In this regular feature in IAG to celebrate 20 years covering the Asian gaming and leisure industry, we look back at our cover story from exactly 10 years ago, “Political designs”, to rediscover what was making the news in June 2015!
It could be that we’ve all got very short memories, or the fact that 10 years is in fact an eternity in our industry, but just as today’s Macau-based conversations are all about diversification, so too were those of a decade ago, when those very same “radical” ideas were already being entertained.
In the June 2015 edition of Inside Asian Gaming, our cover story, titled “Political designs”, took a closer look at what we described as “government pressure to diversify beyond gaming” as evidenced by the impending launch of Galaxy Macau Phase 2. It is not lost on us that, as we write this, Galaxy Entertainment Group is starting to ramp up preparations for the launch of Galaxy Macau Phase 4.
In 2015, however, Phase 2 represented the first of the Cotai Strip’s “second wave” of new IR openings and expansion projects, predating the likes of The Parisian Macao, Studio City, Wynn Palace, MGM Cotai and Grand Lisboa Palace. As such, the US$3 billion project was seen as a test case in determining if what the government wanted was also what customers wanted. Hindsight would provide a resounding “yes”.
“The resort will provide a test case of how much Macau’s slump is attributable to the lack of new attractions, particularly on the mass market side, and how potent non-gaming attractions can be to draw traffic and boost revenue,” we wrote at the time.
Parallels can be drawn between the new offerings that Galaxy Macau Phase 2 promised and those that will be added as part of the upcoming Phase 4 development. Phase 2 boasted three new hotels including the property’s first all-suite hotel, Ritz-Carlton Macau, plus a 3,000-seat theater, destination spa, vastly expanded retail, food and beverage options, and more gaming space.
Phase 4 will add another six high-end hotel brands, a 5,000-seat theater, expanded retail, food and beverage options, and even more gaming space.
Facilities will, however, be attuned to the premium mass segment as opposed to the VIP market that dominated back in 2015.
Despite the market uncertainties that existed at the time, industry analysts were confident in Phase 2’s prospects, with Union Gaming’s Grant Govertsen and Felicity Chiang writing, “The expansion will enable Galaxy, for the first time, to fully compete across all market segments, and to provide a much more meaningful IR experience. This should allow the company to be a near-term market share taker across all gaming segments.”
Likewise, expectations remain high for what Galaxy Phase 4 has in store, as Macau continues its relentless diversification march.
