G3Newswire ASIA & OCEANIA GAMING NEWS
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MALAYSIA – BERJAYA GROUP SEEK GAMING LICENCE The founder of the Berjaya group plans to operate a Casino de Berjaya Hills Resort in order to attract Malaysian gamblers otherwise opting for Macau or other destinations
Vincent Tan (pictured) founder of the Berjaya group, will apply for a licence
to operate a casino in Berjaya Hills Resort in Pahang, Malaysia. Berjaya will invest the equivalent of 3bn patacas in order to set up the gambling complex that will have as its goal direct competition with other tourist destinations such as Macau and Singapore.
Mr. Tan plans to transform Berjaya Hills Resort into a world- class destination and Malaysia’s biggest tourism develop- ment. The complex will include a gaming centre, indoor and outdoor theme parks, food outlets, a retail mall, hotels, a convention centre and holiday homes.
More than 10 years ago, Tan applied for a licence to operate a casino in the same place but was rejected. Now the tycoon expects to succeed, as the casino complex will benefit Malaysia in terms of foreign exchange gain and economic spillover. According to his calculations, Mr. Tan will employ about 10,000 locals if he succeeds in getting a licence.
“We will re-apply for the licence. Malaysia should not stick to one operator. It should be shared with other operators as tourism developments can generate a lot of income for the country,” he reasoned. “We’ll market Berjaya Hills as a new casino destination globally. I have 4,600ha in Berjaya Hills and there’s a lot that can be done with such a licence.”
Currently, Berjaya Hills, which is just minutes away from the country’s only casino in Genting Highlands, has a permit to operate slot machines.
INDIA- DELTA CORP EXPANDS LAND-BASED CASINO Indian businessman, Jaydev Mody, whose Delta Corporation operates as fleet of casino ships, including India’s biggest floating casino, the Deltin Royale, is looking to expand in the land-based sector. Having initially bought and operated the Deltin Jaqk, Mr. Mody expanded the business with the Caravela gaming ship, which later became the Deltin Royale, which is often present on the Mandovi River. Today, Mr. Mody claims a fleet of three ships that constantly run casino opera- tions across India’s waterways.
In order to help facilitate the immense demand for gaming in India, Delta Corp. has diversified its investments to include hotels and resorts. The company currently operates three hotels that provide accommodation for its gambling clients. However, Mr. Mody has expressed his dislike towards hotels, though he admits they are an essential part of the overall service. He has been quoted as saying “I hate the hotel busi- ness, but you cannot separate the two.”
Delta’s most recent project is a casino-hotel in Daman, which will feature a lavish casino spread over a large gaming floor and 176-room hotel. The company is expecting great results from the casino and hope to build on this momentum to expand business further. Mr. Mody has one eye set on the far East Indian state of Sikkim, where plans for similar facilities are to be announced imminently. Once the opening of Deltin Daman Casino proves fruitful, Mr. Mody intends to head overseas to Sri Lanka where another casino is on the agenda.
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NAGA AIRCRAFT SET TO TAKE FLIGHT
Nagacorp, owner of Cambodia’s largest casino, NagaWorld, is to begin flying in Chinese hi-rollers on its own jet fleet
Cambodia - Operations
Nagacorp, owner of Cambodia’s largest casino, NagaWorld, is on track to begin flying in high- rollers from China on a fleet of its own commercial aircraft, according to the company’s latest earn- ings statement and government officials.
NagaCorp has purchased a number of Airbus A320s to fly VIP junkets between Phnom Penh and China. The move is part of the gaming opera- tor’s long-running efforts to boost the high-roller patronage at its casino. “The Group is also focused on developing the China market by improving accessibility to Phnom Penh, using its recently acquired Airbus A320s and collaborating with key outbound Chinese travel agents, citing a 19 per cent increase in Chinese tourist arrivals to the Kingdom during the first five months of this year.
Despite the fact that NagaCorp’s aircraft will be used only to service casino customers, Ang Kim Eang, president of the Cambodian Association of Travel Agents, said any new flights stand to bene- fit the wider economy.
News of NagaCorp’s foray into the aviation indus- try came as the firm announced a 61 per cent rise in VIP gaming revenue for the first half of the year.
Citing interest from neighbouring, “gaming-cen- tric” nations such as Vietnam and China, NagaCorp’s mid-year earnings statement says the company made $86 million from VIP gaming operations between January and June, up from $53.3 million during the same period in 2013.
“Continued visitor growth from these gaming-cen- tric countries is a driver of the Group’s business growth,” the statement reads.
Overall, NagaCorp, which now has more than 1,500 electronic gaming machines and 169 gaming tables at its NagaWorld casino, posted a 27 per cent increase in gaming revenue, totalling $180 million as of June 30. Net profit for the firm increased 8 per cent year on year to $67.9 million.
Cambodia Nagacorp, operator of the NagaWorld casino hotel in Cambodia, said its $350m gaming and resort project in Russia will not be operational before 2018. It added in its financial statement that the number of mainland visitors to Cambodia rose nearly 20 per cent on-year in the first five months to more than 240,000.
Macau casinos workers and builders threaten strike action
MACAU As the Chinese territory races to build eight new resorts in the next three years, labour strains look set to intensify: workers are demanding higher pay and threatening strikes at a time when operators face a labour shortage. China's special administrative region boasts 35 casinos and relies on gaming taxes for more than 80 per cent of government revenues. Rigid regulations prohibit foreigners from working at the gaming tables, leaving operators little choice but to raise wages to attract and retain staff.
Workers at Galaxy have been planning protests at the compa- ny's resort after a Macau trade union submitted a petition alleging its salaries were ‘disre- spectful’ to some employees.
More than 1,000 workers
protested in August outside the Venetian, accusing the compa- ny of poor wages and unfair promotions. Sheldon Adelson of Las Vegas Sands and Steve Wynn of Wynn Resorts together reported unexpected costs of US$50m (S$62m) last quarter for labour-related compensa- tion at their Macau casinos.
Both Galaxy and Sands China have expressed concern and vowed to resolve the problem.
"For both Galaxy and Sands we are not ruling out a strike," said Mr Ieong Man Teng, a baccarat dealer and president of Forefront of Macao Gaming, the labour group behind the recent protests.
Dealers in Macau earn an aver- age of 17,000 to 18,000 patacas (S$2,650 to S$2,800) a month, about half the US$4,000 of a
typical Las Vegas dealer. Macau's labour unions have been rapidly gaining strength over the past year, garnering support from young people who have grown accustomed to job security and government hand- outs. Last October, more than 10,000 casino dealers took to the streets in one of the territo- ry's biggest protests. They called on the government to safeguard local workers after casino oper- ators publicly despaired at the difficulty of expanding while adhering to Macau's labour con- ditions.
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