Mississippi gaming regulator renews Okada’s license amid FBI probe

BILOXI, Miss. — Japanese slot machine tycoon Kazuo Okada had his license renewed on Thursday by Mississippi’s state gaming regulator, but with a newly added condition that an ongoing FBI investigation related to his Philippines casino project is resolved without charges against him.

The Mississippi Gaming Commission voted to approve Okada’s “suitability” status, which had come up for a review after nine years. The commission, which oversees casinos in the state, also approved the license of Aruze Gaming America, Okada’s slot machine subsidiary.

The open-door hearing was the first known public appearance by Okada in the United States since the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2012 launched an investigation into $40 million in payments made to an associate of the Philippines’ gaming regulator as Okada’s company was seeking tax and ownership concessions for a $2 billion casino he is building on Manila Bay.

Okada and his companies, including the Tokyo-based Universal Entertainment Corp, have denied the payments were used for bribery.

Okada told the commission that the media, including Reuters and Japan’s Asahi Shimbun newspaper, had incorrectly portrayed him as “a bad guy” in reports on the payments.

“I’m not involved in any bribery,” Okada barked at reporters after the hearing, which was held at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi, adding that he did not want to answer their questions until they apologized to him.

Commissioner Wally Carter assured Okada that the Mississippi commission had made its decision based on its own investigation, which included sending agents to Tokyo last year, and not on press reports.

But the addition of a clause that spells out how Okada’s suitability would come up for review for possible revocation if the FBI’s investigation and other probes are not resolved satisfactorily underscores growing concerns in regulatory circles over the allegations against the 72-year-old billionaire.

“We added an additional condition based on the investigation that is going on,” Allen Godfrey, executive director of the Mississippi Gaming Commission, told Reuters after the hearing. “The allegation is very concerning to me, but until there is something I can hang my hat on, I can’t act.”

When the California Gaming Control Commission approved Aruze Gaming America for a two-year license in April 2013, a few days after the U.S. Department of Justice first disclosed its investigation into Okada, it did so without special conditions, a recording of that hearing shows. That license is up for review next month.

Okada has sued Reuters in Tokyo for defamation based on its reporting on the payments. A Reuters spokeswoman said the company stands by its reporting.