Elderly Macau gambling mogul Stanley Ho has been hospitalized for an injury suffered when he was undergoing a procedure to relieve constipation, Hong Kong newspapers reported. Apple Daily quoted one of the 85-year-old Ho’s wives, Ina Chan, as saying his rectum was hurt when he was being treated in Thailand.

“I don’t know who was so careless, injuring his rectum when relieving the constipation,” it quoted Chan as saying.

Ming Pao Daily News quoted another one of Ho’s wives, Angela Leong, as saying Ho was recovering well. “Thanks for your concern. There isn’t a problem at all,” she said.

Ming Pao said its reporter could hear Ho talking loudly in the background.

The newspaper said Ho had been hospitalized at Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital, and cited Chan as saying he was expected to be discharged in one or two days.

The hospital declined comment. A spokeswoman for Ho didn’t immediately return a reporter’s phone call.

Stanley Ho held the gambling monopoly in the southern Chinese enclave of Macau until 2002, when the government opened up the industry to foreign operators.

Las Vegas competitors such as Steve Wynn and Sheldon Adelson have entered the market, but Ho continues to dominate.

His business empire controls land, hotels, 17 casinos, and a helicopter and ferry service that keeps visitors coming. Forbes magazine estimated his wealth at $6.5 billion, making him the world’s 84th richest person.