a depressing sight.

Hope Japanese voters wake up and see this.

Usually voters are not given any role in decisions like this. They are at the mercy of the representatives they have voted in, who can then do whatever they like. If a matter is not publicized much, their actions will not even affect re-election chances.

The casino bill will most likely pass.

Because many J. politicians are getting illegal secret huge kick backs from these casino billionaires, retail and hospitality industries of Japan. They only care about themselves. They want to squeeze money from the Rich; a retired Dankai generation. Hope Japanese voters wake up and see this.

FYI,

American casino billionaires and big US corporations are moving their assets to offshore investment in foreign countries to avoid income tax. According to IRS, at least 5 trillion dollars are sitting outside USA at this moment.

http://www.forbes.com/2008/04/17/billionaires-casinos-adelson-biz-billies-cx_af_0417casinobillies.html

the_odeman - The majority of pachinkos are owned by the Yakuza here.

This is not true at all! Yes, the Yakuza is involved with many pachinko parlors, but it does not own or run them. That honor goes to the South Korean crime syndicates and a large percentage of the money pumped through the machines goes straight across the puddle to Korea. Casinos are not as bad as everybody makes out as long as they are monitored and not just run as money magnets. For most people, gambling is a bit of fun, but for many it becomes an addiction (RE: pachinko). If the government regulates the payout rate and has staff trained to notice addicted gamblers and stop them playing then there is no problem, but I fear Japan's casino would just be an open slate for anyone with a few bob in their pocket to 'spend it all' with no monitoring or limits. This would be a disaster for an already frayed economy and the suffering middle class.

I wouldn't mind a casino here if it's like the type in Singapore (IR) integrated resort with leisure facilities, conference halls, exhibition space and hotels. The casino bill will most likely pass.

Gambling equals mental problem

Addiction to gamble is a mental disease just like an addiction to drugs. It should be treated as a sickness requiring professional counseling. Some of them are very bad and they have to be institutionalized. Do not let others to fool you otherwise.

Gambling equals mental problem if it gets out of control which is often the case.

Gambling losers would be ended up to suicide someday. I've seen many. It seems that most japanese would prefer saving money than gambling.

Im with Unholyimage. At least well-run casinos tend to attract entertainment precincts, hotels, restaurants, cafes, sports bars and sporting events and concerts, etc. Crown in melbourne is a good example. 95 percent of people use these places responsibly. I'm a non-gambler, however don't mind visiting casinos and their entertainment on offer. What do the thousands of pachinko palaces contribute?

Although I dislike gambling, this may be a way to bring some order to a very poorly executed business here. I despise the bankrupted eyesoars dotting every imaginable area of Japanese life. At least casinos would be zoned and properly planned into the infrastructure, whereas a pachinko parlor just gets slapped up overnight wherever they can bribe inspectors enough to build. Afterwards, the owners tend to bail out via some bankruptcy scheme leaving the community with a huge carcass of debauchery and greed just next door to residential areas, schools and temples. Corruption will no doubt exist, but a high-profile foreign business would very likely be held to much higher standards of grounds planning, in addition to having to phase out any closed shops. With well operated larger scale facilities offering wider services, smaller pachinko places would start to dissapear.

MeguromanAug. 17, 2013 - 09:30AM JST

You can already gamble on horse racing, pachinko, soccer (Toto), bicycle racing, boat racing and then there are all the various types of lotteries with booths on every corner. Why would a few casino resorts be such a big deal when you can be in a small town in inaka and they have 5 ghastly-looking pachinko parlors in the middle of what used to be tambo?

You can lose big in Casino. I assure you that the gambling will never make you rich.

I have no regret I followed my grand father's good advice not getting myself involved in gambling. He was a very successful business man. Now I am 68 years old and am happily retired with three houses, all paid off', one in the Rocky Mountains, Northern California, and Tokyo, some savings in banks, debt free and nice cars. Of course still married to my high school sweet heart. No gambling and God have been very good to me.

It will never happen. The majority of pachinkos are owned by the Yakuza here. If the government was suddenly to allow casinos into the country, that would be a massive loss of income for the Yakuza and they wont stand for it. You would see either Yazuka run casinos or a big turf war between legal casino companies like Mr. Packers and the Yaks.

Would be a great viewing for the bystanders tho!

unlike Australia, Packer's swagger and bombast will carry very little sway with Japanese politicians....

You can already gamble on horse racing, pachinko, soccer (Toto), bicycle racing, boat racing and then there are all the various types of lotteries with booths on every corner. Why would a few casino resorts be such a big deal when you can be in a small town in inaka and they have 5 ghastly-looking pachinko parlors in the middle of what used to be tambo?

Hungry, hungry and hungry!

And watch the suicide rate go up if casinos are legalized in Japan. I remember when the casino in Sydney opened and there were people who would go out to their car in the carpark after having lost all their money and kill themselves. Hopefully it is/was a small number but the casinos tend to keep those things quiet. Having said that, it would still be a big source of revenue for the government in Japan.

Ah great news! Like anything in life it's about self-control. I love going to a casino every now and then.

Done wrong, gambling can be parasitic.

And your brand isn't?

But done right (through integrated resorts), it can be hugely additive.

Missing a 'c', James.

I don't think so this happen is enough for pachinko japan have to old beliefs even they are thinking banned pachinko I heard that like months ago I really doubts i that happen beside Japanese people love travel to other places to play casinos they have a lot of money to expend on this stuffs.

Gambling is the worst investment. Only Casino owner makes money.

Bad and your hard earned savings will flow out from Japan for no good reasons. Hope you do not fall for this type of foreign investment hawks.

you don't need casinos in japan ever

These vampires represent the darker side of capitalism. Beside pachinko halls and horse racing and all kinds of gambling only bring misery and suffering to those addicted to gambling.