reminds me a bit of the Grace Hotel circa early/mid '70's

SternAAlbifrons wrote: ↑Sat Apr 11, 2020 6:12 pm reminds me a bit of the Grace Hotel circa early/mid '70's

With the difference being the customers were mainly from the Middle East

clutchcargo wrote: ↑Sat Apr 11, 2020 6:27 pm

SternAAlbifrons wrote: ↑Sat Apr 11, 2020 6:12 pm reminds me a bit of the Grace Hotel circa early/mid '70's

With the difference being the customers were mainly from the Middle East

It was the last of the US vietnam guys when i walked in there in 1974.
Airforce mainly, based in Thailand. A few spooks probably. they lived in these joints.

Pretty foul. but so were all the R&R hangouts - unless i s'pose you had just come from a war.

Donaco says Vietnam, Cambodia casino pauses ongoing
By GGR Asia -
April 22, 2020

Australia-listed casino firm Donaco International Ltd confirmed in a Tuesday filing a seven-day extension to the temporary shutdown of its gaming operations at the Aristo International Hotel in Lao Cai, Vietnam. An initial 15 day shuttering amid the Covid-19 pandemic had run until April 15.

In the same filing Donaco confirmed the suspension of casino operations at its Star Vegas Resort and Club in Poipet, Cambodia, remained in place. The temporary shutdown was in line with the Cambodian government restrictions, the company said.
https://www.ggrasia.com/donaco-extends- ... a-casinos/

Thai vendor of Star Vegas joins Donaco board
Aug 04, 2020

A person previously identified as one of the Thai vendors of Star Vegas Resort and Club when Donaco International Ltd acquired the Cambodian border casino for US$360 million in 2015, has joined the Donaco board, according to a Monday filing by the latter to the Australian Securities Exchange.

The appointment of Lee Bug Huy and another person – Paul Porntat Amatavivadhana – as non-executive directors of the company had been envisaged in relation to a recent fundraising exercise by Donaco.

The firm had reiterated in a Friday filing that Star Vegas (pictured in a file photo) – located in Poipet in Cambodia, near that country’s border with Thailand, from where it draws many gambling customers – has been closed since April 1 as a Covid-19 countermeasure.

Lee Bug Huy – along with Lee Bug Tong, another person identified in Donaco filings as one of the Thai vendors of the Cambodian venue Star Vegas – had underwritten Donaco’s recent entitlement offer. As of July, the same two people controlled a 17.99-percent stake in Donaco, and as underwriters in the recent offer were set to increase their relevant interest in the company to 42.12 percent. The two investors had been in previous litigation with the Donaco group.

“The appointments of Mr [Lee Bug] Huy and Mr Amatavivadhana to the board are being made in accordance with the terms of the underwriting agreement related to the entitlement offer,” said Donaco in its Monday filing.

The announcement said the rest of the Donaco board “looks forward to working with both of them”.

According to the filing, Lee Bug Huy is a casino vice president for Star Vegas Casino and Resorts Co Ltd, “where he has been responsible for developing the model for the slot machine business”.

The announcement added the new board member had “significant experience in gaming and casino management and has previously acted as an executive director of the company”.
https://www.ggrasia.com/thai-vendor-of- ... aco-board/

Where could all these non-Cambodian gamblers be coming from ?

Border casino op Donaco posts positive quarterly EBITDA
Jan 29, 2021

Donaco International Ltd, an operator of border casinos in Southeast Asia, confirmed in a Friday filing that the quarter ending December 31 had seen the company return to positive earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), mainly driven by results from its Cambodia resort.

Star Vegas Resort and Club in Poipet, near Cambodia’s border with Thailand, a country where casino gambling is prohibited, generated positive EBITDA amounting to AUD3.70 million (US$2.83 million) in the period, Donaco told the Australian Securities Exchange.
https://www.ggrasia.com/border-casino-o ... ly-ebitda/

A casino going bankrupt well that’s against all odds

Donaco International Finds Last-Minute Resolution to Cover Outstanding Debt
Erik Gibbs
Published July 2, 2021
Est. 4 minutes

Donaco International Finds Last-Minute Resolution to Cover Outstanding Debt
In Summary:

Donaco has worked out a repayment scheme with a lender to avoid an asset sell-off
The casino operator has had difficulty keeping up with its $100-million loan obligations
The new agreement allows Donaco to keep its Star Vegas in Cambodia

When Donaco International Ltd. picked up $100 million from Mega Bank in 2015 to finance its casino expansion plans, it didn’t expect that, right around the corner, was waiting a series of problems that would make it nearly impossible to keep up with the loan’s repayment scheme. Since then, the Australian-listed operator, which is behind the Star Vegas casino in Cambodia and Aristo International in Vietnam, has had to jump through hoops, sidestep legal issues and battle former partners to hang on. It has been able to survive through major upheavals and boardroom deals, but has only barely crawled forward. Behind on the massive outstanding loan, Donaco has worked out a deal with Mega Bank to pay off the balance and put this chapter of its legacy behind it.

Donaco Emerges From Almost-Certain Defeat

Donaco had been making payments on the loan as regularly as possible since 2015, but one headache after another caused problems. The global COVID-19 pandemic didn’t help, and Mega Bank had been putting pressure on Donaco to keep up. The casino operator announced this week through a filing with the Australian Securities Exchange that it had arranged with Mega Bank to pay $1 million a month through November of this year, followed by a $1.8-million payment in December. With that, the loan will be paid off and Donaco will be able to focus on other issues.

The new repayment scheme was reportedly finalized last month, and the first payment has already been made. That leaves $5.8 million remaining, and Donaco is confident it won’t have any more problems. Paul Porntat Amatavivadhana, the company’s non-executive chairman, is “extremely encouraged” about the arrangement and is already preparing for future operations. The company will have some help, too, as a shareholder loan from CEO and Executive Director Lee Bug Huy has been approved. That loan will be for $8.2 million, which will allow Donaco to bring its casino and hospitality businesses back to life. The loan carries a term of three years and will be repaid from operational cash flow from its two properties in Cambodia and Vietnam.

Long Road to Recovery

Donaco had initially set up Star Vegas with great expectations for Cambodia and Poipet, the city where the resort is located. It had partnered with a group of Thai entrepreneurs who allegedly proceeded to stab Donaco in the back. They handed over the real estate to Donaco through a lease, but then launched, in 2016, a casino essentially across the street that, according to Donaco, violated a non-compete agreement. Even the name – Star Paradise – seemed to be a direct reflection of the original property.

That set of a chain of issues that saw lawsuits in Cambodia and Singapore, with Donaco, at one point, asking for as much as $190 million in damages. The Thai partners didn’t budge, and litigation dragged on for years. The saga was finally put to rest after the Thai entrepreneurs took over the company, now controlling 42% of the operations, and shuffled the board around. That gave Mega Bank confidence that, eventually, Donaco would be able to make good on its outstanding loan payments and staved off almost certain repossession.
https://www.gamblingnews.com/news/donac ... ding-debt/

Just like their long-shot gambling customers
- managed to get one more loan before the inevitable reality of bankruptcy, despair and possible suicide.

The house always .... wins ... 0_O