Inside Asian Gaming

November 2008 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 45 but for markets like Singapore where coins are still used, these are available as a no-cost option. Weike’s WP30 imbedded Windows platform incorporating “off the shelf PC technology” is further enhanced by this new range”. TST opens new lab in Macau Technical Systems Testing (TST) has opened a new laboratory in Macau. The company said it indicated TST’s commitment to playing an increasing role in the global gaming market. The new facility will allow TST to keep updated on modifications and updates to gaming technical standards in Macau as well as other surrounding emerging Asian jurisdictions. TST’s Chief Executive, Salim L. Adatia, said that having a laboratory in Macau would speed up the testing work the company already does on behalf of Asian gaming operators and enable it to provide an enhanced service for new as well as existing clients. This includes Transfers of Approval (TOA)’s between jurisdictions. TST has more than 15 years of experience and worldwide recognition in the systems testing market and also maintains offices in Vancouver Canada, Sydney and Melbourne in Australia and London, UK. China Demand Rising PacificNet, a provider of gaming and mobile game technology with a focus on emerging markets, says it is seeing “impressive” growth opportunities in Mainland China and Macau, despite the global economic downturn. “We are seeing steady demand for our products ingames,gaming, mobile and e-commerce,” Victor Tong, PacificNet’s chief executive, told the Asian Gaming Investor conference in Singapore. Attendees at the conference included Asian Coast Development Ltd. (ACDL), the company behind the Ho Tram Strip project in Vietnam. Other bodies represented included: First Cagayan; PhilWeb; eCOGRA; International Masters of Gaming Law (IMGL); Sovereign Group; AsianLogic; Spectrum OSO Asia; NagacorpWorld; Orient Pearl Entertainment & Management; Asian Poker Tour; Globalysis; iFaFa, and the China Center for Lottery Studies. Manila Bay Casino Project on Target Newport City, the US$1.55 billion casino, hotel, entertainment and retail complex planned for Manila in a joint venture between Star Cruises and Philippines entrepreneur Andrew Tan, is reportedly on target with its funding. MrTansaidinaninterviewwithalocalnewspaperthatasignificant proportion of his USD1 billion contribution had been raised through the preselling of real estate at another project in Manila developed by his property company Megaworld. He said 70% of the 4,000 condominiums there had been presold. The rest of the cash will come from selling or leasing ten office buildings also on the site, and through cash flow from his various business interests. Mr Tan, the son of a Chinese factory worker, was recently listed as the fourth richest man in the Philippines by Forbes Asia. He said construction on Newport City is continuing around the clock. The partners say they expect to open Resorts World Casino (the same brand name that Star’s parent Genting Group is using for its new Singapore casino) in 2009. Japan’s Aruze, a maker of pachinko and slot machines and 22% owner of US gaming giant Wynn Resorts, was awarded a Philippines gaming licence in August. In a statement issued before the recent escalation in the global financial crisis, Aruze said it planned to invest up to US$2.5 billion in a casino resort, to be opened in 2010. Taiwan Cool on Casinos? A senior Taiwan politician claims his fellow countrymen are not yet ready to accept casinos. The comments were made in an interview published in the Chinese-language Macao Daily News with Jason Hu, mayor of Taichung,Taiwan’s third largest city. Mayor Huwas responding to reports that several foreign investors were interested in developing a casino resort in the Chennan area of Taichung County, on the northwest coastal plain of Taiwan. City of Dreams Faces Delay MelcoCrownEntertainment hasbeen tipped todelay theopening of its US$2.4 billion casino and hotel project by three months amid a downturn in the world’s largest casino market, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. A gaming analyst at Merrill Lynch,Daniel Renshaw,said in a recent note to clients that the 1,400-room hotel and 500-table casino was likely to be unveiled on July 1, instead of at the beginning of April. According to the note, Melco Crown does not want a repetition of its experience with its first casino-hotel project in Macau, which opened in May last year without all its gambling rooms in operation. City of Dreams has experienced cost blow-outs during construction and is facingdifficult gaming conditions. When complete, City of Dreams will boast a 420,000 square foot casino with over 550 gaming tables and 1,500 gaming machines. It will also eventually include approximately 2,200 guest rooms and a wide range of dining and entertainment options. The planned Manila Bay Integrated City City of Dreams rendering