Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming July 2016 30 junkets and on to the casinos. In effect, the old junket business model that existed previously in Macau is now broken. A senior level Beijing government official recently commented that Macau should diversify its tourism offerings in order to attract higher quality visitors including more business and family travelers. There was no mention of casino players or the VIP segment of the market. In addition, Macau is now facing fierce competition from several existing markets in Asia such as Singapore, Australia, Korea, the Philippines and Cambodia as well as from several new markets where we are seeing proposals for multi-billion dollar integrated resorts. Features The proposed new Australian mega-casino project, Aquis, will be a US$8 billion resort with eight hotels, 7,500 rooms, two large casinos, a golf course, lagoons and nearby beach. We also see Saipan developing a new US$7 billion casino resort. In addition, Las Vegas Sands has publically stated that they would spend up to US$10 billion for a new casino resort in Asia in the right location. What does all of this mean for Macau? With the old model no longer the cash cow it once was and the customer base changing, Macau must reinvent itself. It needs to become more creative and look for new opportunities to develop business both from existing markets and from new ones. In the past, players from other parts of the world were viewed as small players by Macau casino operators and weren’t necessarily welcomed with open arms. With China supplying almost the entire customer base, foreign players that did visit Macau had to fend for themselves. They did not understand the language or how the local commission programs or casino comps worked. Consequently, many returned home disappointed with the whole experience. Macau can’t afford to lose these players anymore. Casinos in Macau can easily reinvent themselves and their way of doing business if they want to. It would, for example, be simple enough to create a designated “International Room” inside each property offering more Western style casino games such as Blackjack, Roulette, Craps and Pai Gow. These rooms could be staffed with bilingual and even trilingual staff, all helped by new customer service training focused on serving foreign players. Gaming staff could also be trained in a Western style casino rating system where the objective is to focus on table game Proposed new mega-resorts such as the US$8 billion Aquis on Australia’s northeast coast will put further pressure on Macau’s operators. Casinos in Macau can easily reinvent themselves and their way of doing business if they want to. It would, for example, be simple enough to create a designated “International Room” inside each property offering more Western style casino games.