Inside Asian Gaming

REGIONAL BRIEFS Mocha slot parlors, was up 19% during the period against market-wide growth of 7%—despite the company having to shut down three Mocha venues to comply with government restrictions on slots in residential areas. Net income more than doubled to $223.2 million. Citing “significant earnings and cash flow” the company said it plans to start paying quarterly dividends equal to 30% of net income, commencing with a special dividend of 34.4 cents per American Depositary Receipt, or 11.5 cents a share. The company also said Studio City is on track for a mid-2015 opening as the second of the new wave of mega-casinos coming to the territory’s booming Cotai resort district. This year’s opening of the $1.2 billion City of Dreams Manila, which is fully funded after a recent notes offering, has been pushed from the summer to the second half. The project is a joint venture with a subsidiary of Philippines retail giant SM Investments. Tony Fung Bids for Two Australian Casinos Hong Kong billionaire Tony Fung, who made headlines last year with plans for a massive casino complex on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, has added the country’s Casino Canberra to a bid announced last year for the Reef Casino in the northern Queensland city of Cairns, not far from Mr Fung’s proposed Barrier Reef site. Mr Fung’s Aquis Casino Acquisitions will spend A$270 million for Reef Casino Trust, the latter’s ownership entity, whose partners include Casinos Austria International and hotel giant Accor, and the Canberra property in the Australian Capital Territory southwest of Sydney at the other end of the continent. Casino Canberra is also controlled by CAI. The Reef Casino board has already recommended shareholders approve the offer. Ninety percent must approve for the takeover to go through. Regulatory approvals and other conditions will also have to be met. Mr Fung’s plans for his 750-acre, $4.2 billion Aquis Resort at The Great Barrier Reef include five hotels, a casino with 1,500 slot machines and 750 table games, more than 1,300 apartments and luxury villas, a golf course, a 25,000-seat sports stadium, high-end retail, a man-made lake and reef lagoon and one of the world’s largest aquariums. Wealthy Asians, particularly high rollers from China, are the target market. He’d like to open by 2018 and says the complex will create more than 26,000 jobs when it’s fully operational, which has the government of Queensland reviewing the proposal with considerable interest, according to reports. December 2013 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 43 Altira Macau WMS Announces Expanded Australian Presence WMS Gaming Inc. announced last month that it is expanding its commercial activities in Australia. Building on the efforts of its former distributor, eBET Group, a Sydney-based gaming solutions company, and continuing to leverage the eBET service team, WMS plans to increase its Australian presence in New South Wales and other states and territories by expanding its Sydney office through a new customer-facing sales team and by dedicating a local product development studio to the Australian market. WMS plans to offer an innovative product portfolio that is tailored to Australian players, which is expected to enhance the player experience and help drive long-term growth for customers. With this increased investment and focus, WMS says it is prepared to support existing and future customers and capitalize on additional growth opportunities in the market. Sebastian Salat, President, WMS International, said, “WMS is excited about our expanded role in Australia. Growth in Australia is an important component of our long-term strategy. We are building our sales, marketing and game development capabilities with a sharp focus on local customer needs. We expect that our relationship with eBET will be a key link in our customer experience, as we seek to provide our customers with the highest level of service possible and bring to market our latest innovations.” Tony Toohey, eBET CEO and Managing Director, said, “This agreement reflects the strength of the relationship between eBET andWMS and both companies’commitment to serve our customers in Australia, and provides a better framework for both companies to pursue the opportunities for WMS in Australia.” Tony Fung