Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming June 2014 16 Macau: When Bad News Obscures Good Times China’s booming casino enclave is being slammed by negative headlines. But are the issues behind them overblown? By Muhammad Cohen R eports of Macau’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. Recent headlines about a UnionPay cash crackdown, junket misdeeds and transit visa abuses are unlikely to have significant impact on gaming revenue, according to industry executives and analysts attending last month’s Global Gaming Expo Asia (G2E Asia). The string of bad news doesn’t alter the fundamental story of Macau’s success, they asserted, as visitors from China arrive in greater numbers and spend more, sending mass-market gaming growth rocketing ahead of VIP and accounting for an ever greater percentage of casino profits. “Everyone is looking under a microscope at Macau to show that it isn’t as good as it is,” MGMChina Chief Executive Officer Grant Bowie told a G2E Asia audience. “Macau and China’s governments will have policy changes from time to time, but they won’t fundamentally change the market. It’s not in anyone’s interest to do that.” Seated alongside him was Wynn Macau President Gamal Aziz, who said, “Macau’s story is one of the greatest stories in our industry, and we need to focus on that. We have an industry that is thriving and will continue to thrive, and there is nothing on the horizon that will change that.” “There are no negative political factors from Beijing,” added Kelvin Tan, executive vice president and chief of international marketing for Melco Crown Entertainment. Yet one consultant who asked not to be named shrugged about “people who want to keep their heads in the sand” In Focus China’s booming casino enclave is being slammed by negative headlines. But are the issues behind them overblown? By Muhammad Cohen Macau: When Bad News Obscures Good Times