Inside Asian Gaming

DECEMBER 2017 INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 11 VIP revamp gaining traction but legal battle looms for Donaco Donaco International Limited says its revamped VIP business at flagship casino Star Vegas in Cambodia has increased 10-fold over the past four months following the decision earlier this year to terminate a junket deal with Macau’s Heng Sheng Group and go it alone. But efforts to take gaming operations in-house have hit a hurdle with the company launching legal proceedings against its former Thai partner for the unauthorized continuing of gaming activities at neighboring Star Paradise. The news formed part of Managing Director and CEO Joey Lim’s AGM address, which outlined the company’s progress since splitting with Heng Sheng Group in February over exclusivity demands. In particular, Lim noted that VIP rolling chip turnover had fallen to as low as US$20.4 million in July – before it signed a new deal with casino marketing agency Vivo Tower Limited to sign up international junkets – but had since ramped considerably to US$189.1 million as of October. A more pressing concern is the ongoing legal stoush with its former partner, with Donaco having announced in September that it had issued a cease and desist letter for continuing to run gaming operations in defiance of non-compete provisions at Star Paradise, which is located adjacent to Star Vegas in Poipet. “Discussions are ongoing with a view to resolving all matters, but in the meantime we have now lodged an application for an injunction with the Cambodian courts and we have also taken steps to initiate arbitration proceedings in Singapore,” Lim said. “While these matters are resolved, we have withheld payment of the final vendor management fee for the Star Vegas business that related to the 2017 financial year.”