Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | June 2011 92 Briefs Regional Briefs Galaxy Macau opening bounce pushes operator into joint third place The opening of Galaxy Macau on 15th May pushed Galaxy Entertainment Group into joint third place for market share based on revenue data for the seven days to 22nd May. Market share for the six operators in the week to 22nd May was as follows: SJM 33.6%; Sands China 15.4%; Galaxy Entertainment Group 13.6%; Melco Crown Entertainment 13.6%; Wynn Macau 12.7%; and MGM China 11.1%. Macau gaming revenue for May was expected to hit MOP24 billion (US$3 billion) at the time Inside Asian Gaming went to press. That represents a 41% increase year on year. Melco Crown Entertainment swings to US$7.2million net profit in 1Q 2011 Macau casino operator Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd (MPEL) moved to a net profit of US$7.2 million in the first quarter of 2011 versus a year-earlier loss of US$12.5 million. It was driven by improvements in both its gambling and non- gambling operations, said management. Net revenue in the quarter ended 31st March rose 42% to US$806.6 million, versus the 43% overall gambling revenue growth inMacau over the same period. Gross gaming revenue in the territory is on track during 2011 to generate at least five times that of the Las Vegas Strip. MPEL Co-Chairman Lawrence Ho downplayed concerns of some analysts that the company’s US$2.1 billion Cotai resort City of Dreams (CoD) would be negatively affected by the opening of the neighbouring US$2.1 billion Galaxy Macau resort on 15th May. “We believe that the Galaxy opening is great for Macau and it’s even better for Cotai,” said Mr Ho, echoing comments from Cotai neighbour Sands China Ltd. “When you look at City of Dreams it’s much more contemporary and probably more on the sophisticated side,” he added. “The Galaxy property looks great but it certainly looks like a property that was built to compete with the Grand Lisboa [the Macau peninsula flagship of the casino company SJM Holdings formerly run by his father Dr Stanley Ho],” explained Mr Ho. Mr Ho said the company was still talking to stakeholders in the stalled Macao Studio City project, for which Melco Crown has the rights to operate the casino business on a revenue sharing basis. That US$2.4 billion project was scheduled to begin operations in 2009, but construction has remained at the initial stages for years because of a bitter dispute between the partners that has escalated to Hong Kong courts. Following MPEL’s recent Rmb2.3 billion (US$354.7 million) bond issuance—which it said would be partially used to fund potential future expansion—analysts have speculated the company could try to put the funds toward potential interest in Macao Studio City. Lawrence Ho said MPEL was still contemplating what to do with the remaining 1.5 million square feet of land it has next to CoD, but suggested it probably wouldn’t build an apartment-hotel there. “It’s probably unlikely that the government will approve apartment hotels.They’ve been looking at it the past five years,”he said. LasVegas Sands Corp (LVS) began the marketing drive to sell its Four Seasons apartments even before TheVenetianMacao opened in August 2007. LVS Chairman Sheldon Adelson has previously stated ‘monetising’ the apartments could raise US$1.4 billion. So far, however, the government hasn’t given permission for casino operators to use their land for residential projects. MGM China hopeful of Cotai land decision ‘within year’— Pansy Ho Pansy Ho, Managing Director of MGM China Holdings, says she is “very hopeful” that the company could have land gazetted for a Cotai project “within the year”. She added that all operators with pending applications would probably hear from the Macau government at the same time. The comments came during a press conference ahead of the initial public offering that MGM China launched on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange last month. The ‘all at once’ comment re: government decisions on pending Cotai land applications was a reiteration of what Dr Ambrose So, Chief Executive of SJM Holdings, the casino operating company chaired until recently by Dr Stanley Ho, said to the media late last year. “It’s [MGM China’s Cotai land application] right now in a very advanced stage and very promising,” Ms Ho told reporters in Hong Kong. “We have received news that in fact most of the relevant government bodies that have to look at the planning from a macro perspective have basically received our plans. I think it would be appropriate to say that we have been assured by the government that as and when all the relevant [government] units have passed their comments and have also reverted back to us—we will go into a process of answering back each other over a period of time until we get to a point where we have a clear picture—but in terms of the timing of things this whole process has already kick started. I would presume that the respective enterprises that have put in their applications would probably all learn about the possibility of getting [land] gazetted at the same time. “We have been very hopeful that this could happen within the year.” Singapore regulator fines Resorts World Sentosa S$0.5 million for rule breaches Singapore’s Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA) has fined the City of Dreams—welcoming competition Hopeful on MGM’s Cotai land— Pansy Ho