PETALING JAYA, Malaysia – The chairman of Leicester City Football Club has won £2.5 million (S$4.9 million) at Leicester’s Genting Casino two days after his club seized the Premier League title for the first time in its 132-year history.
Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, 58, was reported by the Daily Mail to have made his winnings at the card tables on Wednesday night.
It was reported that Vichai is planning to buy each of his title-winning squad a £32,000 Mercedes-Benz, which would be covered by winnings at the casino tables.
Vichai, who is ranked by Forbes as Thailand’s fourth richest man, has a fortune of US$3.2 billion (S$4.36 billion) since 1989 when he set up a Thai handicrafts store, the first in his King Power business empire.
This was followed by his purchase of a 6,000-square-foot duty-free concession at Bangkok’s Don Mueang airport in 1995, making his company the first private entity to sell duty free items at the airport.
He was able to expand his empire 11 years later with the opening of Bangkok’s new Suvarnabhumi Airport in 2006, when he landed an exclusive 290,000-square-foot duty free contract.
It has also been reported that Vichai’s King Power International Group is eyeing the takeover of Asia Aviation, the operator of budget airline Thai AirAsia.
Reuters, AFP, TNP
