Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING DECEMBER 2017 8 Never a dull moment www.asgam.com T HIS year represents the first time in the Asian Gaming Power 50’s 10-year history that Inside Asian Gaming has compiled our annual list of the year’s biggest hitters in December, in order to reflect the true calendar year. Compiling the Asian Gaming Power 50 is an exhausting task but it also provides a great opportunity to look back at the year that was, to reflect and to gain a longer-term view of the events that shaped 2017. Needless to say it’s been one eventful year! The biggest news stories from the past 12months were undoubtedly the two tragic shootings in Manila and Las Vegas. The first, at Resorts World Manila on 2 June, saw a lone gunman fire shots and set fire to gaming tables causing 37 people to lose their lives – most due to smoke inhalation. The second occurred at famous Las Vegas Strip property Mandalay Bay where another lone gunman opened fire from the window of his hotel room on the 32nd floor, killing 58 and injuring 546; truly staggering numbers. Aside from the sheer tragedy of those events, the fallout has seen casino and IR operators around the world take a closer look at their own security measures as they look to prevent a similar attack. In Macau, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau announced in mid- October a series of new measures to be implemented including the installation of permanent metal detectors at casino entrances, increased crisis training of staff, the banning of large bags from gaming floors and a dedicated special ops team with the aim of responding to unexpected events before the arrival of police “in order to reduce the possible number of wounded or dead” in the case of such an emergency. It wasn’t all doom and gloom in the gaming world, however. At the time of publication, Macau was on the verge of recording a 16th consecutive month of year-on-year GGR growth driven by a resurgence in VIP play and the launch of new IRs in Cotai over the past 18 months. A short plane ride away, Manila has enjoyed a similarly strong year with casino GGR up 15% in 2Q17 and 19% in 3Q17 led by record revenue at Bloomberry’s Solaire Resort & Casino and growth of almost 40% at Melco Resorts’ City of Dreams Manila. The new kid on the block, Okada Manila, is tipped to perform at least as well, even if the headlines it provided in 2017 had more to do with the actions of founder Kazuo Okada than on-the-ground operations. Okada was spectacularly ousted from the board of Okada Manila’s parent company Universal Entertainment in June amid allegations of fraud. Likewise, Australia’s Crown Resorts returned home with its tail between its legs after 16 staff were jailed in mainland China for gambling offences, namely the promotion of its VIP business. In what proved to be an eventful year for Crown, it also split with partner Melco Resorts to end its presence in Macau and pulled out of its Alon project in Las Vegas to focus back on its domestic market. How things have changed in that regard. Japan was a hot topic throughout 2017, and will be again in 2018, with the country considered to be gaming’s next big thing and now agonisingly close to passing its IR Implementation Bill. Just about every major casino operator around the world is watching closely with the dream of being one of the lucky few to win a Japan casino license. We also saw the likes of MGM China and Silver Heritage Group face unwanted headwinds in trying to open their new casino-resorts, with both finally nearing completion at the time of writing in what they hope will lead into a highly profitable 2018. They are not alone there with the global gaming industry universally hoping the New Year treats them well. From the team here at IAG , we wish you a prosperous 2018! Ben Blaschke Managing Editor We crave your feedback. Please email your comments to bb@asgam.com. EDITORIAL