Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | May 2012 52 INSIGHTS INSIGHTS – Lloyd Nathan The latest installment of Inside Asian Gaming ’s video interview series with leading members of the Asian gaming industry features Lloyd Nathan, CEO of Asian Coast Development (Canada) Ltd, the owner and developer of the soon-to-open Ho Tram Strip in southern Vietnam. Mr Nathan discusses the project’s scope and potential, and answers skeptics who claim that Ho Tram is too difficult to get to H ardly a week goes by without someone stepping forward to claim they are developing a casino resort in Vietnam. Only one company really is, and that’s Asian Coast Development (Canada) Limited (ACDL) at the Ho Tram Strip. This prime beachside location in southern Vietnam is around 127 km southeast of Ho Chi Minh City and its population of 10-12 million—though as the law currently stands, Vietnamese nationals will not be allowed to use the casino facilities unless they hold foreign passports or foreign residency permits. Two years after taking over the reins of ACDL, Lloyd Nathan is close to realizing the first phase opening of the previously stalled Ho Tram development. That first phase, under the branding of MGM Grand Ho Tram, is due to open in Q1 2013. The ultimate vision is for five resorts along the 2.2 km coastal strip, bordered by a championship golf course, and featuring a full range of retail, dining and conference facilities. Phase one will also feature a 13,600-square-meter casino with 90 live table games and 500 electronic games, as well as a five-star hotel with 541 rooms. Sources spoken to by IAG have given conflicting accounts of gaming tax rates in Vietnam, but a consensus is that mass- market play is taxed at approximately 30% and VIP trades at under half that amount. There is talk of two other consortia building two further IRs in Vietnam. One on the central coast near Da Nang, and one on the northern coast at Halong Bay. So far there’s been no action. So although there’s no clarity yet on whether the Vietnamese government is going to open up the market to domestic players, it does seem that the Ho Tram Strip will be the only IR project within the country for at least several years to come. ACDL also has real backers. A syndicate of Vietnamese banks is providing the debt. The equity has come from New York based Harbinger Capital Partners and the US regional casino operator Pinnacle Entertainment, which in August last year took a 26% stake for US$95 million. Inside Asian Gaming Publisher Kareem Jalal visited the Ho Tram site with Lloyd Nathan last month, and saw interior fit-out had already begun on the rooms in the first phase hotel tower. Following the site tour, Mr Nathan sat down with Mr Jalal for a video interview, which can be viewed on the IAG website, www.asgam.com . The full transcript of the interview follows. Kareem Jalal: How did you get involved with this project? Lloyd Nathan : Initially, I was President of Global Gaming Development for MGM Lloyd Nathan