Golden Triangle Casino Baron Bankrolls New Mekong River Port
A sanctioned Chinese casino magnate is backing the construction of a new international port on the Mekong River in Laos, adjacent to his Golden Triangle gambling and tourism complex.
Zhao Wei, the chairman of the Kings Romans Group, broke ground on the $50 million port development in a ceremony on October 3, which was attended by Laos’ Deputy Prime Minister Bounthong Chitmany, according to local media reports.
Zhao and Kings Romans control the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (GTSEZ), a palm-studded gambling and tourism fief that sprawls along the Mekong at the point where the borders of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand converge. Dominated by the classical statuary and giant golden crown of the Kings Romans Casino, the GTSEZ has been set up to attract tourists and pleasure seekers from China, where gambling is banned outside Macao.
Sebastian Strangio
