Chen Lip Keong, one of the richest men in Malaysia, has passed away at 76. His death occurred on December 8 and was announced by the NagaCorp board in a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Chen, who developed the NagaCorp casino and hospitality brand, suffered a stroke a decade ago, sparking speculations that his death might be related to this. However, the leisure corporation’s board provided no specifics about his passing.

Later reports by Chinese news outlets claim that Chen passed away while in the US. His remains will likely be returned to Malaysia after a formal clearance process.

Chen spent the last few years of his life developing NagaCorp, cementing it as a major casino and hospitality brand in Asia. The news of his passing caused the company’s stock to plummet, although the leadership is certain that the loss of Chen will not lead to long-term material impact on the group’s finances.

As of the time of this writing, NagaCorp’s shares are trading for HKD 2.96, representing a significant decline from January 2023, when they had reached HKD 7.75.

What’s Next for NagaCorp?

In the meantime, Chen Yiy Fon, one of Chen Lip Keong’s sons, has succeeded him as head of the company starting December 10. Chen Yiy Fon already boasts significant corporate experience and has previously served as NagaCorp’s chief executive officer of operations.

Chen Yiy Fon started work as the casino and hospitality company’s CEO of Operations on April 5, 2022. His appointment came amid efforts to divide responsibilities for the company among Chen Lip Keong’s three sons.

For reference, this move saw Chen Yiy Hwuan named as chief executive officer of hotels and Chen Cherchi as chief executive officer of finance and treasury.

In its filing, NagaCorp did not disclose whether the change of leadership will have an effect on the ongoing strike at NagaWorld, one of the company’s biggest properties. Located near Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the huge resort is one of the highlights of NagaCorp’s portfolio. However, the property is currently dealing with a strike following the ousting of NagaWorld’s previous leadership.

The post Chen Lip Keong Passes Away, NagaCorp Stock Plummets appeared first on Keno Wizard.

The sports betting regulator in Ohio, the Ohio Casino Control Commission, has announced its latest report, revealing data regarding the performance of licensed mobile and retail sports betting operators in the state. The report unveils the figures for April, showing a drastic decrease in the betting handle when compared to a month earlier.

The new report shows that the total sports betting handle, including retail and mobile betting, hit $520,576,451 in April. This result, when compared to the nearly $740 million in betting handle reported a month earlier, in March, showed a significant decrease for Ohio. The result from this April was the worst one for the year so far, followed by the $639 million in sports betting wagers figure from February.

In contrast, for the first full month of legal betting action in Ohio, in January, the betting handle surpassed the billion-dollar mark by hitting $1.1 billion. Comparison to the figure from April shows that the betting handle plummeted by more than 50%.

A breakdown of the $520.6 million in betting handle reveals that the majority of the wagers were placed via mobile service providers. The lion’s share of the betting handle in April, or some $505.6 million, came from mobile betting activities, while retail outlets saw only $14.9 million in betting handle.

Based on those results, retail sportsbooks saw $1.5 million in revenue, while mobile sports betting operators reported $62.2 million in revenue for April. Not unexpectedly, those results marked a decrease when compared to the revenues reported in March. For comparison, in March, retail betting operators reported $2.8 million in revenue, while mobile sportsbooks saw $92.3 million in revenue.

FanDuel and DraftKings Remain at the Helm of Mobile Betting

According to the Commission’s latest figures, two mobile betting operators dominated the market in April. Those operators are FanDuel and DraftKings and their strong presence in the state comes as no surprise, considering that they are at the helm of betting activities around the US as well.

Although the results were close, FanDuel’s betting handle was slightly higher than the one reported by DraftKings. Overall, FanDuel’s betting handle was $184.6 million, compared to $161.2 million reported by DraftKings. The results represented $28 million and $17.2 million in revenue for FanDuel and DraftKings respectively.

This April, BetMGM performed well too with $38.1 million in betting handle, followed by bet365 with $36.9 million in reported betting handle. Caesars Sportsbook saw $27.5 million in betting handle, while Barstool recorded $23.5 million for April.

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