What happened to global gambling capital Macau while its most infamous gangster was in prison

The Macau gangster known as “Broken Tooth,” once accused of planning to kill the police chief of the city that turned into the world’s biggest casino hub, was released after more than 14 years in prison. Wan Kuok-koi was convicted of loan sharking and triad membership in 1999, a year after he was arrested for an investigation into a car bomb attack on then police chief Antonio Marques Baptista. He was freed around 7 a.m. local time today, Stephen Fok, Macau Prison’s media relations officer, said in a telephone interview. During Wan’s time in jail, Macau’s annual casino revenue surged to 268 billion patacas ($34 billion), more than five times that of the Las Vegas Strip, boosted by the entry of foreign players including Las Vegas Sands Corp. and Wynn Resorts Ltd. The U.S. operators will probably stay away from Wan should he return to running a junket operator, which brings high-stakes gamblers to casinos, said Gabriel Chan, an analyst at Credit Suisse Group. “They will be under greater scrutiny and closely watched given his high profile,” said Chan, who expects Macau casino revenue to grow to as much as $38 billion this year, before Wan’s release. “There’s too much money at stake. If I were another junket, I’d do my best to stop him messing things up.” A week before Wan’s release, one of his former lieutenants was arrested, the Macau Daily Times reported. “The arrest of Broken Tooth’s f