Grand Emperor Hotel Commences Business

Press Release

HONG KONG - Emperor Entertainment Hotel Limited (the "Group") (HKSE Code: 296) announced that its flagship project, the Grand Emperor Hotel in Macau, has commenced business today. Officiating guests who attended the opening ceremony included international star, Dr. Jackie Chan, well-known comedian, Mr. Michael Hui and popular idol, Mr. Louis Koo.

On the first day of operation, the casino of the hotel has achieved an impressive customer flow of approximately 20,000 people.

Ms. Vanessa Fan, Executive Director of Emperor Entertainment Hotel, said, "At an investment value of HK$2 billion, the hotel's mix of luxurious accommodation with world-class entertaining and dining facilities has attracted the highly lucrative guests to enjoy gaming fun at the VIP halls. We are confident that the Grand Emperor Hotel is poised to become the Group's main revenue driver in the future."

Apart from the high rollers, the Grand Emperor Hotel is also very popular among the fast growing mid-market and mass market segments. One of the reasons is that it houses over 300 slot machines of the latest models, which offer attractive new games to customers. The three levels of casino concourse also offer great gaming excitement to the mid-rollers.

The hotel also boasts its "golden avenue", the only gold-laden pavement in the world. It has 78 pieces of 1-kilogram gold bars put beneath the ground in the hotel lobby, i.e. total gold of 78 kilograms, under the strict supervision of 24-hour security guards. Together with one of the largest LED screens in Asia installed on its exterior wall which costs nearly US$3 million, the hotel makes an eye-catching landmark in Macau.

Grand Emperor Hotel is located on Avenida Comercial De Macau, which is a prime tourist attraction in the city centre with abundant pedestrian flows. The building consists of three floors of casino concourses, eight VIP halls and 356-seat slot machines to provide all range of gaming facilities. With all these premium facilities, the new casino is set to be the new spot for entertainment and enjoyment in Macau.

Ms. Vanessa Fan concluded, "The grand opening ceremony of our hotel has been scheduled for 20 January 2006. With the Macau economy developing rapidly and China continuing to relax travel restrictions, we believe the gaming industry in Macau will continue to boom and present us with abundant lucrative opportunities. "

About Emperor Entertainment Hotel Limited

Emperor Entertainment Hotel Limited is the gaming business platform of its parent company Emperor International Holdings Limited (HKSE code: 163). The company owns the Golden Princess, a casino cruise liner with a capacity of 570 guests. EEH has developed a hotel project in Macau, offering VIP gaming and entertainment services, food and beverage as well as retail outlets. The company also has a development project for a prime shopping arcade in Shanghai, PRC and continues to look for potential business opportunities worldwide.

Scots bingo chain taken over by main rival in £64m deal
As Reported by The Evening Times

United Kingdom - A SCOTTISH bingo empire has been taken over by its main rival in a £64million deal.

The County Bingo chain - which runs 10 halls, mostly in west Scotland - has been sold to Gala.

The deal boosts Gala's Scottish presence to 30 halls, nearly all in and around Glasgow.

All the sites will be refurbished and rebranded as Gala bingo halls.

The halls sold to Gala are at Maryhill, Govan, Pollok, Coatbridge, Motherwell, Cumbernauld, Airdrie, Glenrothes, Port Glasgow and Paisley.

Until his death last July at the age of 71, Thomas Paulo senior ran Airdrie-based County Bingo, which is also believed to own a 10-pin bowling centre in Finnieston.

His son Thomas Paulo junior, remained on board as a director and is understood to have taken ownership of his father's stake in the firm, County Properties and Developments.

It's believed the family lost their appetite for the bingo business after the death of Paulo senior.

He was once a major player among Glasgow's nightlife entrepreneurs.

In the 1980s, he bought the former Locarno ballroom in Sauchiehall Street from Mecca Group, which was rebranded as the 'superdisco' Zanzibar.

He later moved one of the Glasgow's best-known nightlife landmarks, the Berkely Casino, into the same building.

Thomas Paulo senior had featured among the top 100 Scots in the Sunday Times "rich list", with a fortune estimated at more than £43m.

The company has also operated pubs and 10-pin bowling centres in Motherwell and Scarborough, north Yorkshire.

County's profits fell from £4.9m in 2004 to £3.9m in the year to March 2005. The company also bought the debt-laden Carnoustie golf course last year.

Gala, the UK's largest bingo operator and a leading casino group, has been expanding rapidly in a bid to capitalise on the latest round of deregulation under the UK Gambling Act.

The bingo market is worth around £1.5billion in Britain, with 89million visits a year to 699 clubs.

In 2004, Glasgow was voted the UK's biggest bingo-winning city after players took the most money in cash prizes.