Inside Asian Gaming

IAG MAR 2020年3月 亞博匯 51 日本 bidders for the Singaporean IR industry born in 2010, and the result is the iconic Marina Bay Sands, often touted by those in Japan as a beacon of everything Japan is trying to achieve in giving birth to its own IR industry. Sands and Galaxy are arch rivals in Macau, despite originally being partners in the winning of a Macau license some 20 years ago, or perhaps partially because of it. Since getting their divorce the two leaders, Adelson and Lui, have fought bitterly for market share in the world’s largest gaming market. For years, Sands has had its nose in front in that battle, but there are chinks in the armor of the Sands empire. Its charismatic and entrepreneurial leader has been undergoing treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, although it should be noted Adelson has returned to work after some months away. It is perhaps unfair to raise Adelson’s health but it is the reality of the situation. In 2019 Francis Lui was named number 1 on the IAG Power 50 list of the most powerful people in the Asian gaming industry (see iagpower50.com ), just pipping Adelson by a mere two points (7,764 points to 7,762). For the previous six years, the positions had been reversed, with Adelson holding the top spot. As the judges commented at the time, “Right now Sands is the bigger company, but Lui is the bigger man.” Whether the “bigger company” can get over the line in Japan remains to be seen. Many point to Adelson’s financial support of US President Donald Trump, and Trump’s connections to Japanese Prime Minister (and vociferous supporter of IRs in Japan) Shinzo Abe, as a sign of Sands’ likely success. But others point to the fact that Sands is notoriously inflexible, insistent on doing things “their way”, and has a predisposition against partnerships – something that may not sit well with the consortium-based approach which seems to be emerging for Japan’s IR industry. Only time will tell who is right. 些年間，拉斯維加斯金沙集團亦發展成全球最大的IR營運商，市 值達500億美元。 有些人認為艾德森以虛張聲勢而聞名，亦有一些人視他為擁 有遠見的天才，不過不可否認的是，艾德森是聞名環球博彩業的 路氹城之重要推手。雖然路氹城的面積僅有2平方公里，但這區域 是澳門IR行業乃至全球IR行業的中心地，在過去十年間，每年產生 數以百億美元計的博彩總收入。在路氹金光大道上，金沙營運三 個項目，包括澳門威尼斯人、澳門巴黎人及澳門金沙城中心（正改 建為倫敦人）。 除此之外，自新加坡IR行業於2010年發展以來，金沙一直是 當地市場的兩家營運商之一，營運濱海灣金沙酒店，該項目一直 備受日本業界追捧，視為日本IR行業未來的發展目標。 金沙和銀娛是澳門市場上的主要競爭對手，雖然兩者約二十 年前曾一度攜手奪得澳門IR營運牌照，但或許這也為兩者的競爭 關係埋下了伏線。自這兩家企業終止了合作關係後，艾德森及呂 志和分別帶領金沙和銀娛在澳門這個全球最大的博彩市場上相 互競爭，以佔取較大的市場份額。 多年來，金沙在這場競爭上一直稍為領先，但這帝國的「裝 甲」浮現了一些漏洞。作為具有超凡魅力和企業家精神的領導者， 艾德森罹患了癌症，並接受非霍奇金淋巴瘤藥治療，而且在接受 治療的數月後已復工。現在提起艾德森的身體狀況，或有一點不 公平，但這是事實。 呂耀東去年榮登「2 0 1 9亞博匯5 0強」首位（詳情參見 iagpower50.com） ，以兩分之差擊敗艾德森（7764比7762），成為 亞洲博彩業界最具影響力的人物。此前的七年，艾德森一直位居 榜首，而呂耀東只是緊隨其後。「亞博匯50強」評委於去年指出：「 雖然金沙目前仍是較大的公司，但呂耀東已是較具影響力的人 物。」 金沙這間「較大的公司」能否在日本市場中脫穎而出仍是未 知之數。鑑於艾德森是美國總統特朗普的金主，而特朗普與日本 首相安倍晋三關係匪淺，安倍更是日本IR項目發展的重要支持 者，所以很多分析指金沙很大機會在日本市場上取得成功。然而， 又有分析提到金沙缺乏靈活性，只按自己的本子辦事，並且對合 夥制存有偏見，這也許不是一件好事，因為目前看來日本IR項目 或將採用聯營體形式營運。 大家唯有拭目以待，看看誰是正確的。