Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | August 2012 14 In Focus A s Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson reminded us ahead of the April opening of the US$4.4 billion Sands Cotai Central complex: “There were few believers in my vision for the Cotai Strip when the site was basically under water. With the completion of Sands Cotai Central, that same spot will be home to thousands of hotel rooms, millions of square feet of retail, meeting and convention space, dozens of restaurants and so many other attractions.” Cotai was created by reclaiming land from the sea between Taipa and Coloane islands, adding a much needed 5.6 square kilometers to Macau’s land area, bringing the total to 29.9 sq. km. Most of Macau sits on reclaimed land—in 1912, its land area was a mere 12.7 sq. km. Macau’s other casino operators had previously largely shunned Cotai in favor of the traditional gaming hub on the crowded Macau Peninsula, home to casino properties offering the essentials of a gaming trip— tables, slots, hotel rooms, restaurants, bars, spas and sometimes a smattering of high- end boutiques—but not much else. Now, however, they are all clamoring to either secure or expand their presence on Cotai, where the action is inexorably shifting. Unlike the Peninsula, Cotai offers sufficient space to develop sprawling resorts equipped with world-class non-gaming amenities. Those amenities don’t come cheap though, especially with operators vying to outdo each other in the wow factor stakes, and customers consequently becoming more demanding. Gone are the days when a Macau casino could pay for itself in under a year—LVS’ first local property, Sands Macao, which famously did that, only cost US$265 million to build and was essentially a glitzy box containing gaming tables, slots, high ceilings and a few high-roller suites. Still, if you are investing in a big resort, Macau continues to offer some of the best returns Steve Wynn and Sheldon Adelson have legitimate grounds for their aversion to getting involved in the Philippines. But Kazuo Okada has potentially much more to gain from pursuing a venture in the Philippines than either of those men, and that is a shot at vying for the right to independently develop a casino property in Japan. Metro Manila Different Visions What makes Asia’s most bullish casino resort developer loath to enter the Philippines? “There were few believers in my vision for the Cotai Strip when the site was basically under water.” Sheldon Adelson