Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | August 2010 46 Briefs International Briefs and 13 of the revenues from the market,” Wynn said during a conference call with analysts. “Now, we have 10% of the equipment and 16-17% of the revenue. We are on our way to the best year in this company’s history, or in the history of any company I’ve ever been involved with.” During the conference call, Wynn told listeners he had completed preliminary designs of the company’s next hotel-casino in Macau, planned for a 52-acre site on the Cotai Strip. In previous comments, Wynn said he didn’t expect the project to be completed by 2014. He said he thought he might be able to share some proposed renderings by the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call early next year. Wynn added that after completing preliminary designs, the company had 12 acres left over, which could be used for further development.“It will be a chance for us to expand or add other things to make Macau more attractive,”Wynn said. Despite the focus on Macau, Wynn said the company will spend $99 million to remodel all 2,700 rooms at the now 5-year-old Wynn Las Vegas. The project is expected to be completed by the spring. The Wynn Las Vegas baccarat pit will be remodeled and two restaurants will be added to the resort. “Wynn Las Vegas will be spruced up from the golf course to the Strip by next spring,”Wynn said. LVS narrows net loss Las Vegas Sands Corp (LVS) said it lost US$4.7 million, or 1 cent per share, for the three months ended 30th June. A year ago, the company lost $222.2 million, or 34 cents per share. Companywide revenues grew 51% to $1.59 billion, helped by results from its three resorts in Macau. LVS said revenues produced by the Venetian Macau, Sands Macau and Four Seasons Macau increased 40.7% to $1.04 billion in the quarter, compared to $738.9 million in the second quarter of 2009. Meanwhile, the company’s US$5.7 billion Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, which opened 27th April, generated $94.5 million in cash flow in its first 65 days. “Both gaming volumes and visitation to the MGM reports US$883 million 2Q net loss MGM Resorts International announced its second quarter net loss was US$883 million, compared to a loss of $212 million in the same three-month period a year ago. MGM Resorts blamed much of the loss for the quarter, which ended 30th June, on a pre-tax, non- cash impairment charge of approximately $1.12 billion related to the investment in CityCenter, the US$8.5 billion Strip development that opened in December. There was a separate US$29 million non-cash charge due to an impairment of CityCenter’s 2,400-unit residential inventory. MGM Resorts owns CityCenter in a 50-50 joint venture with Dubai World, the investment arm of the Persian Gulf emirate. Despite the results, MGM Resorts Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jim Murren said CityCenter is seeing improved business activity. Aria, the development’s centerpiece 4,004-room hotel casino, saw occupancy increase in the quarter and grew non-casino revenues. “The Las Vegas operating environment remains difficult, but as we expected, we are seeing a gradual recovery,” Murren said. “Our adjusted (cash flows) improved compared to the first quarter, despite low hold percentages.” Company wide net revenue grew in the quarter to $1.54 billion, compared with $1.46 billion in the first quarter of 2010. CityCenter reported net revenues of $401 million in the second quarter, which included $218 million related to sales of condominiumunits at Vdara, Mandarin Oriental and Veer Towers. Part of the residential revenues included $56 million in forfeited residential deposits. CityCenter had a total operating loss of $128 million. One sign of improvement was the results from the MGM Grand Macau, the company’s 50%owned resort inChina. MGMGrandMacau earned operating income of $40 million in the quarter, including depreciation expense of $21 million. A year ago, the resort reported an operating loss of $8 million, which included depreciation expense of $22 million. Wynn Resorts sees profit rise Wynn Resorts reported net income of US$52.4 million, or 42 cents per share, for the three month-period that ended 30th June. A year ago, Wynn earned $25.5 million, or 25 cents a share. At Wynn Macau and Encore at Wynn Macau, the two resorts collected US$723.3 million in revenues, a jump of 74% from $410.4 million in the same quarter a year ago. Encore atWynnMacau opened on April 21 with 410 suites and a casino expansion. Companywide revenues, which includes Wynn’s two Strip resorts, was $1.03 billion, up from $723.3 million in the same quarter a year ago. Wynn’s two Las Vegas Strip casinos lost $17.2 million during the period. Wynn Resorts Chairman Steve Wynn said the company’s Macau casinos picked up a larger piece of the Chinese gambling market after Encore opened. “Prior to the opening of Encore, we had 8.5% of the equipment The elegant lobby at Encore Macau