People familiar with the situation described movement on arranging and structuring the share sale expected in June as "still in the very early stages."

Setting the table for the application, Ho earlier this month resigned as chairman and executive director of Melco International Development, an ostensibly rival Hong Kong-listed gaming company run by son Lawrence Ho, to comply with stock-exchange conflict-of- interest rules. Stanley Ho maintained his 12 percent stake in Melco. His son , who took on the vacated roles in addition to his role as managing director, owns 44 percent.

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SJM, the largest casino operator in Macau, was set up in 2002, just before the government granted gaming licences to overseas companies, breaking Ho's 40 year monopoly of the former Portuguese territory's gambling sector. His Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes (SDTM) - which had held the sole Macau gaming license until 2002 - owns 80 percent of SJM, while Shun Tak Holdings, also controlled by Ho, owns 12.6 percent.

The Lisboa, the largest in the Ho family stable of 16 casinos, was the premier gambling destination in Macau before being eclipsed by the Sands casino, opened by Las Vegas magnate Sheldon Adelson two years ago. Macau's gaming revenue rose 11 percent to US$5.6 billion (HK$43.68 billion) last year.

SJM and partners have announced plans to spend over HK$11 billion in hotel-casino and entertainment construction projects through 2009, including the HK$3 billion Grand Lisboa, next door to the older casino. With phase one scheduled to open later this year, the project consists of a 650-room hotel and eight floors of casinos, restaurants and shops.

But SJM is facing heated competition. Adelson's under-construction Venetian Macau casino resort is expected to cost HK$13.6 billion while Wynn resorts has invested HK$5.5 billion in the first phase of a 600-room hotel and gaming complex set to open in the third quarter of this year. Wynn will spend another HK$2.7 billion on the second phase of the project, slated to open in 2007.

Galaxy StarWorld casino and hotel, set to open later this year, will cost HK$1.83 billion.

SJM was deprived of hefty licensing revenues earlier this month when Australia's Publishing & Broadcasting and Melco bought a casino license from Las Vegas gaming company Wynn Resorts for US$900 million. The two companies had planned to outsource gambling operations on two hotel- casino complexes, Crown Macau and City of Dreams, to SJM.