Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | October 2012 22 In Focus This would seem to indicate that the investment community has become more comfortable with the sector as well. The investment community has always been interested in the VIP business. But they’ve always had a language problem, and many other problems, in terms of the proper connections and getting feedback from the junkets. There wasn’t anybody to talk to. We’ve done some, actually we did quite a bit, then we kind of slowed down, now it’s picked up again. I don’t think there’s anything that we say that is so earth- shattering or revealing. It just backs up what the concessionaires tell them. And their focus is the concessionaires, of course, when they issue their research reports. Does it present more opportunities for growth? Well, you know, we’re very much at the beck and call of the concessionaires. So as the concessionaires expand and build and turn land into these spectacular integrated resorts, we’re right there with them as partners. That’s where we are right now. Can Neptune in the future be a concession, maybe part of a process like City Clubs, something like that? Absolutely. There’s that possibility. I don’t know if and when it will happen, but it could happen, whether it’s in Macau or somewhere else. Certainly our comfort level is very high here, not so high in some of these other countries. We get asked all the time. But we like the regulatory framework here, the comfort level of the spoken language being Mandarin and Cantonese, some English. We believe there is honesty in the government and things like that. … After Neptune Macau opens their final room, in MGM, there will probably be a bit of a slowdown in terms of openings, because we’re everywhere, and quite large everywhere, and we’re located properly, so it’s not like there’s any need to move. So after MGMwe’ll wait. Galaxy’s Phase II is too new, and we’ll wait on City of Dreams, and within three or four years we’ll probably have 20 rooms. Your forecast for Macau for the balance of the year? At the end of last year I was predicting 15-17% growth for 2012. I think I’ve got to backtrack it a little bit. I’m kind of going with the consensus, in around the 9-12% range. The lead-in to Chinese New Year is always good. And the weather is more comfortable. And the kids are back to school. Not a lot of distractions that people have. The factories are back open and running. People are not on vacation. A lot of that is helpful on the VIP side. And for 2013? Thirteen-15%. But I’m not a fortune teller. I mean, everybody has been adjusting their numbers. Even Francis Lui. He started the year off at 21%. I think he’s on his third number. “After Neptune Macau opens their final room, in MGM, there will probably be a bit of a slowdown in terms of openings, because we’re everywhere, and quite large everywhere, and we’re located properly, so it’s not like there’s any need to move.”