Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | June 2011 16 Galaxy Macau As one VIP room executive put it to us: “The Chinese way in business is to share so that you all get rich together. TheWestern way is to beat the other guy and get rich at his expense.” Cotai is not a zero-sum game. The ‘stickiness’ of The Venetian as a first stop on Cotai probably resides in the fact that it’s a photo opportunity entirely independent of its gaming offer. That allows it to capture gamblers and non-gamblers. It has a lot of shops, even if conventional wisdom suggests there are rather too many mid- market, underwhelming brands (to Chinese consumers at least). Some analysts we spoke to—while very impressed by Galaxy Macau’s gaming offer in both key segments— still wonder if the property can carve a role as a tourism stop in its own right. They cite some doubts that the artificial beach—impressive as it is—will achieve that. After the initial opening rush, Galaxy Macau needs to establish itself as a first gambling stop on Cotai. The shopping offer by itself won’t be a crucial draw. There are also important logistical reasons why it will be a challenge to make Galaxy Macau a ‘second stop’ on Cotai for Venetian customers. Galaxy Macaumay be just a little too far The Venetian Macao—still to be first stop on Cotai? away from The Venetian to be a comfortable walk in a muggy Macau summer. Getting a taxi away fromThe Venetian often requires a long, uncomfortable wait outdoors. City of Dreams has vulnerabilities— the Hard Rock casino is not a well-known brand in China and is often sparsely populated, in our experience—but it is only a short walk from The Venetian, making it a natural number two destination for Sands China’s Cotai customers. IAG is aware, however, that Galaxy’s management has been very focused on creating the right infrastructure in terms of marketing, bus services and greeters to develop the pipeline of‘first stop’visitors to Galaxy Macau. That’s important, and is likely to be key in ensuring the sustained success of the property. Pleasure to meet you—Galaxy Macau’s impressive marketing push