Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming JUNE 2015 20 Cover Story areas, and six flexible meeting rooms on the second floor can host groups from six to 216. Galaxy’s retail area has grown into a full-fledged shopping mall dubbed The Promenade that seamlessly rings the gaming floor and links the three hotel towers. The mall now has 200 outlets, skewing toward luxury, including 30 brands new to Macau, and measures over 100,000 square meters. It’s far more easily navigated than Venetian Macao’s Grand Canal Shoppes, though signage could be more helpful. The expanded main gaming floor has the bulk of the additional 150 tables Macau authorities granted Galaxy, along with about 400 gaming machines, and is firmly fixed on the premium-mass segment. The new gaming area blends into the existing casino but has a more intimate feel; the sense of grandeur grows as you approach the middle of the floor. Galaxy’s 75,000 square meter Grand Resort Deck atop the podium housing the casino is now a comprehensive water park. Joining the original wave pool with its 150-meter white sand beachfront, Skytop Adventure Rapids runs 575 meters through white water, geysers and waterfalls. A mountain cavern holds three nine-meter tall water slides, one of them transparent and 30 meters long. There’s also Kidz Island, poolside cabanas, five F&B outlets catering to bathers, gardens and a full schedule of activities for all ages, plus roving entertainers. The pool area is open to hotel guests only, as is the case at Asia’s most famous rooftop pool at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. Mr Lui’s son, Galaxy Vice-Chairman Francis Lui, said that during the first decade of post-monopoly Macau, rapidly expanding gaming revenue fueled strong growth. “In the next two or three years, we’ll see whether [Macau] can be more like Las Vegas, where non-gaming revenue represents more than 50% of their business.”