The CEO of Wynn Resorts and Wynn Macau Limited, Craig Billings, says he sees no surprises in the ongoing casino concessionaire retendering process being conducted by the Macau government.
In response to being asked if there were any surprises in the process, Billings said, “Not really. We understand and appreciate what Macau is trying to achieve – diversifying the market both in terms of geographic origin of visitors and their motivations to visit. It’s not a process that happens overnight. In Vegas, it took many years, and it was a concerted effort by both government and business.”
Referring to the specific tendering requirements issued by the Macau government, Wynn Macau Limited President Ian Michael Coughlan added, “I think the rules that were issued, and the timeline, were very clear. We have sought some minor clarification, and we’re in a six-week process of crystallizing our responses, which we’ll get submitted – by all six [Macau] operators – on September 14. Then we go into a period of negotiation, and I think the government intent is clearly before the end of the year to announce the successful operators.”
The comments from senior company executives were offered during Wynn’s 2Q22 earnings call on Wednesday morning (Asia time), immediately following the announcement of a US$185.3 million operating loss for the quarter.
Macau resort operators continue to suffer substantial losses as a result of ongoing pandemic-related travel restrictions wreaking havoc to the SAR’s tourism industry.
