Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming October 2017 22 MC: What makes Vietnam attractive to Caesars? ST: One, locals have a strong proclivity to gamble. You see it in all forms of gambling, either outside of the existing borders or in other forms of gambling around the World Cup or whatever it might be. Two, the growing demography and their growing population, their interest in the gaming industry and, for the tourist market, of course their proximity to China and North Asia and the growing tourism coming to Vietnam from Southeast Asia and really throughout the world. Their tourism is growing very significantly. They are certainly an appealing destination. MC: Is Caesars open to partnering with Vietnamese? ST: We will absolutely consider joint ventures with Vietnamese partners and we’ve been in discussions with several. MC: What about Australia? Queensland has an IR license available. ST: Our objective is to expand Caesars’ presence, as we have in the US, in all sort of markets. Queensland is another market that we are exploring and continue to explore. If there was the right opportunity there and the market supported an additional integrated resort, that’s a place that we will continue to explore. INSIGHTS MC: What about the IR project Caesars proposed for Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport? ST: The government decided that they want to reserve the land at the airport for expansion opportunities, so if we ended up in Manila it wouldn’t be at the airport. The biggest issue right now is [Philippine regulator] Pagcor’s concern that the market and the existing operators, those who invested in the integrated resorts, need to stabilize before they offer another license. I think it will take some time for that, for the government to get comfortable with an additional license. MC: If there are additional Manila licenses, would Caesars be interested? ST: It has some potential, it’s building critical mass. It’s well positioned if the government continues to reform. Pagcor is talking about selling off their commercial facilities which then prevents the conflicts of interest which concern a lot of the compliance groups about investing in the market. If they can get through all of that and you comfort those groups that are investigating opportunities in the Philippines from the compliance perspectives, then I think it could be interesting. MC: Any Caesars interest in buying Pagcor’s casinos? ST: Not at this time. Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino is one of 11 Las Vegas Strip properties operated by Caesars