Inside Asian Gaming

April 2012 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 45 Briefs English, Malay, Mandarin, Cantonese and Hokkien. In addition, Marcel Heutmekers, SPIELO International Senior Director and General Manager, Asia and Latin America, has announced the appointment of Maria Garcia as Director of Sales for Asia (Casino Games). Based in Macau, Ms Garcia has been a well-respected distributor for several slot manufacturers in the region since 2006. Her most recent role was as Sales and Marketing Director for Asia Pioneer Entertainment Ltd. “We’re excited to have a well-known name in the industry on board. Maria understands the typical characteristics of the Macau market very well. We believe she’ll become a key person in our long- term strategy for the Asian market,” said Mr Heutmekers. “We are happy and proud to have such an experienced and skilled person joining us as part of this important journey in this region.” Ms Garcia graduated with a diploma in Event Management from the Hong Kong Management Association in 2004. She is fluent in English, Portuguese, Cantonese and Mandarin. Galaxy Entertainment Group profit more than triples Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd said its 2011 net profit more than tripled, fueled by the May opening of its new US$2 billion flagship Cotai resort, Galaxy Macau, as well as the overall surge in gaming revenue in Macau. Galaxy said its net profit for the year ended 31st December was HK$3 billion (US$387 million), up from HK$898.5 million a year earlier. Revenue more than doubled to HK$41.2 billion from HK$19.26 billion, set against a 42% rise in 2011 gambling revenue in Macau to a record US$33.5 billion. Melco Crown net revenues rise 45% year-on-year in 2011 Melco Crown Entertainment, a Nasdaq-listed Macau casino developer and operator, said in a filing to the New York Stock Exchange that net revenues for the year ended 31st December, 2011 were US$3.83 billion, an increase of US$1.19 billion, or 45.0%, as compared with US$2.64 billion the previous year. Net income attributable to Melco Crown Entertainment was US$294.7 million in 2011, as compared with a net loss of $10.5 million in 2010. Adjusted EBITDA in 2011 was US$809.4 million, representing an increase of US$379.0 million, or 88.1%, compared to $430.4 million in 2010. Proposed rule change in Goa could benefit Macau and Singapore The chief minister of the state of Goa in India is proposing a stringent law similar to the one in Singapore to discourage its residents and those under the age of 21 from entering the casinos by imposing a heavy surcharge, Union Gaming Research Macau said in a recent note. At the same time, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar also proposed a reduction in the entrance fee for visitors to both onshore and offshore casinos from Rs 2,000 (US$40) to Rs 500 ($10). Goa is India’s richest state (GDP per capita at 2.5x the country average) and the only state where gambling is legal. The existing Rs 2,000 entry fee applies to all visitors in which Rs 1,500 ($30) is reimbursed in the form of gambling chips. Union Gaming’s view is that “While the lowered entry fee could generate more tourist entries, we believe a law that excludes locals from gambling could result in a marginal visitation benefit for other Asian gaming jurisdictions like Cambodia, Malaysia, Macau and Singapore. In 2011, around 170,000 and 870,000 visitors came to Macau and Singapore from India respectively. This represented 0.7% and 6.6% of Macau’s and Singapore’s total visitation.” PAGCOR forecasting US$10 billion Philippines casino market Union Gaming Research Macau reported in a note that the Philippine’s government casino-operator-cum-regulator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (PAGCOR), will relocate two of its casinos in Pasay city (a part of metro Manila), one at the Heritage Hotel and another near Ninoy Aquino International Airport, after their gaming licenses expire in 2013 and 2014, respectively, to reduce the impact from the opening of the Entertainment City in nearby Parañaque City. The 100-hectare Entertainment City project is expected to be fully operational with four integrated resorts in 2016. Belle Corp., Travellers Hotel International Group Inc., Universal Entertainment and Bloomberry Resorts and Hotels Inc. have all been granted licenses to build. Union Gaming offers its view on the development: “PAGCOR executives are forecasting that Entertainment City will generate in excess of US$10 billion in GGR by 2016, which is approximately 1.5x 2011 GGR in Singapore and about one-third of Macau. We believe that the estimate is optimistic given several factors, including relative geographic inaccessibility, given that Manila is a 2.5 hour flight from Guangdong, China, which is the primary source of gaming revenue for Macau and it is a 3.5 hours flight from Singapore/Indonesia. Furthermore, most of the operators at Entertainment City have a less-experienced track record when compared to the Macau and Singapore operators. Lastly, the Philippines are often perceived as unsafe, which could dissuade some customers.” Casino Royale Goa is the state’s largest casino vessel Casino Filipino-Heritage Hotel