Mocha Clubs is to lose one of its existing slot parlours in Macau under new government regulations to take effect in March. But Mocha should more than make up any lost earnings thanks to two new venues—one opened at Macau Tower in September and one due to open at Casino Golden Dragon on Macau peninsula this week.
The new regulations state that slot parlours must be located within a 500-metre radius of a casino, or be located in existing commercial buildings. The two venues to be closed under the rules are Mocha Marina Plaza and SJM Holdings’ Yat Yuen Canidrome Slot Lounge, at the territory’s dog racing track. Both sites are on Macau peninsula. Mocha Marina Plaza was only opened in December 2008—and has recently been listed as having 260 machines.
The government will work with the venue operators to establish a timetable for the parlours’ closure. But the recently-launched Mocha Macau Tower—should claw back revenue for the Mocha operation. It is open 24 hours and has 260 slot machines. Mocha Golden Dragon, inside the SJM-licensed Casino Golden Dragon, opens this coming Wednesday. It will be spread over three floors and will also be open 24-hours. It will briefly—until such time as Mocha Marina Plaza is closed down—actually increase the number of Mocha parlours from nine to ten.
Mocha Clubs is a unit of Melco Crown Entertainment, jointly chaired by Lawrence Ho and James Packer.
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