Melco Resorts & Entertainment CEO Lawrence Ho has announced that the company will spend another US$100 million on upgrades to the gaming areas and non-gaming attractions at City of Dreams and Studio City over the next 12 months following the impending launch of luxury hotel Morpheus.
Discussing Melco’s immediate plans during the company’s 1Q18 earnings call on Friday, Ho said that investment into its flagship Macau properties was set to continue “in order to inject freshness into our resorts.”
“We have identified over US$100 million of targeted enhancement CapEx in the next 12 months to upgrade the gaming areas and the non-gaming attractions at both COD and Studio City, which is aimed at maintaining the longer-term competitiveness of these two resorts,” he revealed.
“We have done a lot of work to improve the overall City of Dreams experience but at the same time we have also continued to identify areas to improve and optimize underutilized areas at Studio City.”
The US$100 million is separate to the planned Phase II expansion of Studio City, with Melco having been granted in February an extension by the Macau government of the development period for expansion to 24 July 2021.
It also doesn’t include redevelopment of The Countdown – formerly Hard Rock Hotel – at City of Dreams, which Ho says will become a luxury hotel concept that better fits the overall positioning of the property.
Likewise, the opening of Morpheus will give City of Dreams “the most spectacular offering Macau has ever seen to attract premium customers,” Ho said.
“The opening of Morpheus will allow City of Dreams to expand its dining and entertainment offering, which should help widen its lead over the competitive competition.
“The 70% increase in luxury hotel rooms from the opening of Morpheus will also enable City of Dreams to more aggressively acquire and retain premium gaming patrons, which is key to driving future mass gaming revenue growth.”
Ho confirmed that Morpheus would officially launch within the quarter although an exact date is yet to be finalized as Melco awaits final government approvals. It is also yet to find out whether the hotel will be allocated any new to market gaming tables although Ho claims the hotel’s success won’t be dependent on gaming.
“Even if we don’t get any tables, we feel that the offering is so strong that it will help the overall business environment for us,” he said.
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