Inside Asian Gaming

August 2016 inside asian gaming 9 Studio City and Parisian] and a theme park could be a way to get them to cross the street.” The Macau-based analyst sees the west side of Cotai focusing on mass business, with a “millionaire’s row” of Wynn Palace, MGM Cotai, City of Dreams and Lisboa Palace emerging to the east. Mainland China theme park operator Chimelong has built Ocean Kingdom, the first of up to nine theme parks on Hengqin, separated from Cotai by just a few hundred meters of water. Hong Kong’s Lai Sun Group, the entertainment conglomerate originally behind Studio City, announced last month it would combine attractions from Hollywood studio Lionsgate and National Geographic into Novotown – a 22,000 square meter indoor amusement park on Hengqin to open by the end of 2018, projected to attract 5 million visitors annually. CROWDED SPACE The big question is whether Macau makes geographic sense as a global or Asian theme park destination? Bloomberg Intelligence Gaming and Lodging Analyst Margaret Huang doesn’t believe so. “Theme parks may be a challenge for Macau, given Hengqin’s development of Ocean Kingdom next door,” she explains. Ocean “There were well established and highly accessible clusters of theme parks and family entertainment facilities in the US such as Anaheim, California, and Orlando, Florida, which made it difficult for Las Vegas to penetrate into the market back then,” Mr Zhu says. “In contrast, within and around Greater China, there is no such ‘dream’ destination for families.” Overall, Asia’s family entertainment remains underserved and the consultant believes casino operators can effectively exploit that niche. “The only Las Vegas operator that has been successful at incorporating amusement rides and gaming is Circus Circus,” Mr Klebanow observes. “They managed to find the right mix of family entertainment, dining, lodging and gaming that appeals to families on a budget. The property offers the Adventuredome – an indoor amusement park built in 1994 for US$50 million – circus acts, a slew of arcade games and affordable retail and lodging, along with fairly low stakes gaming. Ditto for its sister property, Excalibur. So, it is possible to build a property that incorporates family entertainment with casino gambling. It just will never appeal to high-end players.” That prospect may not entertain Asia’s casino operators. Galaxy Macau’s Grand Resort Deck Cover Story