Inside Asian Gaming

41 40 Regional Briefs MSC Secures US$1.2 Billion Loan Macao Studio City’s developers announced they had just obtained a US$1.2 billion syndicated loan to fund the resort’s construction. Deutsche Bank AG and Morgan Stanley arranged the loan, the re- sort said in a statement. David Friedman, co-chairman of the resort, said it is looking to borrow another US$500 million from the two banks. Hong Kong-listed eSun Holdings Ltd. and U.S.-based New Cotai LLC. each hold 40% of the joint venture that owns Macao Studio City. Singapore property developer CapitaLand Ltd owns the re- maining 20%. Macao Studio City will team up with Taubman Asia, a unit of US- based retail mall developer Taubman Centers Inc., to develop the retail space. Melco PBL Entertainment (Macau) Ltd will manage the casino. Marriott Coming to Macau Marriott International Inc announced that a 968-room Marriott-brand- ed hotel will be part of the mixed-use Macao Studio City complex. The property will be Marriott’s first branded hotel in Macau. The Macao Studio City Marriott Hotel will open in 2009.The hotel will include a private executive level lounge, resort-style swimming pool, fitness center, children’s club and game room and access to a spa. It will also contain a casual restaurant, specialty restaurant, lobby lounge and bar and a pool bar. The 4 million sq.ft Macao Studio City development will be located on a 33-acre site on the Cotai Strip. The first phase of the resort’s construction began early this year and is scheduled to be completed by 2009. The gross floor area of the resort’s first phase will be 3.7 million sq. ft, including 1 million sq. ft of retail and studio space, 2,000 hotel rooms, and a 200,000-sq. ft casino.The property will also house a stand-alone television and film production facility. Packer Gets Focused on Gaming James Packer, Australia’s richest man, is also in talks to sell more of his Nine television network and magazines to the buyout firm CVC Asia Pacific, giving up control of the media empire his father built to focus on gaming. Hong Kong-based CVC is taking advantage of the government’s decision to abolish limits on foreign ownership in Aus- tralian media companies. Packer’s PBL announced it may sell a further 25% stake in PBL Me- dia to CVC. No agreement has yet been reached. A sale may give Packer more money to fund his global gaming ex- pansion, which he embarked on after agreeing to sell his media unit into the venture with CVC for US$3.7 billion in October. Nine, which aired Australia’s first television show in 1956, was Ker- ry Packer’s most prized asset. He turned it into Australia’s top-ranked channel by signing up stars and starting his own cricket competition with the world’s top players after being rebuffed in an attempt to buy broadcast rights. Today, the network is in danger of losing its title as the country’s most-watched to Seven Network, which has won viewers with the US drama “Desperate Housewives” and the celebrity talent quest “Danc- ing with the Stars.” PBL also recently announced plans to split into separate gaming and media companies. Packer’s family company, Consolidated Press Holdings, which owns 37% of PBL, will keep the same level of interest in the two new companies. Venetian Builds a Better MICE Trap The Venetian Macau Resort Hotel continues to book meeting, incen- tive, convention and exhibition (MICE) business at a rapid clip, inking several prominent tradeshows over the past fewweeks.The Las Vegas Sands Corp mega-resort, scheduled to open this summer, now has commitments from more than 20 tradeshow organizers to produce 44 events over the next two years. The varied tradeshows feature a cross-section of business sectors and will generate a significant number of hotel room nights for the property, including tens of thousands in just the first few months af- ter the opening of the property. “The momentum our MICE team has been experiencing is incred- ible and the current demand is far beyond our expectations,” said William P.Weidner, president and chief operating officer of Las Vegas Sands Corp.“Bringing an entirely new approach to the MICE industry in Asia has definitely paid off as trade show organizers recognize our team’s experience and our one-of-a kind integrated resort that will allow these shows to attract attendees.” Recent shows booked by The Venetian Macau include: the ISSA/ InterClean show, which was previously held in Shanghai; the World Tobacco Show, which was previously held in Bali; and the Interna- tional Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions Asia Expo, an event being held this year in Bangkok. Other significant trade shows previously announced by The Venetian Macao include the Asian Au- tomotive Aftermarket Products Expo, CMP Asia Jewelry and Watch Show, the Global Gaming Expo Asia, Motor World Macau and the Hong Kong Jewelry Manufacturers Exhibition. Separately, The Venetian Macau has already signed contracts for 20 corporate meetings to be held within the first four months of opening. Among the distinguished organizations selecting the prop- erty areMcDonalds,Deloitte,Uniflair,Johnson & Johnson,MassMutual Asia, Shanghai Xing Tai Real Estate Development, Japan Agricultural Association, Nissan Motors and Hagemeyer. The Venetian Macau will be one of the largest hotel resorts in Asia when completed, featuring 3,000 all-suite rooms, 1.2 million square feet of meeting,convention and exhibition space,a 15,000-seat arena, and an impressive array of dining, shopping, and recreation options. The facility will also serve as the anchor of the Cotai Strip, a master planned development of resort and casino properties. —Paul Doocey PBL/Tattersall’s Eye Tabcorp Overseas Operators A statement by Tabcorp that it had not been approached about a possible takeover has done little to quash speculation of a bid by a consortium including the Packer family’s Publishing and Broadcast- ing Ltd. (PBL), Macquarie Bank and possibly Tattersall’s. In the weeks following the removal of former Chief Executive Matthew Slatter in March, Tabcorp shares rose almost 10% on large trading volumes. PBL and Tattersall’s have both recently joined with Macquarie Bank in making overseas acquisitions and Tabcorp with its mix of casinos, poker machines, race wagering and lotto businesses would be attractive to all three groups. All three companies are not sitting on their hands while wait- ing for the Tabcorp situation to sort itself out, however. Tattersall’s, along with Macquarie, recently moved on UK gaming operation Ta- larius, which operates 197 venues with 9,500 gaming machines. In a separate move, PBL recently entered the United States casino market, with a US$250 million stake in Fontainebleau Resorts. The company bought a 19.6% stake in the Fontainebleau, which is developing a US$2.8 billion resort on the Las Vegas Strip and also owns the Fon- tainebleau Resort at Miami Beach.The Las Vegas resort is expected to open in 2009 on a site formerly occupied by the El Rancho and Algiers gaming properties. PBL has also announced a joint venture with Mac- quarie Bank to buy Canadian gaming operator Gateway Casinos, in a deal valued at almost US$1.2 billion. Gateway operates nine casinos in Western Canada. The Fontainebleau and Gateway moves signal that PBL and Ex- ecutive Chairman James Packer are ready to become a major player in the international gaming market. Apart from its interests in Aus- tralia, PBL also has plans for several casinos in Macau in association with Melco International, and has a joint venture operation in the United Kingdom that may bid on several open casino licenses. The company is cash-rich following the injection of more than US$3.7 billion into the company after the spin-off of some media assets last October. Stanley Ho Gets a Throne Macau casino mogul Stanley Ho, paid HK$13.8 million (US$1.8 mil- lion) for an imperial throne at an auction in Hong Kong that Christie’s said was the highest ever bid in that art category. Ho made the winning bid by telephone for the gilt-incised, five- panel, lacquer throne dating from the reign of the Qing Dynasty em- peror Kangxi (1662-1722). He plans to display the throne at his new Grand Lisboa casino, which opened in Macau in February. Ho ranked number 104 on Forbes’list of billionaires this year, with a fortune estimated at US$7 billion. Tennis Showdown in Macau World tennis number one Roger Federer will play against Pete Sam- pras in an exhibition match in Macau – branded as The Venetian Ma- cao Tennis Showdown and held in The Venetian’s arena – on Novem- ber 24. The two players only faced each other once on the ATP Tour when Federer won 3-1 at Wimbledon in 2001.The Swiss Federer is 26-years- old, while Sampras, the former world number 1, is now 36. “Pete invited Roger to his home early this year and Roger stayed there for two days,” said Nick Freyer, senior vice president of the event’s organizer IMG Tennis Asia.“They played tennis together and the results were close. So they decided to play again publicly.” “For us to play each other while I am still young enough to play very competitively is truly special,” said Sampras in a statement.“I am not playing for the title, I am playing for interest.” Federer, for his part, said“to play against Pete is a dream come true.”