Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming December 2015 44 Canberra casino announces stunning 80% revenue rise Australia’s Canberra Casino, purchased by Tony Fung’s Aquis Entertainment 12 months ago, saw profits rise by a staggering 80% year on year in October. The once ailing casino in the nation’s capital appears to be enjoying a stunning turnaround under its new ownership, with October revenue reported at AU$2.4 million – a massive 62% rise on September profits. The results come just two months after Aquis Entertainment announced an ambitious plan to embark on a AU$330 million redevelopment of the tiny property, which currently houses just 39 gaming tables. The redevelopment is contingent on the ACT Government lifting a ban that limits the operation of slot machines to not-for-profit clubs within the ACT’s borders. Canberra Casino currently has no slot machines but Aquis is requesting approval for 500 machines on site which could generate an additional AU$60 million in tax revenue for the government. Chief Minister Andrew Barr is said to be considering the proposal. If approved, the redevelopment would produce the ACT’s first integrated resort with a new casino, dining, entertainment and retail options as well as an expanded National Convention Centre covering 3,300 square metres. It would also feature two new hotels including a 100-room five star hotel and a 12-suite six star boutique hotel. Aquis is already close to securing final approval to build a huge AU$8 billion integrated resort in the tropical Queensland town of Cairns, where they are pushing to have 1,500 slot machines allowed on premises. The Cairns development would employ up to 16,000 staff and include an incredible 7,500 hotel rooms, t wo separate casinos, a golf course and an artificial lagoon. Aquis has claimed that a redeveloped Canberra Casino would attract around 750,000 visitors per year and tap into the lucrative Chinese high roller market however ClubsACT has disputed the figure. MGM reject sale of Las Vegas icon The Mirage to Treasure Island owner The owner of famous Las Vegas casino Treasure Island, Phil Ruffin, recently offered to buy neighboring property The Mirage fromMGM Resorts International for US$1.3 billion but the deal was rejected, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal . INTERNATIONAL BRIEFS Ruffin purchased Treasure Island from MGM in 2009 for US$775 million at a time when MGM was struggling to raise cash for its then-under-construction CityCenter project amid declining earnings and a poor economy. He said he was keen to add The Mirage – which is already connected to Treasure Island by tram – to his portfolio because of its 65 acres including 300,000 square feet of convention space. However, MGM Resorts has since announced that The Mirage would instead be one of 10 resorts owned by the company to be included in MGM Growth Properties – a publicly traded real estate investment trust – which will now lease the property back to MGM to operate. MGM originally took over both The Mirage and Treasure Island when it purchased Mirage Resorts from Steve Wynn in 2000. Ruffin – currently listed at number 279 on the Forbes 400 list with a net worth of US$2.4 billion – is no stranger to the Vegas Strip, having previously owned the New Frontier before selling it to an Israeli group in 2007. It was closed and imploded in 2007. He has also been busy picking up real estate around the country recently, having purchased an office tower in his home town of Wichita, Woodlands Racetrack in Kansas City and a 10-acre property near Sunset Park in Las Vegas. Ruffin is a business partner with fellow billionaire and US Presidential candidate Donald Trump in the Trump International Hotel and Tower – Las Vegas’ tallest residential building – which he says has almost been fully paid for after Trump recently sold around 300 condominium units to Hilton Worldwide’s timeshare division. The development still has 400 units remaining with just US$12 million of debt remaining from the US$567 million he and Trump started out with. Daily fantasy sports head to New York Supreme Court Daily fantasy sports (DFS) giants FanDuel and DraftKings have presented their case to the New York Supreme Court opposing an attempt by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to have them shut down. Schneiderman sent a number of daily fantasy sports companies cease and desist letters in early November, claiming they were conducting illegal gambling operations.