Inside Asian Gaming

April 2011 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 45 Briefs Mr Packer said the start of the US$250 million House of Dancing Water show at CoD in September last year had lifted December quarter turnover and was drawing a new breed of clientele to the resort. “It is terrific,” he said of the show. “Our last two quarters in Macau have been excellent.” “People have no idea about Macau until they have been there. I think it is one of the most competitive markets in the world, with a standard of product that is –if not the world’s best already–on the way to being the world’s best,” he explained to The Australian . “Macau is beginning to work out really well for us. Macau stands on its own two feet on a stand-alone basis, but it also helps us develop new contacts in the region, meet new people, meet new players,”Mr Packer said, adding that the MPEL joint venture helped to publicise the Crown brand with a new generation of Asian consumers and gamblers. “[And] it is a great dissemination of our brand. What we are trying to do against some of the biggest and most successful companies in the world is produce a product that is world class,” he stated. “Anyone who has been to the City of Dreams would recognise that that is an amazing facility.” Mr Packer’s comments come only weeks before the opening of another major Macau gaming resort that will add to the competition on Cotai. Galaxy Macau, developed by Hong Kong-listed Galaxy Entertainment Group, and next door to The Venetian Macao, is due to open on 15th May. It has a budget of HK$14.1billion (US$1.8 billion). The 550,000 square meters integrated resort project features 2,200 hotel rooms and will open with 400 gaming tables initially, with capacity for 600 tables. Sands China, the Hong Kong-listed subsidiary of Las Vegas Sands, is also building a second—US$4.2 billion—gaming resort project next door to CoD on the Cotai Strip. The opening date for that scheme—known in the industry as‘Cotai 5 and 6’is not yet confirmed because of delays in getting enough imported labour on site. Melco International Development 2010 net loss narrows Melco International Development Ltd said its 2010 net loss narrowed 86%, as its associated casino operating firm, Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd, registered an improved performance on the back of surging Macau casino revenues. Hong Kong-listed Melco International Development Ltd said Melco Crown, in which it holds a 33.4% stake, contributed a HK$13.4 million loss to the group in 2010, compared with an attributable loss to the group of approximately HK$803.4 million a year earlier. Overall, Melco Inernational’s net loss in 2010 narrowed to HK$209.5 million from HK$1.45 billion in 2009. Melco Crown accounts for about 90% of Melco International’s net asset value, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The company’s directors didn’t recommend a final dividend. SJM 2010 net profit near quadruples SJM Holdings Ltd, Macau’s leading casino operator by market share, said its net profit increased nearly four-fold year on year in 2010 to HK$3.56 billion (US$456 million), from HK$906.7 million in 2009. The increase was driven by the overall surge in Macau’s gaming revenues, as well as improved operating results at some of SJM’s casinos. SJM’s revenue surged 68% in 2010 to HK$57.65 billion from HK$34.35 billion a year earlier. The pace of growth outstripped the territory’s overall casino revenue growth of 58% in 2010. The company also said its fourth quarter net profit was HK$1.13 billion, up 30% from the third quarter’s HK$867million. SJMproposed a final dividend of HK$0.30, after paying a HK$0.09 final dividend in 2009. According to a Dow Jones Newswires report, SJM said in a statement that its prospects are “excellent” given continued strong growth in visitation and spending in Macau, general prosperity in Asia, its own casino network and its balance sheet. “While some new capacity will be added to the supply of gaming facilities by competitors in Cotai in 2011 and 2012, this is not expected to have a significant effect on the Group’s business, which is largely concentrated on Macau Peninsula” the company said. SJM added, however, that it is still awaiting the results of its application to the local government for rights to land in Macau’s Cotai area, where rivals are investing billions to build casino-resorts. Indians reportedly bet billion on Cricket World Cup 2011 India’s The Economic Times —quoting sources in the unofficial but massive sports bookmaking industry in one of the world’s poorest but most populated and most cricket-obsessed countries— said at least 60 billion rupees (US$1.3 billion) was believed to have been wagered by Indians on just the semi-final match of the cricket World Cup between India and Pakistan on 30th March. India then went on to beat Sri Lanka in the final on 2nd April, when billions more rupees were believed to have been wagered through underground bookies. Melco Crown Entertainment’s Macau flagship property, City of Dreams New and old—SJM’s Grand Lisboa (left) and Hotel Lisboa Macau (right)