Inside Asian Gaming

JUly 2015 inside asian gaming 43 The company remains optimistic about the Philippine tourism industry, said Travellers President and CEO Kingson Sian at the annual stockholders’ meeting last month. The Department of Tourism expects the number of foreign visitors to hit 5.5 million this year. As of end-April, more than 1.8 million tourists—mostly from Korea and the US—had visited the Philippines. Travellers, a joint venture between Alliance Global inc. and Genting Hong Kong Ltd, owns around 11.5 hectares in Newport City in Pasay, which the company has been developing in four phases. The first phase covers the casino, Maxims Hotel, Mariott Hotel Manila and Remington Hotel that are now operating at Resorts World Manila. The ongoing second and third phases will include the construction of Hilton Manila Hotel, Sheraton Hotel Manila and Belmont Hotel. The last phase, which is still in the planning stage, will include a 1,000-room hotel under an international brand and a podium in the remaining two hectares of the property. The ongoing expansion also forms part of the strategy to expand the non-gaming business to further drive revenues. Travellers generated P7.6 billion (US$169 million) in gross revenues during the first quarter, down from the P8.0 billion reported for the year-ago period after its gaming revenue dropped to P6.8 billion from P7.2 billion. China Reveals Misuse of Lottery funds China has uncovered widespread misappropriation of 16.9 billion yuan (US$2.72 billion) of funds from its state lottery program, underscoring the extent of official corruption as the country tries to root out graft, reports Reuters . Funds were misappropriated through the buying and building of office buildings and hotels or embezzled, the National Audit Office said in a report on its website. The state auditor said the irregularities accounted for a quarter of the total of lottery funds received in its 2012-2014 investigation that spanned 18 provinces. It said 17 provinces had flouted the law in engaging in lottery sales through the Internet without approval from the Ministry of Finance. In another case, 32 lottery shops had used 3.1 billion yuan to construct office buildings, training centers and hotels, the report said. Spurred by rising disposable income, a strong appetite for gambling and more sophisticated games, China’s lottery market has boomed with customers splurging billions of dollars. China is expected to overtake the United States as the world’s biggest lottery market this year. The government has so far contained casino gambling to Macau, in part because of social concerns. Experts say officials consider the lottery system more sanitized, with fewer negative effects on citizens. The review comes as President Xi Jinping’s government has waged a fight against corruption, warning that the problem is so bad it could affect the Communist Party’s grip on power. Lottery products are typically sold through authorized stations throughout the country in the form of physical tickets. These range from dedicated lottery stores to counters in supermarkets, post offices and gas stations. Unlike the United States and Europe, where prizes can climb into the hundreds of millions of dollars, China caps jackpots at 10 million yuan (US$1.6 million). Tickets sell for 2 to 200 yuan, with proceeds supporting sports and welfare charities. Okada’s Universal Entertained Sued by Shareholder REGIONAL BRIEFS According to a filing with the Japanese stock exchange, as reported by GGRAsia , Universal Entertainment Corp shareholder Tsuyoshi Hosoba is suing for damages related to Wynn Resorts Ltd.’s cancellation of 24.5 million shares held by Universal. The company was given a promisorry note for US$1.9 billion to reclaim the shares, then worth US$2.77 billion. The shares represented a 20% stake in Wynn Resorts. The shareholder is claiming that Universal management breached duty of loyalty and duty of due care on seven counts. The lawsuit names Kazuo Okada along with three current directors, six former directors, and three former officers of the company. The board of Wynn Resorts contended in 2012 that Mr Okada was not suitable to be a shareholder in their company, alleging that he had bribed Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor) officials in his pursuit of a casino license for his Manila Bay Resorts casino. Mr Okada has denied any wrongdoing and in 2012 filed a criminal complaint in Japan against Wynn Resorts Ltd and the company’s CEO Steve Wynn claiming defamation. But the allegations precipitated investigations in his home country of Japan, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and in the US. Kazuo Okada