Inside Asian Gaming

IAG FEB 2023年2月 亞博匯 58 COLUMNISTS utilized and unsuitable for bringing large groups of travellers to Macau from either Hong Kong or Zhuhai. The only land transport options to Macau involve being in or entering a Customs and Immigration zone separate to Macau. Sea connectivity has been severely impacted by COVID restrictions. But all those pan-delta services are no substitute for direct flights into Macau. International cruise ships do not get closer to Macau than Hong Kong, and there is little to attract cruise ship passengers to spend a port day in Hong Kong negotiating their way to and around Macau. LABOR It may have seemed like good public policy to reserve dealer positions in Macau’s casinos for local residents, but what it has achieved is the creation of a serious skill deficit in the local population. There are about 26,000 dealers employed in the casinos, many of whom are in the important demographic group of 21 to 30 years. The government has raised the bar for imported labor and restricted the availability of blue cards for foreign workers. Many skilled expatriate workers have left Macau since the arrival of COVID and its accompanying quarantine restrictions. Finding and mobilizing people with the expertise and experience to establish and operate new non- gaming attractions presents both a policy challenge for government and a practical problem for the casino concessionaires. LAND The Cotai Strip is fully built out or spoken for already. Hengqin island does have available land, but it is remote from the casinos, which are an unspoken but integral part of any non-gaming business attraction model. It is also remote from the established Strip hotels and attractions, which means that some duplication of hotel facilities will be needed. To the extent that access is required to public land, there will be a question as to the price and terms upon which such access will be permitted. If Hengqin