Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming MAY 2015 30 Cover Story to pay players abound. Experts say the problem is undercapitalized operators relying on player deposits to pay winners. Bavet beats Poipet only on casino name creativity. Along with Le Macau, there’s Las Vegas Sun, its logo mimicking that of Las Vegas Sands. Winn casino is a small scale copy of the exterior of the Bellagio, with a logo imitating the signature on Wynn Resorts’ properties. For all its styling, Winn sits closed, weeds filling its driveway. For Vietnam, Cambodian casinos are no laughing matter. The Vietnamese government actively discourages its citizens from crossing the border to gamble, claiming that in doing so they take some $1 billion in valuable foreign exchange out of the country. In addition to closing the Bavet border at 7pm, Vietnam feeds local media a regular diet of casino horror stories. Early this year, a senior official with the Ministry of Public Security said Vietnamese gamblers in Cambodia were held hostage to collect debts, some killed when they failed to pay up. Officials also claim Cambodia’s legal and illegal border casinos and cockfights entice Vietnamese to become loan sharks and prostitutes and that Cambodian authorities don’t cooperate sufficiently with Vietnamese law enforcement. The campaign seems to be working. Vietnam claims the number of people leaving to gamble via one border crossing fell from 500 to 150 daily. Cambodia seems unmoved, approving licenses for three more border casinos in March. Winn casino is a small scale copy of the exterior of the Bellagio, with a logo imitating the signature on Wynn Resorts’ properties. For all its styling, Winn sits closed, weeds filling its driveway. Donaco International is betting $360 million on Star Vegas, and the broader proposition of Poipet’s continued prosperity and growth. “It’s been a very successful gaming strip. Star Vegas is the most successful property on that strip,” Donaco Executive Director Ben Reichel says. Thai entertainers for holidays shows, though Mr Bumrerjit laments Poipet’s lack of family attractions. The two properties run 20 buses daily from Thailand, the majority from Bangkok and a couple from the resort town of Pattaya, that bring around 600 visitors, upwards of 700 on weekends. Other operators provide similar services. Most buses leave in the early morning and depart from the Thai side of the border around 8pm, with a few buses departing Bangkok late afternoons and leaving Poipet around 8am. The border closes at 10pm and reopens at 6am. Grand Diamond and Poipet Resort have a total of 600 rooms that go for B1,500 a night, and are free to players that spend B30,000, about five times the average of bus customers. VIPs that deposit B300,000 (around $10,000) get complimentary pick up, room and meals. Junket promoters are all from Thailand, and rolling commissions can reach 2%. Holiday Palace Slots Manager Halim Lim says that property gets 30-50 VIPs a week from Bangkok, but the revenue split is “random” depending on who shows up and how they play. VIP players deposit a minimum of B1,000,000 for a 1.8% commission. Holiday Palace has 41 mass tables, all but eight for baccarat, on its attractive main floor and 23 VIP tables. Holiday Palace and sister property Holiday Poipet, sharing a prime location closest to the Thai border gate, have estimated annual gaming revenue of $80 million combined. Mr Lim says Holiday Palace’s slot floor offers the widest variety in town with 700 machines from about 10 different manufacturers. The average daily win per unit is around $200, while taxes are $50 per machine per month, Mr Lim says. The casino has a mix of revenue share deals and outright ownership of machines. It does slot VIP