Today – Australian gambling tycoon and Melco Crown Entertainment co-chairman James Packer said it would cost a minimum of US$5 billion (S$6.2 billion) to develop a casino and resort complex in Japan should the government legalise casino gambling. One of Australia’s richest men, MR Packer is visiting Japan as the country’s parliament is preparing to debate legalising casino gambling, a move that could create a prize market with a wealthy population and proximity to China.“I think realistically that (US$5 billion) would be the lowest possible number. I think the numbers will only go up from there, not down,” Mr Packer…

Galaxy Entertainment Group and Melco Crown Entertainment look best placed to benefit from the next phase of Macau Casinos development as the world’s gambling capital adds eight more mega-casinos by 2017. The expansion will take place in the Chinese territory’s glitzy Cotai Strip and is expected to more than double Macau’s annual gaming revenues to $115 billion in four years, according to research from U.S. brokerage Wells Fargo. Cotai is an area of reclaimed land that is becoming a Las Vegas-style tourist hub with shopping centers, hotels and entertainment to complement the casinos. U.S. billionaire Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands…

247 Wall Street – Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (NASDAQ: MPEL), one of Macau’s biggest casino operators, said profit doubled in the fourth quarter, thanks to its ability to attract so-called premium mass market gamblers. The company is now even moving toward paying its shareholders a dividend. Melco Crown declared a special dividend of $0.34 per American Depositary Receipt (ADR), or $0.115 a share. The company also proposed a dividend policy of 30% of net income. This dividend news has been floated ahead of time by some analysts, but a 30% payout of income initially is strong. The company earned $0.40…