S'porean tycoon, 49, ex-husband of Vicki Zhao, loses S$53.8 million at Perth casino in 6 days

A Singaporean businessman, who was formerly married to Chinese actress Vicki Zhao, gambled away A$60 million (S$53.8 million) at Perth's Crown Casino in six days.

Huang Youlong is a China-born tycoon and friend of Alibaba founder Jack Ma, reported News.com.au.

According to HK01, the incident came to light after the Hong Kong Judiciary website published a nearly 100-page judgment on Jun. 30 regarding Huang's gambling debt dispute involving millions in intermediary service fees and interest.

He was sued by Crown Melbourne's former vice president of marketing, Michelle Chua Eh Fong.

Chua was pursuing overdue interest at an annual rate of 24 per cent, based on a verbal agreement she claimed she had struck with Huang.

The judge dismissed all of Chua's claims and determined that she was merely a business intermediary who had no right to claim the interest from Huang alone.

Gambled away S$35.8 million in 48 hours

According to HK01, at the time, Huang owned a private jet and frequently travelled for leisure and investment activities.

Chua was tasked with attracting high-net-worth clients and coordinating gambling loans for casino VIPs.

In late February 2015, Huang landed in Western Australia to gamble at the Crown Casino Perth.

However, the casino's credit department refused to grant him gaming credit as Huang already owed debts to other global casinos.

The department asked Huang to find a third party to take over the risk, leading to the entry of the Suncity Group, a junket operator in Hong Kong and Macau, in the transaction, reported HK01.

According to News.com.au, Chua oversaw an "Internal Casino Arrangement" that meant the Suncity Group would obtain A$40 million (S$35.8 million) in chips and also be responsible for recovering the debt.

Huang lost all the money in 48 hours.

Requested further S$18 million to recoup losses

Huang immediately requested an additional A$20 million (S$18 million) to recoup his losses, but lost it as well.

According to HK01, Chua claimed she and Huang reached a verbal agreement regarding the two loans.

The first A$40 million (S$35.8 million) loan from Sun City was to be repaid within three months at an exchange rate of A$1 to HK$6.30, and the second loan of A$20 million (S$18 million) must be repaid within one month.

If either loan was overdue, interest of 24 per cent per annum would be charged.

However, Huang denies having made any verbal agreement with Chua.

Payments

News.com.au reported that when Huang rushed to pay the core A$60 million (S$53.8 million) principal sum to Suncity by 2019, interim payments were chaotic.

In August 2015, Huang attempted to settle the debts by agreeing to purchase a luxury Hong Kong mansion in Regalia Bay for A$13.3 million (S$12 million) and transfer it to Chua as partial repayment.

He added another A$950,000 (S$851,076) on top of the house, stating that it was a "wedding gift" to Chua to express his gratitude for her help in managing his gambling debts.

In another instance, Huang's personal assistant drew three separate "security cheques" each worth A$11.4 million (S$10.2 million) to secure the debt.

However, when Chua tried to cash one of the cheques, it bounced.

Hong Kong judge throws out case

The principal debt was settled in 2019, after Suncity signed a termination agreement confirming the sum was fully repaid, reported HK01.

According to News.com.au, Deputy High Court Judge Alan Kwong threw out the case and said her claims did not "sit comfortably with basic commercial common sense and ordinary logic of events".

"I am not persuaded that it is credible," he said.

Kwong also ordered Chua to pay Huang's legal costs.

Huang, who was not present in court, submitted his witness statements and a medical note.

The note stated that he was in France, unable to attend as he could not take a flight longer than three hours due to chest pains.

Kwong said the medical excuse document was "wholly unreliable" and noted that the French doctor did not bother to list their professional qualifications or diagnosis.

Government-commissioned inquiry found casino unfit to hold license

In 2020, Australia’s New South Wales government launched an inquiry into Crown Resorts.

Following the findings, royal commissions in the states of Victoria and Western Australia were initiated in 2021.

Both inquiries found Crown Resorts were unfit to hold casino licenses due to issues including enabling money laundering, dealing with criminal-linked junket operators and poor corporate governance.

The Perth Casino Royal Commission initially found Crown Perth to be “unsuitable” to hold its gaming licence, but eventually allowed it to keep its licence and operate without penalties after completing a multi-year remediation program.