Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | August 2013 22 INSIGHTS We’re reading a lot about how price points are rising. They’re up over 30% on average just in the last year. Do you see that trend continuing? Yes. Because of the sheer numbers? The segment will continue to grow? Absolutely, it’s going to continue to grow. As China’s economy continues to grow, as the upper middle class continues to grow, as the scopeofMacau in terms of hotel, gaming, tourist and transport infrastructure continues to grow, we’re going to have more visitors based on the attractions we have to offer. There are going to be more visitors because people from larger parts of China are going to come to Macau. Macau right now is largely a southeastern China destination. And we want to grow to be a worldwide resort destination. Of those premium mass customers a lot of them are from various countries around Asia, whether it’s Singapore or Korea or Indonesia. And basically, again, they are asking for a level of service they definitely deserve and we believe that our “World Class, Asian Heart” service provides just that. … I think some figures will give you an idea of the potential from China. Last year, there were about 300 million qualified travelers who could visit Macau through IVS [the Individual Visit Scheme]. However, only 6 million visitors came to Macau three times or more last year. According to McKinsey’s research, the middle class, those with average incomes of RMB106,000 to 229,000 per year [US$17,000-$37,000], in China will reach 400 million people by 2020. This group of people will become mainstream spenders, and there is a lot of potential in this segment. Those at the level you’re catering to at Pavilion Club, are these former VIP players who have become cash players? Or is this a new kind of higher roller coming to Macau? I think it’s mass-market customers who are getting wealthier and wealthier. And as their wealth grows the amount of money they gamble grows. Anywhere else in the world, someone who is betting 400,000 a hand is going to be in a private room. Here they can be in a private room or they can be out in the open. There’s absolutely nothing like it in the world. In the context of the table cap, how do you plan to keep pace with this kind of demand? One of the ways we do this, we just opened an LT Game [live dealer e-table] stadium, which allows us to have more product for a customer at a lower price point so that we don’t have to raise our prices to the point where people can’t play. And it allows us to continue to deliver within premium mass the customers who want to play at a higher price point. Would this also include plans to expand on the Pavilion Club strategy? We’re very fortunate at Galaxy Macau thatwe canoffer awide rangeof experiences, with more than 2,200 rooms, suites and villas across three world-class hotel brands: the five-star Galaxy Hotel, Japan’s legendary Okura Hotels & Resorts Worldwide and the award-winning and ultra-exclusive Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts. Facilities include the Grand Resort Deck, with lush oasis gardens covering 52,000 square meters, the world’s largest Skytop Wave Pool and a 350-ton white sand beach; the widest selection of pan-Asian and international cuisine under one roof in Macau; UA Galaxy Cinemas, a nine-screen, 3D-equipped complex unlike anything in Macau; CHINA ROUGE, an exclusive, members-only performance lounge; Foot Hub, Macau’s largest, premium foot reflexology center; and two boulevards of distinctive retail shops. …We’ve got a lot of chances to be right with the customers. We do our best to offer the customer the best possible experience. But at the end of the day, it’s their decision. If they enjoy the trip then we’ve been successful. If they don’t enjoy the trip then we’ve failed. There will be a lot more of this when Phase 2 comes on line. How does premiummass figure into that? Do you factor the offering into the design? Oh, yes, absolutely. That’s one of the reasons why we’re bringing in two luxury hotel brands, Ritz Carlton and JW Marriott. The needs of the premium-mass market will have a lot of influence on the type of restaurants were going to put into Phase 2. They also have a lot of influence on the way we’re going to build the gaming area in Phase 2. It’s no secret that this is where the market is headed. And we believe that we’re in a good position now—actually, we believe we’re in a very good position now—to service those customers. This is a major investment and we set very high expectations for success. The customers’ experience is most important to us. We are confident that Phase 2 will extend the appeal of Galaxy Macau to an ever more diverse group of visitors, and we will continue to exceed expectations. Pavilion High Limit Slots