Inside Asian Gaming

40 INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | April 2013 REGIONAL BRIEFS Taiwan Mayor Proposes Floating Casino Casino gambling has yet to become a reality in Taiwan, but one local official is already calling for its expansion. Mayor Chang Tong Rong of the northeastern coastal city of Keelung has proposed that the municipal council should authorize casino cruises to boost the local tourism economy. This isn’t the first gambling option Mr Chang, a member of Taiwan’s ruling Kuomintang and a figure of some controversy, has suggested to his constituency of 380,000. He has also advocated a land-based casino for the nearby island of Keelung Islet, an idea that has garnered little support to date. Gambling ships operated by Star Cruises currently call on the deepwater port at Keelung, which is part of metropolitan Taipei and located about 20 kilometers east of the capital. The floating casinoMr Chang proposes would be housed on a decommissioned 100,000- ton liner with existing entertainment facilities. Investment analyst Grant Govertsen of Union Gaming Research Macau said if anything was to come of the proposal “it could take several years”. “It is not clear to us that casino cruises would even fall under the Offshore Islands Development Act, given that the port from which the proposed ship would operate is on the island of Taiwan,” he stated in a note to investors. The act, as currently written, permits casinos only on offshore islands subject to the approval of local residents. Last July, voters on the island of Matsu approved such a referendum, but enabling legislation is still being crafted at the national level. Mr Chang was indicted last fall on charges of interfering with police after he intervened in the arrest of a woman who allegedly had assaulted an officer during a traffic incident. According to news reports, the mayor forced the woman’s release by shouting at officers and threatening to transfer them. He issued a public apology, but six opposition members of the city council called for his resignation. Melco Taps Genting for Philippines COO A top executive of Genting Highlands Resort is leaving Malaysia and relocating to the Philippines to take over as chief operatingofficer of the company that will manage the US$1.4 billion Belle Grande scheduled to open next summer at Manila’s new Entertainment City casino complex. Kevin Sim, the executive vice president in charge of Genting Highlands’ casino and hotels, will join Melco Crown Philippines on 29th April, the company said in a statement. MCP is the Philippines-listed subsidiary of Macau casino operator Melco Crown Entertainment. MCP has contracted with Belle Grande’s owner, a division of Philippines retail and commercial property giant SM Investments, to manage the resort’s operations. Melco Crown also is an equity partner in the project. Mr Sim is credited with being the driving force behind Genting Highland’s move into integrated data base marketing and customer relatonship management, a track record that Melco Crown Entertainment CEO Lawrence Ho said “will be instrumental in customer acquisition and profitablity management” at Belle Grande. “I am confident that [Mr Sim’s] extensive experience and familiarization with the Asian gaming market, including his vast experience in data-based strategy and analytics, will be an integral part of the success of our project in Manila.” Mr Sim’s previous jobs at Genting Highlands included senior vice president of casino operations, vice president of slots and vice president of finance. Junket Giant Expands Into Grand Lisboa One of Macau’s largest junket promoters, Hong Kong-listed Neptune Group, has added to its growing VIP room holdings with 11 tables at Grand Lisboa. The addition of the Guangdong 31 Sky Club at SJM Holdings’ flagship casino was first announced last year as part of several partnerships Neptune had concluded with VIP room operators at SJM, Wynn Macau and MGM China. The company, ranked second only to Sun City among Macau’s junket promoters, has a presence in the casinos of five of the territory’s six operators, and Chairman Lin Cheuk Fung says more expansion is on the way, stating that “many potential investment maneuvers are within our grasp,” including at some of the new resorts under construction on Cotai. Neptune posted a 33% increase in net profit to HK$306.6 million for the six months ended 31st December. Keelung,Taiwan Rendering of Belle Grande Grand Lisboa