Inside Asian Gaming

14 he’s clever enough to realise some products – such as Vegas-style stand-up comedy – won’t work in Macau.He’s gone for safe bets in tune with existing Chinese tastes and culture, in- cluding soccer, basketball, and the circus. LVS pulled off quite a coup in announcing it would bring Manchester United to the Ma- cau Stadium for the inaugural Venetian Ma- cao Cup against the mainland side Shenzhen Xiangxue Eisiti on 23 July (barring any last minute spanner in the works from soccer’s governing body FIFA). Tickets range in price fromMOP300 to MOP900 (US$37 to US$111), but are likely to sell out. LVS has also signed up NBA basketball teams the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Or- lando Magic for a series of exhibition games featuring China’s national team in October. As the lines between gaming and general entertainment become increasingly blurred (to the public if not to the gaming regula- tors), so the synergies between the casino companies and star acts appear to increase. Manchester United, owned by the American businessman Macolm Glazer, may be do- ing itself as well as LVS a favour in coming to Macau. Manchester was recently named by the United Kingdom government as the preferred city for Britain’s first casino resort, and LVS and Man United have been touted as possible partners to bid for such a licence. LVS isn’t the only gaming operator to see the marketing potential of entertainment and sports. Galaxy Entertainment Group, which currently operates five casinos in Macau, is a headline sponsor of the Federation Interna- tionale deVolleyball (FIVB)World Grand Prix to be contested by teams from China, The Neth- erlands, the US and Cuba at the Macau Forum from 17-19 August. The company has been a sponsor for three years and Mr Tavares says it has committed itself to another three years. In November last year, Galaxy organised Macau’s first international Muay Thai kick- boxing tournament, “Fury in Macau - Super Fights.” The second “Super Fights” tourna- ment was held earlier this month at the Ma- cao Dome. Galaxy has also been a headline sponsor of the Macau International Mara- thon, normally held in December. MGMMirage,another major player inMa- cau, also has good contacts in the entertain- ment and sport industries. Its majority share- holder Kirk Kerkorian is the former owner of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studios – still a big player in US film and television though now controlled by Sony and Comcast. Ac- cording to The Las Vegas Sun reporter Rob Miech, Kerkorian is a good friend of Andre Agassi’s family, and the retired tennis pro’s charitable foundation attracts many mem- bers A-list celebrities, including Elton John, Celine Dion and Arnold Schwarzenegger, to its fund raising events. LVS, however, is first to market in Macau in offering integrated entertainment. By holding events at its own property, starting in the third quarter of this year, it will have total control over the physical environment and get the chance to integrate its marketing effort at every level of the process. Buying in the right ‘software’ in order to sell seats is just the start. Having attracted a target audience of affluent people, LVS will be able tomaximise the opportunities of market- ing to them. This includes exposure to spon- sors’ brand messages at the venue, merchan- dising at the venue and information about and directions to other entertainment op- tions such as shopping and dining before and after the event. For those not lucky or wealthy enough to get a ticket,there’s the likelihood of television coverage to a wider audience with all the free publicity and aspirational lifestyle messages this can deliver. Throw into the mix world class infrastructure promised by theMa- entertained, and more about how to tweak the software to their tastes. The imminent arrival of eSun on Macau’s entertainment scene as a partner in Macao Studio City – scheduled to open its event centre and theatre in the first quarter 2009 – should have a major impact on localising content for a Chinese audience. The conglomerate has a huge range of Chinese-language media investments that should prove a huge winner both for eSun and its gaming partner Melco-PBL Entertain- ment. The list includes: three talent manage- ment firms directing the careers of 32 lead- ing Asian stars (one business a joint venture with Hong Kong-Hollywood crossover star Jackie Chan); two concert and live events companies, one of them responsible for 70% of the Hong Kong music concert market; a re- cord company with an exclusive distribution deal for pop star Andy Lau’s music; a major advertising and communications firm, and a Singapore-listed film production company which claims it wins an average annual 35% share of Hong Kong box office revenues. Mr Adelson may not know the language or completely understand the culture, but The Macau Grand Prix