Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | November 2010 44 Briefs Regional Briefs of greater gaming volumes and cost controls at its StarWorld casino and hotel. It was the company’s eighth-consecutive quarter of Ebitda growth. Galaxy didn’t disclose its third-quarter net profit. The Hong Kong-listed casino operator, controlled by the family of tycoon Lui Che Woo, also reiterated the early 2011 opening date for its flagship casino resort on Macau’s Cotai Strip. “We’re very confident about the opening schedule,” said Galaxy Chief Financial Officer Bob Drake, adding that he was also sure the project would open“with the right amount of people,”even as Macau is facing a labour shortage with a 97% employment rate. Galaxy needs 7,500 to 8,000 staff for the resort, Mr Drake said. Galaxy said in August it would spend an extra HK$800 million for a total investment of HK$14.9 billion to open a larger proportion of the 2,200 rooms planned for the Galaxy Macau project at its launch because the company doesn’t expect any other new casino to open in Macau for “at least the next 12 months.” GPIC announces largest single order for a casino opening Gaming Partners International Corporation, a leading provider of casino currency and table game equipment worldwide, says it has signed its biggest ever deal with a new casino property. The contract is with Galaxy Macau, the new Cotai property from Galaxy Entertainment Group due to open in the first half of next year. GPIC will supply all of the property’s casino chips and plaques— approximately one million in total, fitted with high specification radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. The chips and plaques for Galaxy Macau are from GPIC’s prestigious Bourgogne & Grasset® line of casino currency products. They will include a variety of styles, shapes and colour combinations, as well as a number of security features, including RFID. GPIC will be supplying a number of chip sets which will be customised to meet the casino’s aesthetic, operational and security requirements. The RFID technology offered with all GPIC’s lines of casino currency allows casinos to verify the authenticity and value of each chip instantly, reducing the possibility of counterfeiting, staff pilferage or miscounts. With specialised readers and software, this technology enables casinos to track individual chips throughout the gaming floor as well as follow payments, fills and credits, tips, and wins and losses per table at any time of the day. “We are privileged to work with the Galaxy Entertainment Group again to supply their flagship property, Galaxy Macau, with their chips and plaques,” said Greg Gronau, President and CEO of GPIC. GPI’s casino currency products include high-quality chips, plaques and jetons, all available with a variety of security features Hacker infiltrates MBS computer Inside Asian Gaming awaits with interest the conclusion of the court case against a Malaysian man who allegedly hacked into a computer at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. It will be interesting to hear in open court the circumstances whereby a single individual sitting in a small flat down the road from MBS was able potentially to threaten the integrity of the Lion City’s new casino industry. That’s despite Singapore spending millions of dollars on a Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA) in nice shiny offices and an army of bean counters to staff it. It will be equally interesting to hear what measures have been taken by the CRA and the casino operators to try to prevent a repeat of the alleged incident. Singapore hardly has a shortage of computer- literate geeks thanks to its high quality education system. Unconfirmed reports suggest the alleged hacking might be the work of a non-MBS employee disgruntled over a contractor who supposedly owed him money. Leslie Liew Cheong Wee, 35, appeared in court in Singapore recently accused of computer misuse from a flat in Teck Whye Lane on six occasions between 9th and 12th May. The Straits Times said he was accused of knowingly causing a computer server to acquire unauthorised remote access to an MBS workstation computer between those dates. In another incident in the early hours of 12th May, a small area of the MBS gaming floor lost electric power for about 60 minutes, although a backup power generator was activated. It’s not clear at this stage if that event was related to the alleged computer hacking. Mr Liew, a Singapore permanent resident, was offered bail of S$15,000 on condition he surrender his passport. If convicted, he faces a fine of up to S$50,000 or a jail term of up to seven years or both Galaxy Ebitda more than doubles The Wall Street Journal reported Galaxy Entertainment Group’s Ebitda(earningsbeforeinterest,taxes,depreciationandamortization) for the three months ended 30th September rose to HK$616 million (US$79.4 million), more than double the HK$287 million achieved in the year ago period. The improved performance was the result Marina Bay Sands The soon-to-open Galaxy Macau