Inside Asian Gaming

May 2012 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 17 In Focus International), in which it stated: “We continue to put in a lot of effort on our Cotai project to refine and enhance our design along with simplifying the constructability and development costs. We believe government approval of our land grant application is imminent.” The media honed in on the word “imminent” to speculate that MGM China could be next—or at least it has reason to be confident that it will be. The Las Vegas Review-Journal noted: “The language used by company executives during a quarterly earnings conference call surprised analysts becauseMGMResorts officials have normally been somewhat reserved in their thoughts about Cotai.” However, beyond commenting that “the Wynn announcement has now cleared the air,” MGM China Holdings CEO Grant Bowie offered no concrete basis for the company’s belief that its approval was more imminent than that of SJM. The only thing Wynn Macau’s approval definitively proves is that the earlier expiry of the concessions of bothMGMChina and SJM is not enough of a consideration to prompt the government to fast-track their approvals. That could be because it is highly unlikely the government will fail to renew any of the six operators’ concessions on expiry. The deciding factor between SJM and MGM China, then, will be whether the government approves the applications on a first-come-first-serve basis or opts to favor the underdog with the smallest gaming capacity. Some suggest the government may be reluctant to approve SJM first for fear of being accused of siding with the well- connected market leader. Equally, though, in order to escape criticism of deliberately handicapping the erstwhile monopoly operator, the government may simply continue approving the applications in the order they were received, whichwouldmean SJM would followWynn Macau. Odd one out There is one more Cotai project not covered by Mr Carion’s pronouncement on Cotai land grants. That is the Studio City project, which technically has a land grant but remains in limbo until the government approves gaming on the site. The long-delayed Studio City had been held back for years by a protracted dispute between some of the project’s former partners—whom Melco Crown Entertainment bought out last June. Melco Crown took a 60% stake in Studio City and announced the project would include 300-400 gaming tables and 1,200 gaming machines. Then, Secretary for Transport and Public Works Lau Si Io pointed out that no casino was included in the project’s 2008 development plan. According to an article in Macau Daily Times : “The 2008 development plan of the project has never been made public and the last plan unveiled in the Official Gazette dates to 2001. Back then, the land concession contract set that the Cotai project included film production studios, restaurants and residential units, but no gaming amenities.” Although the site has not yet been formally zoned for gaming, it’s difficult to see how any resort or tourism scheme in Macau of comparable size could be viable without a gaming component to it, and Melco Crown is awaiting approval to include a casino at Studio City before it recommences construction. The government’s original deadline for the project’s development was 2013. At this point, it seems unlikely Studio City canbe built before then, though it would be extremely surprising if the government were to deny the site to Melco Crown after the deadline passes. But where’s the casino?—the original Paul Steelman design for Studio City In limbo after the pile driving—the Studio City site