Inside Asian Gaming

August 2016 inside asian gaming 11 island with visa free access for mainland Chinese. Outside Korea’s capital Seoul, US tribal operator Mohegan Sun plans a theme park centerpiece to its US$1.6 billion Inspire resort at the nation’s gateway Incheon airport. TRIBAL FUSION “In our industry you often see a small gesture in resorts that provide limited entertainment outlets for families. However, at Mohegan Sun we have always leveraged entertainment as a draw,” Mohegan Sun Senior Vice President for Business Development, J Gary Luderitz, says. The Experience Park Incheon, Korea (EPIK) includes a Paramount Studios theme park, indoor rainforest with rock climbing and zip lines plus a “next generation” Virtual Science Center alongside the largest indoor arena in South Korea. “Korea is unique in that we have a foreigner-only gaming license and accordingly we will leverage EPIK as a draw for mass international tourism, transit passengers through Incheon Airport, residents of neighboring Seoul and other parts of South Korea,” Mr Luderitz says. The Platinum Ltd Managing Director Mary Mendoza notes these major entertainment investments are happening in markets where gaming is restricted in the local market. In South Korea, citizens can only gamble at remote Kangwon Land casino. Malaysian Muslims are barred from gambling at Resorts World Genting but are welcome to enjoy the rides, shopping mall and other attractions. Singapore residents don’t have to pay the US$70 casino entry tax for Universal Studios or Marina Bay Sands’ rooftop observation deck. “All these components target different market segments,” Ms Mendoza says. “They offer something for everybody” even if they can’t gamble. The Macau based consultant, a former marketing executive for Sands China and more recently Best Sunshine in Saipan, suggests Macau operators “do what the regulator wants,” noting the local Five Year Plan calls for non-gaming revenue to rise by more than a third to 9% by 2020. “It’s time to diversify tourism products and get a more healthy mix of revenue,” she says. LONG ON QUICKIES The best alternative for Macau, rather than fully-fledged theme parks, may be shorter duration family entertainment attractions – 15 to 20 minute “diversions” as Melco Crown Chairman and CEO Lawrence Ho calls Studio City’s Batman ride and Golden Reel wheel, or two hour attractions such as The House of Magic. There’s no modeling technique to quantify which type of family entertainment works best, CLSA’s Aaron Fischer says. He believes Macau’s land shortage inflates the opportunity cost for theme parks, but there’s “not a huge downside” to smaller scale attractions. “The amount of space and cost is quite nominal,” he says. “It’s something Universal Studios at Resorts World Sentosa attracted 4.2 million visitors in 2015 Cover Story