Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | May 2008 Asian Gaming Index (AGI) comprised 76 companies as of 21st April 2008, the cut-off date of the data featured herein. To be eligible for inclusion on ESL’s AGI, a security must be publicly listed, i.e., permitted to offer its securities (stock, bonds etc.) for sale to the general public with on average more than 80% of revenues derived from gaming related activities in Asia, excluding New Zealand and Australia. Closed-end funds, convertible debentures, exchange traded funds, preferred stocks, rights, warrants, units and other derivative securities are not included. If at any time a component security no longer meets the above criteria, the security becomes ineligible for inclusion in the Index and is removed. ESL Global Gaming Index (GGI) Since ESL’s GGI for April was compiled, a number of the Macau casino operators on the list—including Las Vegas Sands Corp., MGM Mirage and Wynn Resorts—have seen their shares benefit from ‘the Macau Bounce’. Wynn Resorts rose 7.4%, Las Vegas Sands gained 9.2% and MGM Mirage added 3.4% on news that the Macau government would be capping expansion of Macau’s gaming industry. Before the news, the stocks of operators with Macau interests had experienced subdued trading in the first quarter of 2008 and significant falls in the case of LVS (down 21.6% in the previous 30 days and down 16.7% for the year) and Wynn Resorts (down 10.9% for the month and down 6.5% for the year). This was probably due to the ‘double whammy’ of general credit crunch woes and concern about rising overheads and pressured margins in Macau. Global Gaming Index Period 12 Months Average Return -16.24 Base Currency USD -68% 151% 136% 100% 82% 75% 55% 49% 28% 25% 25% -68% -71% -72% -73% -77% -80% -83% -87% -94% Last 12 Months Top/Bottom 10 Performers in ESL GGI WinWin Gaming Diamond I Inc Fireswirl Tech Betbrokers PLC New Motion Inc Youbet.com PacificNet Inc Miobet AG Neteller PLC CY Foundation 888 Holdings Players Network Gaming VC Hlgds Redbet Holding Boldt SA Tencent Holdings Waltech PLC Boss Media Galileo Holdings Betsson AB Australia’s Crown,a 38% shareholder in Melco PBL Entertainment, a joint Macau venture with Hong Kong-listed Melco International, had already steadied at only 1.2% down for the month, before the positive Macau government announcement. Crown has been significantly discounted since the demerger though, down 22%. Karen Tang, an analyst at Deutsche Bank, said in a research note the move was good news for the existing operators who could potentially have faced fresh competition from a new round of licence issuing within a few years. “We believe this is medium-term positive for Melco and Galaxy as a potential competitive threat is now removed,” she said in the note. Edmund Ho, Macau’s chief executive, said the only exception to the casino moratorium would be for projects that had already been approved or were already in the approval process. No further land would be granted for the building of casinos, “for some time” he added, without explaining exactly what that meant in practice. Some European gaming stocks on the list have also managed to buck the bear. Opap S.A., the operator of the Greek national lottery and football betting games, saw a 13.2% fall in valuation over the past 12 months, linked in part to analysts’ reports questioning high distribution costs seen in Q4 2007.In the last month, though, its stock price rose around 20%, making it one of the GGI’s better performers. Launched on June 6th 2005 with a base value of 1000, The ESL Global Gaming Index (GGI) comprised 271 companies as of 21st April 2008, the cut-off date of the data featured here. To be eligible for inclusion, a security must be publicly listed, that is permitted to offer its securities (stock, bonds, etc.) for sale to the general public significantly involved in gaming related activities. 34 Top Ten Constituents of ESL GGI by Market Cap LAS VEGAS SANDS CORP LVS 23108.61 -16.67% -21.56% MGM MIRAGE MGM 13999.06 -27.05% -22.37% OPAP SA OPAP 12141.19 -13.19% +20.00% TENCENT HOLDINGS LTD 700 12172.40 84.73% +23.80% INT’L GAME TECHNOLOGY IGT 10966.77 -8.08% -24.15% WYNN RESORTS LTD WYNN 10722.37 -6.53% -10.94% GENTING BHD GENT 7526.98 -24.71% +2.41% CROWN LTD CWN 6942.69 -22.63% -1.21% RESORTS WORLD BHD RNB 6375.59 1.80% +7.59% MELCO PBL -ADR MPEL 5423.03 -29.28% +2.67% Name Ticker Price Change Last 12 Months Price Change Last 30 Days Market Cap (USD) ESL Gaming Indices Last Price 1023 High 10/30/07 1346 Low 03/21/08 860 Last 12 Months 2.29% ESL Global Gaming Index (GGI) Oct 2006 Nov 2006 Dec 2006 Jan 2007 Feb 2007 Mar 2007 Apr 2007 Jan 2008 Feb 2008 Mar 2008 Apr 2008 May 2007 Jun 2007 Jul 2007 Aug 2007 Sep 2007 Oct 2007 Nov 2007 Dec 2007 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 Global Online Index Period 1 Month Average Return 6.24 Base Currency USD -38% -30% -29% -27% -26% -23% -17% -13% -11% -10% 22% 22% 23% 23% 34% 35% 43% 52% 55% 99% Last Month Top/Bottom 10 Performers in ESL GGI PacificNet Inc Angelciti Ent Miobet AG Players Network Playsafe Holdings DQE Designed SKRM Interactive Ebet Ltd Betbull PLC WinWin Gaming Scientific Gaming Fortuna Gaming Betsson AB Partygaming PLC Redbet Holding Tencent Holdings Fireswirl Tech Gaming VC Holdings GameKing PLC Big Stick Media

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