Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming October 2016 8 Cover Story By Muhammad Cohen | Editor at large Muhammad Cohen also blogs for Forbes on gaming throughout Asia and wrote Hong Kong On Air , a novel set during the 1997 handover about TV news, love, betrayal, high finance and cheap lingerie. W ith Parisian Macao as bookend to its Venetian Macao, Sands China has created a compelling tale of two cities at Cotai’s core. Yet, for Sands China and for Macau, Parisian’s 13 September launch was the best of times, it was the worst of times. With its half-scale Eiffel Tower, The Parisian gives a French twist to Macau’s government-driven transition from a predominantly gaming to a leisure and tourism destination at a time of depressed revenue amid President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign and mainland China’s slowing economic growth. The Parisian completes the string of integrated resorts on Cotai’s main north-south boulevard, filling the final lot granted to Sands China – the trailblazer for development of the once desolate landfill and in diversifying Macau’s appeal beyond gambling. The recent revolution has seen the percentage of non-gaming revenue rise into the high teens at some Sands Cotai resorts as gaming revenue has fallen. Ahead of the US$2.9 billion Parisian’s debut, Macau’s gaming revenue grew in August for the first time in 27 months, but the gain was just 1.1% – perhaps more an indicator of house luck than a harbinger of recovery. That rise followed the opening of Wynn Palace, developed by Wynn Macau and headed by Steve Wynn, the longtime rival of Sands China (and Las Vegas Sands) Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson. After Macau’s first two Cotai openings since 2012 – Galaxy Phase 2 and Studio City – failed to reverse the revenue slump, the uptick was a reminder that new supply once drove Macau’s growth. The flip side is that Cotai has added 8,269 hotels room in French Revelation Completing Sheldon Adelson’s Cotai portfolio, Parisian Macao advances the new mass market tourism paradigm with “affordable luxury” and an instantly recognized landmark.