Inside Asian Gaming

IAG FEB 2021年2月 亞博匯 64 JAPAN will argue its roots in Hong Kong and Macau set it apart, but it’s unlikely to be perceived that way in Japan. Melco hasmade its near obsessionwith Japan clear for the past 15 years. Chairman and CEO Lawrence Ho readily and regularly highlights his passion for the country. In addition to his famous “whatever it takes” statement, he has promised that both he and his entire executive teamwill move to Japan should the company win a Japanese IR license. There are even Japanese- style toilets in flagship hotel Morpheus at City of Dreams in Macau! Formerly following an Osaka-first strategy, Melco has now switched to Yokohama-first. In December last year, Melco confirmed to IAG that it was still willing to invest US$10 billion in a Japanese IR (despite the current pandemic), pointed to its prior hands-on history with successful partnerships and claimed an “embedded Japanese culture in its management and operation.” On the downside, fairly or not, some criticize Melco for a form-over-substance approach, and there is no doubt the company comes across as more daring and risk-taking than its peers. Whether that is perceived as a good thing (think of the Japanese obsession with design, beauty and tech) or a bad thing (think of the conservatism of the Japanese establishment) remains to be seen. And, along with Galaxy, Melco shares the fact that it will be perceived as a Chinese company. SJM had made their interest in Hokkaido known, but since Hokkaido effectively withdrew from the race, for the first round at least, we’ve heard nothing from SJM. If they are making representations behind the scenes, they are keeping very quiet about it. Suncity is of course not strictly a Macau operator, but their power base is in Macau. Their history of being a VIP gaming promoter with clubs in all six Macau concessionaires, and a number of other properties around Asia, has allowed them to gain valuable experiencewith a very wide range of IR offerings across 皆擁有營運貴賓廳的資歷，以及在亞洲多地坐擁娛樂場物業，為 其在亞洲營運綜合度假村積攢了寶貴的經驗。太陽城集團成立於 2007年，但其在亞洲博彩業耕耘的經歷可以追溯到幾十年前。從 其越南會安南岸的開業，到馬尼拉Resorts World Westside的進 展，再到在符拉迪沃斯托克的水晶虎宮殿持有多數股權，以及在 韓國及柬埔寨的投資及佈局可見，該公司希望轉型為泛亞洲的IR 營運商的意圖已十分明確。 在全球知名建築師事務所AEDAS打造的設計藍圖中，太陽城 提出了「IR 2.0」概念，即「匯聚和歌山縣所有歷史傳統、自然景觀 和人文風情等精髓」。上個月，太陽城明確表示，將利用和歌山碼 頭打造可持續發展的旅遊產品，將和歌山及和歌山遊艇城打造為 遊艇天堂，並以體育及當地資源為核心呈現和歌山的形象。該公 司的非博彩多元化發展，尤其是在餐飲和娛樂方面的長期經驗， 進一步提振了其競標的底氣。太陽城通過其和歌山的辦事處在當 地活動，並憑藉其與日本及其他亞洲媒體的良好關係進行公關活 動，不遺餘力地在日本和亞洲其他地區推廣其提倡的「IR 2.0」概 念。 一如銀娛、新濠及澳博，太陽城需要突破其身為中國公司的 刻板印象。但太陽城可以隱藏於一個由日方領導的多方財團之 中，這種方式對於規模大而成熟的IR營運商而言更為困難。這有可 能是太陽城手上拿著的一張王牌。 北美營運商 硬石（Hard Rock） 在日本很容易被低估，因為其在亞洲既非 知名的博彩品牌，也不是拉斯維加斯的標誌。該品牌在日本以其 代表性的Hard Rock Café而聞名——全日本共有7家店，第一家 於1983年在東京六本木開業。然而硬石卻是美國部落賭場的標 誌——甚至可以說是行業領導者，並且正在擴張之中。該公司在全 球擁有十多家娛樂場，包括在邁阿密仿吉他外形的旗艦酒店。其 通過兩名關鍵人士的聘用，大大提升了自身在日本的信譽，其中 的一位是硬石國際的亞洲區行政總裁Ed Tracy，他在業界享有盛 譽，十多年前曾於澳門擔任金沙中國的行政總裁。Tracy的早期舉 措之一包括聘請町田亞土擔任硬石日本的總裁。町田畢業於京都 大學及紐約大學，能說流利的日語及英語，曾在高盛集團及波士 頓顧問集團工作。在政壇方面，他曾出任一系列負責高級政策實 施的職位，以及曾在美國總統競選中擔任顧問一職。上月，硬石宣 佈其在倫敦拿下了The Ritz Club的娛樂場牌照，首個 Hard Rock Café於1971年在倫敦設立。 硬石此前專注於北海道，現時繼續遊說支持該日本最北端的 苫小牧市，但若該企轉而競標長崎或日本其他地區亦不會令人驚 訝。Tracy和町田組成了一支不容小覷的團隊，還獲得來自硬石主 席Jim Allen的信任與支持，後者已經陸陸續續地與Tracy一起合 作了幾十年。