(Reuters) The U.S. casino tycoon SteveWynn said Wednesday that he might move his company’s headquarters to Macao as it embarks on a major expansion here, in a nod to the rise of the former Portuguese enclave as the world’s new gambling capital.
“I love it out here,” Mr. Wynn said in an interview. “I’m going to bring it up at our board meeting in May. But I have to persuade my staff first.” The Las Vegas Strip, where Wynn Resorts has its head office, has long been eclipsed in gambling revenues by Macao, which has drawn on the China’s growing economy and longstanding passion for gambling.
Mr. Wynn, who has said he wants to make Wynn Resorts a Chinese company, made his remarks as his company’s Asia unit,WynnMacau, officially opened its Encore casino-hotel, which cost 4 billion renminbi, or $600 million.
The property is Wynn Macau’s second inMacao, the only place in China where casino gambling is legal, and it will be the only major casino to open here this year.
Moving Wynn Resort’s headquarters to Macao would be seen positively by the local and Chinese governments, as it would show the company’s commitment toMacao, said Gary Pinge, an analyst at Macquarie Securities.
“It would also illustrate to investors that Wynn Resorts is getting more active in terms of making investment decisions in the region as more jurisdictions open up for gaming,” Mr. Pinge said.
Wynn Resorts gets more than half of its operating cash flow from its Macao unit, a circumstance similar to that experienced by Las Vegas Sands and its Sands China unit, both led by one of Mr.
Wynn’s rivals, Sheldon Adelson.
Further expansion plans for Wynn Resorts in Asia will have to wait because the company plans to concentrate on its Macao efforts, Mr. Wynn said.
His more conservative approach contrasts with that of Mr. Adelson, who owns three properties in Macao, including the Venetian resort, and has said he is looking for opportunities throughout Asia.
“I don’t have jurisdictional fever because again, I don’t think ‘bigger is better.’ I think ‘better is better,’ ” Mr. Wynn said.
He said his company would start construction late next year of its first big casino resort on the Cotai Strip in Macao, dismissing concerns that the local government’s move to freeze new casino building could hurt Mr. Wynn’s expansion plans.
The project will be completed by late 2013 or early 2014, Mr. Wynn said.
“We’re not bumping into the current desire to cool things off,”Mr.Wynn said, adding that he flies to Macao once a month and could stay for three weeks at a time if the relocation of Wynn Resorts headquarters were approved.
The Cotai Strip, a dusty reclaimed strip of land in the enclave, is readying itself for two casino openings in 2011 — one owned by Sands China and the other by Galaxy Entertainment Group.
Mr. Wynn said he expected no effect from the two Singapore casino resorts that will open soon.
With 414 suites and villas and an added 20 percent of space for highstakes gamblers, Wynn Macau is staking out a bigger position in Macao, which is crammed with 34 casinos.
Mr. Wynn said that Macao’s gambling market would continue to grow but that the Las Vegas Strip would struggle because of excess capacity, largely because ofMGMMirage’s new $8.5 billion CityCenter development.
“It’s difficult to ascertain — is there a recovery in Vegas, slow or otherwise, when MGM just added 6,500 rooms?” Wynn said. “They’ve done more damage to themselves than anybody else.”
RelatedPosts
