Inside Asian Gaming

Dec 2007 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 9 Firm Positioning Macao Studio City Co-Chairman and Co-CEO David Friedman believes Macau’s revolutionary transformation is built on a solid foundation “N o one had a blueprint in the 1950s about where Las Vegas was going to be in 2008. No one knew,” says Macao Studio City Co-Chairman and Co-CEO David Friedman. By contrast, the experience of Las Vegas over the last half century offers clears indica- tions of where Macau is headed, yet naysay- ers are loath to learn from hindsight. “I recall when we went out and did the original financing for The Venetian in Las Vegas, bankers asking us ‘Is Las Vegas over- built?’,” says Mr Friedman, who played a key role in the opening of The Venetian, as well as leading Las Vegas Sands Corp’s successful bid to secure a Macau gaming license. Over- capacity is apparently an enduring concern, as “I remember being shown a magazine cover from the 1950s, and the cover story was,‘Is Las Vegas Overbuilt?’” The short answer to that question over the last fifty years was no. The graph below shows that while Las Vegas’ stock of ho- tel rooms grew rapidly over the last three decades—from just over 20,000 in 1970 to around 130,000 now—the rising occupancy rate has proved persistent concerns of over- capacity ultimately unfounded. Cover Story | I I A I G I