Inside Asian Gaming
INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | August 2013 12 COVER STORY aren’t many in the world that it doesn’t surpass on this level. It’s the anti-Macau, if you will, equipped, as few casinos anywhere are, for long, lazy holidays. The hotel offers an elegantly outfitted standard room with all the extras you’d expect with five stars and some you might not, like full-length windows that open onto a Juliette balcony—and whether you’re looking out over a sliver of azure sea or the flapping roofs of the cabanas or the golf course that opens later this year, there isn’t a view that isn’t delightful. The casino is bright, friendly, intelligent. The air is cleansed by an innovative baseboard A/C system. The floor is a breeze to navigate. The product is diverse and spread across a mix of live tables and the latest slots and electronic table games in circular and stadium configurations. It’s also the first all-G2S floor on the continent, built on IGT’s sbX technology, which enables the open Game-to-System architecture and The Grand takes you up in a relaxed embrace. It’s a feel that distinguishes it from much of Asia’s current resort gaming product. There aren’t many in the world that it doesn’t surpass at this level. It’s the anti-Macau, if you will, designed, as few casinos anywhere are, for long, lazy holidays. A standard room at The Grand—five-star all the way. joined The Grand as vice president of slot operations from The Venetian Macao, where he was director of slots. “We’ve got [Service Window] running on every single vendor. They all really stepped up to make this happen.” The system also includes IGT’s Table Manager solution and its newly released Rebates and Commissionmodule developed specifically for the Asian junket market. This is significant because with no recourse to domestic players management is looking to the region’s whales to drive gaming revenue. Currently, 55 of the property’s 90 tables are baccarat assigned to the VIP salons. Fortunately, the tax structure is not unfavorable. It’s comprised of two parts: 10% VAT and a 25% “special services tax”which is a tax on revenue for all intents and purposes. Incentives to junkets are deductible, however—a “discount on stipulated currency,” as its officially termed—so after discounting rolling-chip sales the effective blended rate—“our net tax position,” as Mr Santangelo calls it—is in the low to mid-teens. “That’s why we can offer a little better incentive to our international tour operators, and that’s why they’re going to bring their players here,” he says. He’s led dozens of junketeers and promoters through the property, he says— from Macau, mainland China, Japan, South Korea and Singapore—and 10 had been signed to partnerships as of opening day (“international tour operators” is the preferred euphemism) and three more looked to be coming on. “People are calling us, versus us going allows IGT’s Service Window to be fitted onto every one of the floor’s 614 machines. It’s state-of-the-art stuff. “It’s the one thing I’m most proud of,” says Ian Garner, who
Made with FlippingBook
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTIyNjk=