Inside Asian Gaming

O 14 fficial data confirmed earlier press reports that Macau gaming revenues grew 45% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2007. More importantly, mass market growth re- vived from 10% in the fourth quarter of 2006 to 32% in the first quarter of ’07 – the fastest rate of growth on record. This proves concerns about sluggish growth of this high- margin segment are overblown. Wynn and Galaxy improving market share According to a trade magazine, Wynn and Galaxy managed to grab a greater share of the market in the first quarter of 2007 de- spite the opening of SJM’s Grand Lisboa in February. The respective market shares by operator were 46% at SJM, 18% at Las Vegas Sands Corp, 21% at Galaxy Entertainment Group, 15% at Wynn, and 1% at Melco PBL Entertainment. Given Macau added 80% more tables to a total of 2,970 in the first Macau 1Q Trends As Deutsche Bank’s Karen Tang reports, 1Q 2007 data shows concerns of a mass market slowdown are overblown quarter, average daily table win was diluted to a blended average of US$8,000 per table (VIP tables at US$27,000; mass tables at US$2,900). Australia > China > Hong Kong > India > Macau Malaysia > New Zealand > PNG > Singapore > UK > USA Lachlan Sloan Chief Executive Officer t +852 3473 3111 f +852 3473 3100 e [email protected] Liviano Lacchia Director, Managed Services t +852 3473 3111 f +852 3473 3100 e [email protected] Find relief - Outsource your HR Administration Around the world, companies seeking competitive advantage are outsourcing non-strategic HR processes. Talent2, Asia Pacific’s first end-to-end Human Resources Outsourcing (HRO) solutions business, is a proven outsourcing specialist who transforms and manages HR processes and technology so you can focus on what really matters. No other company can claim to have the breadth of services offered by Talent2 within the Asia Pacific region, including Talent Acquisition Management (RPO), Payroll and HRIS Outsourcing, Competency Assessments and eLearning Management. The value we add: Talent Acquisition Management (TAM) > Over 7,500 hires through TAM in Asia Pacific > 10-30% reduction for time-to-fill > 10-30% reduction for cost-per-hire > Positive measurable impact on retention Payroll & HRIS Technology Solutions > Over 20 years payroll experience > Over 2,500 Payroll clients > 1,000,000 pays per month > Servicing 8 countries across Asia Pacific If you would like to know more about the competitive advantage we offer, please visit our website at www.talent2.com or contact: Lotus Bridge opening should relieve bottleneck Mass gaming revenue grew 32% year-on- year in the first quarter of 2007, outpacing the 23% year-to-date growth of visitor ar- rivals in February, suggesting the visitors are spending more in casinos. This might be ex- plained by the shift in mix towards Chinese visitors (+37 basis points year-on-year). The infrastructure bottleneck could pose a risk to growth, though thankfully, the government appears committed to addressing the situa- tion. The expanded immigration checkpoint at the Lotus Bridge in Cotai re-opened on May 1, in time for the Golden Week holiday (May 1-6). The re-opened checkpoint has a capacity for 26 million visitors, compared to the 13 million arrivals that came through the Peninsula border last year. VIP segment buoyed by Chinese stock markets VIP revenue remained strong, +50% year- on-year in the first quarter of 2007 as the Shanghai Index reached an all-time high (+19% quarter-on-quarter in 1Q‘07).Growth in the under-penetrated slots segment re- mained explosive (+72% year-on-year) in this segment. 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% -20% Macau gaming revenues by segment 17% -9% -6% 24% 11% 24% 9% 14% 27% 3% 66% 10% 50% 32% VIP yoy Mass Market yoy Galaxy StarWorld main gaming hall