Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming July 2016 42 in recent weeks, however, after the Commonwealth of Utilities Corporation cut Dynasty’s electricity supply over US$1.3 million in unpaid bills. Included in that supply were the barracks in which the former employees still live. Tinian Mayor Joey San Nicolas has described conditions inside the barracks since power was shut off as being almost totally unliveable, with workers sleeping in tents and under makeshift canopies because of the extreme heat. He has requested a range of items from the Red Cross including mosquito coils, toilet paper, paper towels, drinking water, detergent, electric fans, butane gas, canned food, trash bins, trash bags, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes and soap. The former employees have also been relying on local charities to donate food due to a lack of refrigeration since power was cut. Authorities are encouraging the workers to return home to the Philippines while they await payment. REGIONAL BRIEFS Macau analyst says hotel rooms should triple Macau’s tourism industry will receive a much needed boost in the coming months with around 8,000 new hotel rooms coming on line, but according to leading Asian gaming analyst Aaron Fischer the Macau government should aim to double the current quota. Speaking to Inside Asian Gaming about the current state of the Macau gaming industry, Fischer – the Head of Consumer and Gaming Research for CLSA Asia Pacific Markets – forecast Macau’s total number of rooms to reach 38,000 by the end of 2016 but has called for at least twice that many to help the city become a genuine tourist destination. China sets anti-graft sights on Macau and Hong Kong President Xi Jinping has announced that he will broaden his anti- graft campaign to include Macau and Hong Kong. China’s anti-corruption watchdog, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), will turn its attention to more than 30 government agencies in the Special Administrative Regions in the next few weeks with finance, foreign affairs and public security among the offices to come under closer scrutiny. The CCDI will also revisit Tianjin, Jiangxi, Henan and Hubei provinces which were inspected during previous investigations. Wang Qishan, head of the CCDI, said it was important that the government employ a range of methods to stamp out corruption following the success of similar investigations on the mainland since President Xi took power four years ago. “Inspections are an important way to carry out internal party supervision,” he said. “Inspectors must stay in step with President Xi Jinping and examine whether the party’s guidelines and policies have been truthfully enforced in a bid to resolutely safeguard the party’s central leadership.” Hong Kong based commentator Johnny Lau Yui-siu said, “It signals that the Central Government is serious about cracking down on corruption and no department is spared. In the past, they might not highlight the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office or the Basic Law Committee in their propaganda – but that does not mean the two departments were corruption-free.” Former Dynasty employees holding out on Tinian Around 100 former employees of Dynasty Hotel & Casino in Tinian have been left with no electricity and dwindling food supplies as they wait to be paid up to eight months’ worth of wages. Dynasty ceased casino operations last September citing “insufficient guest arrival and negative cash flow”, with owner Hong Kong Entertainment (HKE) declaring bankruptcy three months later. The company reached an agreement in February to pay its 531 staff a total of US$1.7 million in entitlements but with no money yet released a number of employees have opted to stay and wait. Their already dire situation has taken a turn for the worse