Inside Asian Gaming

IAG FEB 2023年2月 亞博匯 28 COVER STORY I AG was launched almost 18 years ago in response to the liberalization of Macau’s casino industry, which saw Stanley Ho’s Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau (STDM) lose the monopoly gambling contract it had held for the previous 40 years. That monopoly system was replaced by three new gaming concessions – awarded to STDM subsidiary Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM), Galaxy Casino and Wynn Resorts Macau – plus three sub-concessions in MGM Grand Paradise, Melco PBL Jogos (Macau) and Venetian Macao. Any doubts over the potential of Macau’s newly liberalized casino industry were dispelled in one fell swoop on 18 May 2004 when some 40,000 people surged through Macau’s first integrated resort – Sands Macao – on opening day. As the famous story goes, Sands staff were literally forced to rip the front doors off their hinges to let exuberant patrons in and avoid a crush. That was a small price to pay, however: Sands Macao made back the US$265 million it cost to build it within its first nine months of operation. That very first pilot issue of IAG , with a cover date of September 2005 and now referred to as “Issue Zero”, carriedtheheadline“Singapore: let the games begin”, referring to the race to win a license to operate one of two integrated resorts with casinos in the city state. That issue was not widely distributed and is now a collector’s item – with just