Inside Asian Gaming

REGIONAL BRIEFS in the Chinese territory, the largest casinomarket in terms of revenue in the world, reaching US$45 billion last year, and the source of 70% of Wynn Resorts’ revenues. Not surprisingly, Mr Wynn has described Wynn Palace, which started construction on Cotai last year, as the most important project in the company’s history. Opening is slated for 2016. Plans call for a 500,000-square-meter resort with 1,700 luxury hotel rooms, massive floral sculptures, a man-made lake and aerial tram rides in air-conditioned gondolas designed as smoke- breathing dragons. Through Wynn Macau the company operates two five-star hotels on the Macau peninsula that include 1,008 rooms and suites, about 275,000 square feet of casino space, an array of restaurants, spas and other attractions, and approximately 57,000 square feet of retail shopping. Mr Aziz, 57, rejoined his former boss last January after several years at Las Vegas Strip rival MGM Resorts International, where he served in a number of top roles, the last as president and CEO of MGM Hospitality, the division responsible for developing and operating luxury hotels around the world under the Bellagio, MGM Grand and Skylofts brands. Prior to joining MGM he was senior vice president at Bellagio, the Strip flagship of Mr Wynn’s Mirage Resorts, which was bought out in 2000 by MGM, then known as MGM Grand Inc. Viet Court Agrees to Review $55M Slot Glitch A court in Ho Chi Minh City will consider an appeal by the owner of the Sheraton Saigon Hotel against a trial court ruling awarding a gambler a US$55.5 million jackpot triggered by a slot machine malfunction. The trial court ruling, issued a year ago, dismissed Dai Duong Joint Venture Company’s claim that the win was invalid despite technical evidence provided by the company showing the machine had malfunctioned. The court instead found for 61-year-old Ly Sam, a Vietnamese-American, on the grounds that the winning amount was displayed on the machine’s screen and the machine had issued no “error report”. Mr Sam sued Dai Duong after the company initially agreed to pay him only the equivalent of US$300, the amount he spent gambling at the casino, in accordance with Vietnamese regulations requiring operators to refund players for technical problems. Crown Melbourne Faces New Slot Tax The Australian state of Victoria is proposing a tax on Crown Melbourne’s slot machines in the amount of A$22,175 per device. The annual levy is designed to raise $56.8 million a year to fund infrastructure developments such as roads and schools while allowing the state to maintain its AAA credit rating. Any changes in tax policy between Crown and the Victorian government need to be agreed by both parties. Crown, which is controlled by billionaire James Packer, confirmed that it was in discussions with lawmakers and expects those to conclude early this year. Mr Packer described them as “positive”. “Both Crown and the Victorian government would like to see the Crown Melbourne resort continue to grow and to attract more overseas and interstate tourists,” he said. Crown Melbourne is the biggest contributor to the company’s profits in a soft domestic market that saw operating earnings fall 12% in the last financial year. CWN’s underlying profit was up 14% over the same period, largely due to the success of the company’s Melco Crown Entertainment joint venture in Macau. Wynn Resorts’ Macau Business Found Suitable by Massachusetts The Massachusetts Gaming Commission announced on 29th December that it had found Wynn Resorts, Limited suitable to hold a gambling license in the state, as its proposedWynn Everett project moves one step closer to breaking ground, reported the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Las Vegas-based Wynn Resorts has proposed a US$1.2 billion resort-casino in Everett on the site of a former Monsanto chemical plant. The project, built on 32 acres along the Mystic River, will include a 550-room hotel. The final step in the approval process is the gaming commission signing off on the company’s site, design, finance and other key aspects of its proposal. In its nine-page report, the commission said Wynn Resorts had adequately addressed concerns raised by gaming investigators about its casino business in Macau. Regulators also said the concerns about whether an undisclosed owner of the Everett parcel had a criminal background had been addressed. “It is clear … that the applicant has created a dynamic within its company that promotes strict regulatory compliance,” the commission said. The company also demonstrated “at the hearing that it engages in responsible business practices in Macau.” December 2013 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 43 Crown Melbourne Rendering of the proposed Wynn Everett