Inside Asian Gaming

IAG AUG 2019年8月 亞博匯 22 S panning a 414-square kilometer parcel of land in Queensland’s southeast corner and with its 57km of coastline a picture perfect postcard of white sandy beaches on aqua blue ocean, Australia’s Gold Coast has visions of becoming the country’s next international tourist destination. But exactly how it plans to achieve that remains the billion dollar question. Seven years since the state government announced it would offer two gaming licenses to develop world class integrated resorts in regional Queensland, including a second casino on the Gold Coast, there is still no clarity as to likely development sites, operator candidates or whether the project will go ahead at all. The government says it will, having put the second casino discussion back on the agenda in March when it called for Expressions of Interest in developing a Global TourismHub. The EOI, coming almost two years after the original process was terminated due to environmental concerns over the chosen site, essentially means that Queensland’s grand tourism plan finds itself back where it all began in 2012. But the landscape has changed since then. In 2015, while politicians were distracted by a state election, Star Entertainment Group – owners of the Gold Coast’s original Jupiter’s casino – threw a spanner in the works by announcing its own redevelopment plans, which four years and AU$1 billion later has seen the long-neglected property transformed into The Star Gold Coast. Now the company has a clear message for those pushing a second Gold Coast casino: there ain’t room for two. The Star has a clear message for those pushing a second Gold Coast casino: there ain’t room for two. The Star 向那些在黃金海岸推動發展第二 個娛樂場的人士釋放出一個明確的信息：這 裡已沒有多餘空間容納第二個娛樂場。 澳 洲黃金海岸位於昆士蘭州東南角，佔地414 平方公里，擁有綿延57公里的海岸線，碧海銀 沙，就像一張完美的明信片。這裡有望成為澳 洲的下一個國際旅遊勝地，但如何實現這一 目標則是一個讓人深思的問題。 七年前，昆士蘭州政府曾宣佈將發放兩張博彩牌照，以在昆 士蘭市中心以外地區打造世界級的綜合度假村，其中更包括將在 黃金海岸興建第二個娛樂場。但時至今日，就相關發展地點、營運 商候選人、乃至該項目是否還將繼續進行，皆無任何確切消息。 而當政府在三月向各方就打造一個國際旅遊中心徵集意向書 （Expressions of Interest）時，其實就是把興建第二家娛樂場的 相關討論事宜重新提上日程。然而由於最初的選址出於環境問題 COVER STORY