Inside Asian Gaming

43 April 2013 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING INTERNATIONAL BRIEFS The US$3.9 billion Strip hotel-casino posted a net loss of $106.5 million for 2012, up from the $96.9 million net loss posted in 2011. The hotel generated $124.18 million in casino revenue last year, a modest increase from $107.38 million in 2011. The $3.9 billion resort has worked to increase the amount of table games play in the casino and operates an additional 15-table high-limit gaming area, The Talon Club. Despite the net loss, revenues were up in every business category, including hotel revenue, F&B and entertainment. The resort’s balance sheet was hurt by increased promotional and operating expenses. The Cosmopolitan posted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $52.3 million last year, compared with a loss of $41 million in 2011. “We are extremely pleased to see our unique approach to the LasVegasmarket translate into the strong numbers reflected in our earnings report,” said Amy Rossetti, vice president of public affairs at The Cosmopolitan. “Our 2012 financial performance affirms that The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas brand and guest experience continue to resonate.” Genting Drops Miami Casino Plan Resort conglomerate Genting has shelved plans for a casino in Miami and will focus instead on developing a luxury hotel and residences in the US coastal resort city. Genting Group spent US$236 million two years ago to buy the five-acre site currently occupied by the Miami Herald newspaper with ambitious plans to construct 5,200 hotel rooms, commercial towers, two residential towers of 1,000 units, an outdoor promenade and a massive Resorts World-branded casino: Total price tag, $3.8 billion. The gambling portion, however, failed to win approval in the Florida Legislature in the face of intense opposition from powers such as Disney World, the Florida Chamber of Commerce and the state’s existing racetrack and racino owners. Florida also is home to two large casinos owned by the politically influential Seminole Indian Tribe, which currently holds a state monopoly on live table games and also opposes competing privately run casinos. Genting operates one casino in the US, at Aqueduct racetrack in the New York City borough of Queens. The company’s global reach extends to casinos in the UK, a casino in the Philippines capital of Manila, the giant Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore and its flagship Casino de Genting in Malaysia. Meanwhile, authorities in the Bahamas announced last month that Genting will take over operations of a gaming resort in the Caribbean island nation. The company will invest US$100 million to expand air and sea transport to the facility, the Bimini Bay Resort, located on the tiny island of Bimini. The company will also develop a tourism master plan for the island, the government there says. The resort’s 10,000-square-foot casino is scheduled to open in July. England’s FA Launches Match-Fixing Probe The governing body of English football has joined with the UK Gambling Commission in an investigation into suspicious betting on matches in one of the country’s lower divisions. The Football Association said it has contacted all 22 clubs in the Football Conference South Division to request anyone with information to come forward. Neither the FA nor the commission provided details. Match-fixing has become a global concern in the wake of a recently released Europol investigation that found that hundreds of players, coaches, referees, club officials and others have engaged in rigging almost 700 games in the last three years, almost 400 of them in Europe, including World Cup and continental tournament qualifiers. Much of the fixing is believed to be directed by gambling syndicates operating out of Asia. Over the last year, FIFA, the governing body of world football, has suspended or banned more than 100 players, coaches, match officials, club executives and others in Italy, South Korea and China for involvement in match-fixing. The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas Initial rendering of the planned Resorts World Miami, which is now likely to be scaled down