Dore junket theft blown out of proportion: Bernstein

What emerged as a story of a Macau junket employee stealing HK$100 million ($13 million) from the company appears to have been blown out of proportion, with accounts surmising he stole HK$2 billion, according to Bernstein Research.

Bernstein analysts say the news that a key employee of Dore, a smaller Macau junket with 3 to 4 percent market share, stole such a large sum “is likely to be exaggerated.”

“There were early indications that the theft was only HK$100 million ($US13 million), then HK$500 million ($US65 million), but this figure has now ballooned to 20x the initial rumored amount.”

Based on the size of Dore's monthly rolling chip volume, Bernstein believes the HK$2 billion is grossly exaggerated. 

“The likely sum would be less than a few hundred million HK$, but potentially significantly smaller. Hyperbole is usually the name of the game in Macau. It is our understanding that rumors regarding Dore have been percolating for a few weeks. Further, incidents of minor theft, skimming, and other malfeasance at junkets are generally viewed as fairly common due to often inadequate financial controls.”

 

 

 

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