Galaxy Entertainment founder Lui Che Woo dead at 95

Lui Che Woo, founder and chairman of Macau casino operator Galaxy Entertainment Group (GEG), has died. GEG announced his passing on 11 November.

Lui died on 7 November at his home in Hong Kong. In a statement, the company hailed his “vision, tremendous leadership and guidance” in building one of Macau’s premier gaming companies. No cause of death was given.

Reuters called Lui a visionary who “helped Macau eclipse rival Las Vegas in gambling revenues”. He ranks alongside other trailblazers in the market, including Steve Wynn, founder of Wynn Resorts; Sheldon Adelson, founder of the Las Vegas Sands Corp; and Stanley Ho, the father of Macau gaming, who established SJM Holdings in the early 1960s.

Young entrepreneur, diverse interests

Born in Guangdong, China in 1929, Lui moved to Hong Kong at age four. According to Channel News Asia, he began working in food service at 13. Over time, he launched a number of businesses, trading first in heavy machinery and selling quarrying and construction materials. Later, in the 1960s, he began adding hotels to the portfolio.

In 2002, after Macau opened its casino industry to global investment, Lui won one of the first gaming concessions. In 2006, he opened his flagship casino resort, StarWorld, on the Macau peninsula.

According to the company website, Lui’s resort company succeeded by “delivering innovative, spectacular and award-winning properties, products and services”. Its “world-class, ‘Asian Heart’ service philosophy” enabled it to “consistently outperform the market in Macau”.

Galaxy released its third-quarter results on 7 November, posting an 11% increase in net profit over 2023.

In 2011, GEG opened the massive Galaxy Macau on the Cotai Strip. Phase 3 of development, completed in December, added two new hotels and the 40,000sqm Galaxy International Convention Centre. Phase 4 will add 600,000sqm of non-gaming attractions, “primarily… MICE, entertainment [and] family facilities,” according to GEG.

“Significant contributions” to Macau

The Straits Times estimated Lui’s net worth at HK$112.8 billion (£11.4 billion/€13.75 billion/$14.5 billion). He was known for his trademark flat cap and also for his generosity.

In 2015, he established the Lui Che Woo Prize for World Civilisation. Each year, it awards three prizes of HK$20 million each to individuals or organisations that promote “lasting serenity and shared harmony” through sustainable development, “contributions to mankind and promotion of positive life energy”.

Incoming Macau chief executive Sam Hou Fai called Lui “a highly respected entrepreneur and philanthropist.… [We] commend him for his significant contributions to the appropriate and diversified development of the Macau economy over the years.”

GEG said it will appoint a new chairman “in due course”.