Macau News Agency<\/em> that he was grateful to the court for recognizing his client\u2019s innocence.<\/p>\n\u201cIt took many years for the case to come to trial, but we never doubted he would be acquitted,\u201d said Goldstein.<\/p>\n
The defense argued that Phua had been in the rooms at the Wynn Macau by chance, arriving for a meeting on a potential business project just minutes before the police raid.<\/p>\n
On delivering his verdict, the judge said the Public Prosecution Office had failed to prove that the computers and papers seized from the rooms — which contained information on bets on soccer matches — belonged to the defendants. Moreover, police were unable to provide any evidence linking Phua\u2019s phone or computer records to illegal betting activity.<\/p>\n
The prosecution has 20 days to appeal the verdict.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
High-stakes poker player Paul Phua has been acquitted by a court in Macau on charges of running an illegal World Cup betting ring, just as he was four years ago in Las Vegas. On Tuesday, the Macau Court of First Instance cleared the Malaysian billionaire and former junket operator, along with 14 others, of operating […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":99413,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,11,60,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Poker Player Paul Phua Beats Illegal Gambling Rap in Macau<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n