Online poker billionaire Mark Scheinberg is in advanced talks to buy the owner of Michelin-starred London restaurant Hakkasan, according to reports.
Scheinberg - who co-founded PokerStars in 2001 - is the leading candidate to acquire the Tao Group, which owns Yauatcha and Hakkasan in London, as well as a number of restaurants in New York, Las Vegas, Chicago, Los Angeles, Singapore and Dubai.
The original Hakkasan in Hanway Place, which opened in 2001, has held a Michelin star for 20 years and the group opened a second site under the same name in Mayfair in 2010, which itself has held a Michelin star since 2012. Yauatcha Soho opened in 2004, with the City location in Broadgate Circle in 2015.
Tao Group is currently owned by Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corporation, the firm that owns New York’s famous sports and entertainment venue. MSG Entertainment said in February that it was looking at a sale of Tao.
Scheinberg’s investment vehicle Mohari would make the bid for the Hakkasan owner.
Scheinberg co-founded Pokerstars with his father Isai, who later pled guilty to illegal gambling offenses related to PokerStars’ operations in the US.
They sold PokerStars to Canadian investment group Amaya in 2014. Amaya later rebranded as The Stars Group, acquired Sky Bet and merged with Paddy Power owner Flutter to create the world’s biggest online gambling business.
