Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | November 2011 44 Briefs Regional Briefs GCM said around 120 people attended the meeting, including 20 Diet members. Steve Wynn unveils rare vases for collection at Wynn Macau Steve Wynn, Chairman and CEO of Wynn Resorts, and Edmund Ho Hau Wah—Vice Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and a former Chief Executive of Macau—officially unveiled the Buccleuch Vases at Wynn Macau on 27th October. “I am delighted to announce today that we are returning an extraordinary collection of porcelain vases from the Qing Dynasty to the People’s Republic of China,” said Mr Wynn. “This pristine quartet of Buccleuch vases has tremendous artistic and historic value, and we are proud to have them on display in our resort lobby, for the Macau community and our visiting guests. This is in continuation of our policy of adding to the cultural enrichment of our community here in Macau. Citizens may be interested to know that theonlyother set of four vasesmatching these are inBuckingham Palace and belong to the Queen of England. The tapestry and the vases together remind us of the rich history of China,”Mr Wynn said. The extremely rare Chinese porcelain baluster vases are on display in theWynn lobby along with an exquisite Louis XIV Beauvais Chinoiserie tapestry of The Emperor on a Journey, which recounts the intriguing tales of travels to China in the 15th and 16th centuries. Wynn Macau acquired the extraordinary group of important Jiaqing period (1796-1820) vases at a Christie’s London auction in July 2011. The vases were purchased for more than US$12.7 million. Wynn Resorts said it was part of Mr Wynn’s ongoing commitment to return artistic treasures to the People’s Republic of China. Stanley Ho to celebrate his 90th birthday in Hong Kong, not Macau Dr StanleyHo, the founder ofMacaucasinooperator SJMHoldings and its predecessor STDM, will celebrate his 90th birthday on the 25th of this month. But he’ll be doing it quietly in his birthplace Hong Kong, not Macau said SJM’s Chief Executive Dr Ambrose So, who has worked for Dr Ho since 1975. Caesars’ Gary Loveman gives presentation to pro-casino MPs in Japan Gary Loveman, CEO of Caesars Entertainment, attended the latest meeting of Japan’s cross-party association responsible for lobbying for casinos in that country. The meeting—formally called the 18th general assembly of IR [integrated resort] Diet Members’ Association was held on 29th October. According to Tokyo-based consultancy Gaming Capital Management (GCM), which had a representative at the meeting, Mr Loveman gave a 15-minute presentation on the topic of integrated casino resorts and the IR business model. Topics covered included: the likely rate of return on investment; the likely break-even point of a Japanese IR operation; typical player payout ratios within the industry; the expected size of investment; and how to attract Chinese and other overseas players. Mr Loveman also touched on social responsibility issues including addiction prevention methodology. Caesars has repeatedly been linked on a speculative basis with putative casino projects in Asia—ever since its corporate predecessor Harrah’s decided against bidding for a casino licence in Macau, and then dropped out of the bidding for a Singapore IR in 2006 just days before the bid adjudication process was due to begin. Association Chairman Issei Koga of the governing Democratic Party of Japan started the 29th October session with a recap on the progress of a draft bill to legalise casinos. It’s hoped the bill can be debated in the current extraordinary session of the Japanese Diet [parliament]. Association Vice Chairman Takeshi Iwaya of the Liberal Democratic Party emphasised the IR bill aimed to boost Japan’s economic growth by encouraging foreign tourism. A similar argument was used by the Singapore government when it proposed introducing casinos. The group’s Executive Secretary Sakihito Ozawa of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) proposed a small reshuffle of senior officials in the Association—a proposal that was approved unanimously. Mr Ozawa added that Seiji Maehara, chairman of the DPJ’s Policy Research Committee, supports the bill. Mr Iwaya observed that the LDP is also moving forward. Toshimitsu Motegi, chairman of the LDP’s Policy Research Council, is said to be one of the most pro-casino members of the Association. Three other smaller parties in the lobbying group also said there was parliamentary support for the bill. Mr Ozawa added it was possible that the preparation period for legislation could be reduced from one to two years to reflect the urgency of economic regeneration following the recent natural disasters. Gary Loveman SteveWynn and Edmund Ho