Inside Asian Gaming

REGIONAL BRIEFS Macau Dealers Strike, Win Bigger Bonuses It is reported that croupiers at Macau’s Grand Emperor casino went on strike briefly at the end of January and won an annual bonus twice as large as management had offered. The new agreement with the casino, which is independently owned and operated as a sub-licensee of SJM Holdings, calls for a bonus equal to two months’ salary. Management previously had offered one month, according to investment analysts Union Gaming Research Macau. Annual bonuses are customary in the local gaming industry and are calculated in terms of a lump sum rather than as a percentage of annual pay as in the US. It’s not known what the impact of the job action will be, but UGRM suggests it “could result in a growing chorus for higher wages and bonuses throughout the industry”. Sands China, for one, announced soon after that it would pay bonuses in early February to all full-time employees. Macau’s dealers are in a position to exercise considerable leverage with the six casino concessions when it comes to pay and working conditions. Not only is the market the largest in the world and immensely profitable, but labor is in critically short supply citywide—total unemployment runs at under 2%—and government policy prohibits the concessions from employing foreign labor on the games. New research by Morgan Stanley estimates that the six megaresorts coming to Cotai in the next three to four years will require more than 30,000 new dealers and hotel staff, which the available labor pool will not be able to fill. The firm forecasts the deficit will amount to more than 13,000 workers. “There could be a sustained period of labor-related issues,” UGRM says. “This is likely to put upward pressure on wages, which should largely go unseen on the P&Ls of the resorts, but could be problematic for [small and medium-sized businesses] who are competing for these same employees and don’t have the wiggle room for what could be a materially higher cost of labor.” New Thai Study Backs Legalization A report by Thailand’s prestigious Chulaongkorn University says the country should make its play for a share of Asia’s gambling boom by legalizing casinos. The Bangkok-based university’s Social Research Institute published the study, which argues that Thailand’s antiquated gambling laws are leaving it behind while several Asian markets, notably Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, are preparing to legalize or expand gaming with a focus on integrated destination-scale resorts. The report pointed out that the Asia-Pacific region now ranks as the world leader in casino revenues, with its share of the global market expected to reach 43% by 2015, ahead of the United States with 40%. The report recommends the country adopt regulations in place elsewhere in the region as a model and that any reform should contain measures to protect Thai citizens from the potential for social harm. Hainan ‘Casino’ Shut Down—Again Authorities on the South China resort island of Hainan have closed an illegal “casino” operating in a bar at the five-star Mangrove Tree ResortWorld hotel, the second time in less than a year the venue has been shut down for violating the country’s ban on casinos. Jesters, a bar at the Sanya Bay resort, gained notoriety last February in a Reuters report about its“cashless casino,”which offered baccarat and blackjack games at 50 tables that paid out winnings in “points”that could only be redeemed for non-gaming amenities and services at the resort. The operation was reputed to be one of as many as 10 such establishments operating on Hainan as part of a pilot project intended to one day evolve into a real-money casino hub to rival Macau, currently the only Chinese jurisdiction in which casino gambling is legal. But as news of the games spread, embarrassed local authorities closed it down. But not for long. In September, the games were back in action, along with several competitors at other locations. Then state broadcaster China Central Television got wind of Jesters and aired a report saying it had encouraged other operators to open their own underground gambling dens, allegedly with local police protection. That’s when officials in Hainan acted. On 3rd January, five police inspectors were fired. An emergency meeting followed at which Sanya Mayor Wang Yong ordered Jesters shut— again—and this time it’s been reported that individuals connected with the casino were detained. In all, the Sanya government has arrested 16 people this month in connection with five investigations into illegal gambling, according to state news agency Xinhua. December 2013 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 43 Jesters “cashless casino” owner Zhang Baoqua is a well-connected Chinese art, film and real estate mogul.