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Alvin Chau's Suncity Group has been forced to shut the VIP rooms it operated with all six of Macao's casino operators. (Source photos by Ken Kobayashi and Getty Images) 
Business Spotlight

Downfall of Macao's junket king rocks Asia-Pacific gambling world

Alvin Chau was seen as a pillar of the community but now sits in jail

ZACH COLEMAN, Nikkei staff writer | Macao

HONG KONG -- For years, casinos across the world prized one client type above all others: the Chinese high roller.

Over the last decade, no one did better than Macao's Alvin Chau at shepherding such "whales" from mainland China to VIP baccarat tables around the Asia-Pacific region where up to $1 million could be wagered in a single hand. This business of making travel and financial arrangements as a junket agent made Chau a billionaire.

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