Inside Asian Gaming

September 2014 inside asian gaming 33 Philippine ports tycoon Enrique Razon’s first venture into gaming, Manila’s Solaire Resort & Casino, posted second-quarter net profit equivalent to US$19.4 million, 36 times greater than last year’s first full quarter of operations, on EBITDA that nearly quadrupled to $103.5 million. Gaming revenue rose 56% to $118.3 million, driven by strong growth in VIP turnover, most of it from overseas players, with junkets accounting for about 80% of VIP play. “Strategic management decisions and focus on goals have borne better-than-expected results,” said Mr Razon, chairman and CEO of Solaire parent, PSX-listed Bloomberry Resorts. The biggest change since a year ago was the termination of the contract of William Weidner’s Global Gaming Asset Management, which had been hired to open and run Solaire and owns a disputed 8.7% of Bloomberry. GGAM’s presence helped Bloomberry’s Manila IPO succeed, providing $1.2 billion in funding for the resort, a quantum leap beyond anything found in the Philippine gaming market. But Mr Razon charges the firm took its eye off the ball after Solaire opened. “He is very hands-on with his property, very concerned about it. It’s very personal to him, and he expects everyone else to be that way,” says a gaming executive who has worked with him. The two sides are in arbitration in Singapore over the termination. A Philippine court, in the meantime, has enjoined GGAM from consummating a US$166 million deal to sell its Bloomberry stake, acquired last year for $15 million, until the arbitration is settled. Mr Razon has since brought in Thomas Arasi as president and chief operating officer. Industry observers say the former CEO of Enrique Razon Jr Chairman and CEO Bloomberry Resorts Marina Bay Sands and longtime hospitality executive was a brilliant hire, and insiders praise him for rationalizing costs, now expanding at a slower rate than revenues, although gaming revenue is still running second to crosstown rival Resorts World Manila. Mr Razon isn’t in gaming to finish second. In November, Solaire is slated to unveil its Phase 1A expansion, which includes a 312-key all-suite hotel pitched to premium players, a luxury shopping mall and a 1,700-seat Broadway-style theater. Solaire also is counting on a major traffic boost from the opening next door of Melco Crown’s City of Dreams Manila later this year. It will be the second IR at the government-sponsored Entertainment City resort district on Manila Bay where Solaire has stood isolated since its debut last March. Mr Razon also is looking to branch out from Manila into other gaming markets. He’s eyeing Latin America, where his family business operates a number of port facilities and he understands the business climate. Bloomberry also is looking closer to home. In May, Mr Arasi wowed a Tokyo conference on Japan’s pending casino legalization, giving a presentation in Japanese and English. An executive who attended says of Bloomberry, “They have a good chance in Okinawa,” where, not coincidentally, Mr Razon’s company runs the port. RowenCraigie’s solidmanagerial skills are being tested inAustralia as never before in an operating environment characterized by weak domestic demand and increasing competition both regionally and at home for the high rollers that have been a mainstay of the success of Crown Resort’s flagship, Crown Melbourne. He hasn’t downplayed the challenges either. Crown Resorts posted Rowen Craigie Managing Director and CEO Crown Resorts