Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | May 2009 12 Battle of Cotai How will Crown Towers shape up against Las Vegas Sands’ VIP offer? D espite MPEL’s decision not to unveil its premium VIP gaming rooms on the media tour, Greg Hawkins, President of City of Dreams, gave Inside Asian Gaming a detailed description of what high rollers at Crown Towers can expect. “Our customers staying in a suite or villa in the property will get the VIP lift down to the gaming levels in Crown Towers,” explained Mr Hawkins. “On levels 25, 26 and 27 of Crown Towers, we’ve purposefully designed the VIP gaming areas at a level of privacy, luxury and opulence which would make a VIP player feel ‘This is one of the better environments for me to game in’. So the use of design features and leather and posh carpets and gold leaf ceilings and chandeliers are the kind of elements that are important to give it [the VIP gaming area] that type of sought-after symbolism. We balance that with the service experience which has to be as good as anything in the market, to make sure that kind of customer is satisfied,” he added. Luxury Mr Hawkins stressed that exclusive feel would extend to the way the gaming tables themselves are laid out at Crown Towers. “They [the gaming rooms] are predominantly salons, so you can think of it as like a private room with one or two tables in them.” MPEL is confident that the strength of the Crown brand and the brands of the other hotel partners at City of Dreams will guarantee City of Dreams success in an extremely competitive environment. “I think the key to VIP business really is relationship management. As you build a team of sales and marketing personnel, the quality of them and their experience really does assist to get a very good reputation with the VIPs and an attraction for VIP players,” stated Mr Hawkins. City of Dreams Exterior of the Hard Rock Hotel