Inside Asian Gaming

January 2009 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING Speculation is at fever pitch that Harrah’s Entertainment will be a partner in a Taiwan casino resort. It follows remarks by Ashley Hines, president of operations in Taiwan for London-listed AMZ Holdings—which has an 11-hectare parcel of land on the outlying Penghu Islands, one of the prime locations for a casino resort—that AMZ would seek to build up to 500 hotel rooms, at a cost of USD200 million, and link with ‘one of the world’s top five’ casino operators. Among the top five by turnover, Las Vegas Sands Corp. and Wynn Resorts appear to have their hands full with projects in Macau and Las Vegas. MGM MIRAGE recently announced involvement in Vietnam’s Ho Tram Strip scheme to complement its 50 percent stake in MGMGrand Macau. Genting Berhad is busy preparing for the opening of its Resorts World at Sentosa project in Singapore and may also be a player in the Manila Bay project in the Philippines. That leaves Harrah’s as the obvious contender. Harrah’s didn’t just miss the boat in Macau but seemed not to think at the time that the boat was worth boarding. Currently its exposure to the Asian gaming market is a casino-free golf course on Cotai in Macau. Added to that mix are the recent comments of Gary Loveman, chairman and chief executive of Harrah’s. “Taiwan is potentially a terrific market. You have a lot of the same dynamics that you have in Macau: an enormous population both locally and regionally with a strong interest in gaming, and a limited amount of supply,”Mr Loveman was quoted as saying. “No one knows what the tax rate would be and you can’t predict all those things in advance. But you certainly have the right starting conditions,” he added. Inside Asian Gaming is acutely aware that when it comes to speculation on business projects adding two and two doesn’t always make four. We await developments with interest. Harrah’s for Taiwan? the gambling tax rate will be important considerations in deciding the attractiveness of the Taiwan market. Taiwan’s cabinet is reportedly setting up a committee to work out detailed measures stipulating the regulation of gambling, such as the number and size of casinos to be licensed and the minimum capital required for operators. The government of Penghu county is reportedly looking to raise NTD30 billion (USD909 million) from private investors for a scheme there. Two locations—the Houliao Bay area and the Huhsi Port area—are candidate sites. The local authority hopes to have finalised the list of private investors by early 2010, with building work starting in 2011. London-listed AMZ Holdings is a leading contender as either the developer of a project on Penghu or as a key partner in a consortium for a scheme. It has access to an 11-hectare waterside site acquired in 2007 on a speculative basis at a cost of USD10 million. Other contenders interested in developing gaming resorts are a local firm called Great Penghu which has reportedly purchased a nearly five-hectare site for gaming, and the Penghu county government which plans to develop a 40- hectare site. “We’ve wanted to stimulate development of the offshore islands, particularly tourism,” said Chang Sho-wen, the secretary general of the governing KMT’s caucus, in comments reported in the regional media. Casinos could attract half a million tourist visits to the Penghu Islands each year, generating NTD100 billion (USD3 billion) worth of revenues in gambling and tourism, according to an evaluation study prepared by Taiwan’s Council for Economic Planning and Development. Feature A Sure Bet Log onto www.asgam.com for the latest industry intelligence and a subscription to our digital edition — all absolutely free. 39