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The chairman of state-owned Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) on Wednesday denied allegations made by an owner of US-based casino giant Wynn Resorts that he had received undue perks and favors from a Japanese businessman.

Cristino Naguiat Jr., also the Pagcor CEO, said his name was being dragged into a boardroom fray between two gaming magnates.

Naguiat said he did not receive a pricey Chanel bag meant for his wife from pachinko tycoon Kazuo Okada during a visit to Macau in September 2010.

He acknowledged that he found a Chanel bag delivered to his room after his return from one of his business meetings, but said that he returned it promptly to his hosts.

Naguiat explained that he had casually told his liaison鈥攐ne of Okada鈥檚 staffers鈥� that he wanted to surprise his wife with a Chanel bag and was astonished to find one delivered to his room later on.

鈥淚 was there to meet officials of Wynn Resorts and Mr. Okada was the vice chairman of Wynn,鈥� Naguiat said in an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer. 鈥淢aybe the staffer was just trying to impress his guests. In any case, I had the bag returned immediately.鈥�

The allegation about Naguiat receiving the bag in return for favors to Okada鈥攁n investor in Pagcor鈥檚 $4-billion Entertainment City project鈥攚as contained in a report prepared by a former Federal Bureau of Investigation director, Louis Freeh.

The investigation was commissioned by Wynn Resorts, whose owner has had a public falling out with Okada, his former partner.

鈥淚鈥檓 the victim of a boardroom battle between giants,鈥� Naguiat said, adding that he is being used by one side as ammunition against the other. 鈥淭his is a fight between giants.鈥�

US lawsuit

Okada was accused on Tuesday in a US lawsuit of paying off Philippine regulators and cheating his powerful Las Vegas partner, Wynn Resorts chief executive Steve Wynn.

In the lawsuit, Wynn Resorts said Okada, a director of Wynn, went behind the company鈥檚 back to develop business for his own Universal Entertainment group in the Philippines and broke US laws on foreign bribery.

Wynn said Okada spent more than $110,000 to curry favor with two Philippine officials in apparent violation of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, jeopardizing Wynn鈥檚 own reputation in the process.

鈥淢r. Okada, his associates and companies appear to have engaged in a longstanding practice of making payments and gifts to his two chief gaming regulators at Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., who directly oversee and regulate Mr. Okada鈥檚 provisional licensing agreement to operate in that company,鈥� the lawsuit said.

The suit, filed in a Las Vegas district court, said Okada had sought a gaming license in the Philippines and made the payments despite Wynn鈥檚 telling him not to do so. It named Naguiat, former Pagcor chairman Efraim Genuino and their families, as the recipients of the payoffs, which dated to 2008.

Okada told a Wynn investigator that he had paid for Genuino鈥檚 trip to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Wynn said.

Wife, kids, nanny

The suit alleged that Naguiat, his wife, three children, nanny and company officials had a five-day trip to Wynn鈥檚 Macau resort in 2010 during which Okada met with the Pagcor chairman to discuss his Manila casino venture.

Okada鈥檚 Universal Entertainment broke ground for its Manila Bay Resorts casino on January 26, promising more than 2,000 guest rooms in three hotels, with the planned opening in the first half of 2014. Universal, through Aruze USA, was one of four winners of provisional gaming licenses awarded by the Philippine government in 2008.

The Japanese gambling tycoon allegedly ordered that Naguiat be given the most expensive accommodations at the resort鈥攁 $6,000-a-night villa normally reserved for high rollers鈥攁s well as use of the casino鈥檚 best butler.

More than $50,000 was spent on Naguiat鈥檚 visit, including about $20,000 in cash given to the Filipino delegation for shopping and gaming, the suit alleged.

Naguiat also requested and received a Chanel designer bag worth 15,000 Macau patacas ($1,878) for his wife, according to the suit.

Malicious

Naguiat鈥攁 friend of President Benigno Aquino III who was actively involved in the 2010 presidential campaign鈥攄ecried the reports about him in the foreign media as 鈥渕alicious.鈥�

Naguiat said that the probe report which mentioned his name as part of the Chanel bag issue was quoted liberally by foreign journalists, while excluding the footnote at the bottom of the page鈥攊n fine print鈥攚hich mentioned that he did, in fact, return the bag.

He said he received reports that at least one of Wynn鈥檚 publicists had called up journalists whom they felt did not press on the Chanel bag issue enough.

Free accommodations

Naguiat did admit, however, that he enjoyed free accommodations at a Wynn Resorts suite in Macau during that visit which was provided by his hosts.

He disputed the $6,000-a-night price tag ascribed to the hotel room, saying the particular suite he stayed in had no published rates as it was used only to accommodate the resort鈥檚 VIP guests.

鈥淵ou can鈥檛 book that room as a walk-in guest even if you wanted to,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o I don鈥檛 know how they got that figure.鈥�

The Pagcor chairman said it was standard operation procedure in the hospitality industry to provide free accommodations to guests invited to engage in official business with their hosts.

鈥淗ere in the Philippines, when we invite guests, we shoulder their accommodations, we assign a car to bring them around and we assign a 24-hour security detail to them if they are VIPs,鈥� he said.

His wife and children paid for their own expenses during that trip, Naguiat said.

He added that he never received the $20,000 expenses supposedly credited to his visit by his hosts, adding that this may have been credited to his room or his liaison, possibly used to acquire the Chanel bag.

鈥楩ight it out鈥�

Naguiat said he had briefed Palace officials about the issue and that he had been advised to 鈥渇ight it out鈥� if he believed that he did not do anything wrong.

Malaca帽ang expressed confidence that Naguiat would be able to clear his name.

鈥�(T)he point really here is, did he benefit personally?鈥� presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda told reporters as he reiterated the Palace stand that it did not see anything wrong with Naguiat鈥檚 acceptance of hotel accommodations from Wynn Resorts as it was industry practice and saved costs for the government.

Lacierda confirmed that Naguiat had arranged a meeting between President Aquino and Steve Wynn but it did not push through. The aborted meeting had to do with a possible business investment, according to Lacierda.

鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing wrong with that. There are many business people who want to inform the President that they are bullish about the Philippines,鈥� Lacierda said. 鈥淭his is not a special case.鈥�

Lacierda said Pagcor was envisioning to build a Pagcor City that was not purely for gambling but also one that would provide entertainment to families.

Pagcor vice president Francis Hernando said the Wynn suit would not adversely affect Okada鈥檚 plans for Manila. 鈥淚t鈥檚 full steam ahead as far as its execution is concerned,鈥� he said.

A member of the House committee on games and amusement found nothing irregular in the accommodations and perks given by Okada to Pagcor officials.

鈥淧agcor is just collateral damage in the corporate dispute between Okada and his partners at Wynn Resorts. I think the two should settle their dispute before Pagcor should entertain their proposal,鈥� Eastern Samar Representative Ben Evardone said in a text message.

Latest step

The suit was the latest step in the acrimonious fight between Steve Wynn and his longtime partner Okada. On Sunday, Wynn鈥檚 board voted to force out Okada, who controls a 20-percent stake in the company, which owns casinos in Las Vegas and Macau.

The board also moved to redeem Okada鈥檚 24 million shares at a 30-percent discount and payable in 10 years, held through Aruze USA Inc., a Universal subsidiary.

In a statement on Sunday, Universal branded the board鈥檚 action outrageous, saying the investigation had been rushed. 鈥淯niversal Entertainment will take all legal actions necessary to protect its investment and prevent a forced redemption of its shares,鈥� it said.

$135-M donation

The row between Wynn and Okada burst into the public spotlight in January, when the Hong Kong-based businessman sued Wynn, intending to gain access to records surrounding a $135-million donation the company made to the University of Macau.

Okada, Wynn Resorts鈥� largest shareholder, sued Wynn Resorts in January for denying him information about the donation, which he called 鈥渋nappropriate.鈥�

The US Securities and Exchange Commission is looking informally into the issue.聽聽 With reports from AFP, Reuters, Christine O. Avenda帽o and Gil C. Cabacungan

Originally posted at 08:57 am | Wednesday, February 22,聽 2012