Inside Asian Gaming

IAG NOV 2019年11月 亞博匯 91 2019 亞博匯50強 NOW into his third year with the New Zealand-based casino operator, Graeme Stephens certainly hasn’t had it easy in 2019. The company is in the midst of major upgrades to its two biggest properties, the most notable being the development of a new NZ$700 million international convention center and connected hotel nearby flagship IR SKYCITY Auckland. The NZICC, as it is called, was originally due to open earlier this year but lengthy delays had pushed that date back to late 2020 – even before a devastating fire broke out on the building's rooftop in late October. SKYCITY has flagged further delays as a result. Far smoother has been an AU$330 million upgrade to SKYCITY Adelaide, due for completion in 2021. To help fund these upgrades – along with other planned improvements to the company’s casinos in Queenstown and Hamilton – SKYCITY has now completed the AU$188 million sale of the former SKYCITY Darwin to US firm Delaware North. It also sold the long-term concession over its Auckland carparks for NZ$220 million. In August, the company launched a Malta-based, New Zealand- facing online casino, SkyCityCasino.com, which appears to be designed to push the government into proper regulation of the country’s online gaming industry. Time will tell how that plays out. In the meantime, a rebound in the VIP segment, where FY19 turnover grew 36.2%, was a promising result for the company moving forward and helped overcome a year of bad luck at the tables to guide a very slight increase in revenue to NZ$822.3 million. Graeme Stephens與以紐西蘭為基地的娛樂場營運商的合作已經進入第三 年，但2019年為他而言並不易過。 該公司現正經歷其兩間最大物業的重大改造升級工程，當中最為人注目 的就是在其旗艦IR奧克蘭天空城(SKYCITY Auckland)附近發展的一間價值7億 紐西蘭元的國際會議中心及相連酒店。這個名為NZICC的項目，原定於本年稍 早時候開幕，但最後卻遭遇頗長的延誤，令其開幕日期被推遲至2020年後期。而 在十月尾於該建築的天台上發生的大火，更令該公司警告延誤時間將更長。 與奧克蘭天空城相比，價值3.3億澳元、預計於2021年完工的阿德萊德天 空城(SKYCITY Adelaide)升級改造計劃就順利得多。為了幫助這些升級計劃以 及其他該公司在Queenstown和Hamilton的娛樂場的改造計劃籌集資金，SKY- CITY完成了以1.88億澳元向美國公司Delaware North出售了前稱達爾文天空 城(SKYCITY Darwin)的物業，同時亦賣出了該公司在奧克蘭那價值2.2億紐元的 停車場長期專營牌照。 該公司在8月啟用了其以馬爾他為基地、面向紐西蘭的網上娛樂場。其用 意顯然就是要推動政府合宜地監管該國的網上博彩市場。但該計劃會否成功， 則需要時間去證明。 同時，貴賓板塊業務的反彈亦顯示在2019年財政年度營業額上升36.2% 一事之上，這亦是一個讓該公司向前邁進的正面結果，並有助於該公司克服今 年在賭枱上的不幸運，令其收入輕微上升至8.223億紐元。 CLAIMS TO FAME • Former boss of South Africa’s biggest casino operator 名成事跡 • 南非最大娛樂場營運商的前老板 33 CEO SKYCITY Entertainment Group 行政總裁 SKYCITY Entertainment Group GRAEME STEPHENS POWER SCORE 權能指數 : 859 POSITION LAST YEAR 去年排名 : 33