Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming October 2014 42 Job Actions Hit Three Macau Operators Disgruntled dealers used the busy Golden Week holiday to call attention to their demands for better pay and benefits by staging mass sick-outs at MGM Macau and at casinos operated by SJM Holdings and Galaxy Entertainment Group. In the latest display of growing labor unrest in the Chinese casino hub, up to 800 croupiers participated in the job action, which began 3rd October at noon and included sick leaves and working to rule, said Cloee Chao, secretary-general of the union Forefront of Macau Gaming. The protests continued the following day with similar slowdowns and additional sick-outs. Casino workers have held at least eight public protests this year to call attention to management policies and pay scales they consider unfair and inadequate. Union leaders also have met with government officials to voice their complaints. Last month, about 1,000 SJM dealers, most at the company’s flagship, Grand Lisboa, showed up late for shifts and refused to work overtime in a bid to bring management to the bargaining table. Labor leaders had threatened to strike Grand Lisboa during Golden Week, which began 1st October, China’s National Day, and concluded 6th October. The walk-out didn’t happen, but it got the attention of the authorities. Five union leaders, including Ms Chao, later were summoned for questioning by police and subsequently charged with “aggravated disobedience” in connection with an August protest march that reportedly drew more than 1,000 dealers and other front-line workers. Casino Advocates Look to Vietnam’s Islands A casino could be coming to Vietnam’s largest island. The Politburo, the ruling Communist Party’s top policy- making body, has signed off on the idea, at least in principle, that ongoing development at Phu Quoc island in the Mekong Delta could include resort-scale gaming. This is according to the newspaper Tien Phong , which reports that Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung is also pushing the island’s potential as a tourism and international trade hub. Phu Quoc is reported to have one of the best beaches in the country and last year welcomed 430,000 tourists, a 32% increase over 2010. The island has enjoyed average economic growth of 25% a year during the last decade, and infrastructure has progressed rapidly to accommodate it. More than 200 development projects have been approved for the island, encompassing 4,850 hectares and representing VND135 trillion in investment (US$63 million), according to the head of the Kien Giang provincial government. Local investment interests are also touting the potential of a small island group off the central coast, Ly Son in Quang Ngai province, as a gaming and tourist destination. “I believe that Ly Son can become the silver island of the central region in the near future,” said Tran Bac Ha, chairman of the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam. REGIONAL BRIEFS Ly Son and its 69-hectare sister island of Be recently were connected to the national power grid, reports Thanh Nien News , which quoted Mr Tran from a speech he delivered at a conference in Hanoi recently attended by Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. Tiny Be island, specifically, “should be set aside for a high- end entertainment area with five star hotels and casinos to attract tourists for long holiday visits,” Mr Tran said. Thanh Nien said Mr Nguyen planned to submit the proposal to the central government. The two islands total about 10 square kilometers combined and are home to a small population of mostly fishermen and farmers. Abe, LDP Pushing for Passage of Casino Bill A leader of the casino push in Japan’s National Diet says he expects the legalization bill supported by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to pass during the current special session, paving the way for a possible opening of the first gaming resorts in time for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, whose governor opposes them. Mr Abe, who visited Singapore’s casinos in May, has said his Liberal Democratic Party is looking to clear the bill in the autumn session, which concludes on 30th November. Koichi Hagiuda, an aide to Mr Abe and secretary-general of the Diet caucus backing the bill, told Bloomberg the plan is to secure approval in the House of Representatives, where the LDP holds a solid majority, “in the first half of October,” then move toward winning over the upper House of Councilors, where the LDP and its coalition partners are less dominant. “The government is preparing for this with great drive,” he said. The bill was introduced last December, reportedly with cross- party and opposition support, but stalled during the Diet’s regular Phu Quoc island