The head of SJM, Stanley Ho, is recovering from injuries suffered nearly four months ago and subsequent surgeries, according to his son Lawrence, chairman of Melco Crown Entertainment.

"Hopefully, some time soon he can come out of the hospital," Lawrence Ho told Bloomberg TV. "It's been a few months since his accident. He had two pretty big surgeries." Ho didn't specify what the surgeries were.

Investors in Ho's SJM are nervously awaiting his return, since he did not specify a successor.

"It's quite abnormal for Dr. Ho to stay behind the scenes for such a long time," Steven Leung, a stock analyst in Hong Kong, said.

No member of the Ho family will confirm reports that he had fallen and been admitted to the hospital for brain surgery. But spokeswoman Janet Wong denied in an email statement last August that Ho had suffered a stroke. 

By GGB Staff

Staff writers for Global Gaming Business magazine. Las Vegas, Nevada.