Insight RESORTS WORLD GENTING
RESORTS WORLD GENTING REVAMP IN FULL SWING
Malaysia’s only casino operator, Genting, is now one and a half years into a huge RM5bn (€1.2bn) renovation project at its 50-year-old Resorts World Genting property, with construction works proceeding mostly to schedule
The renovation of Genting Highlands, now Resorts World Genting, is expected to drive visitation and add non -gaming attractions capable of attracting a wider tourism base.
RWG announced the ‘Genting Integrated Tourism Plan’ in December 2013, detailing plans to give Malaysia’s first and only gaming resort a much anticipated facelift. The plan includes building hotel Towers 2A, 3 and 4, a theme park, Sky Avenue, Sky Plaza, and a new cable car station.
The hill resort, located about an hour’s drive away from capital Kuala Lumpur, had 20 million visitors in 2014. It aims to lure 26 million tourists by 2018 and 30 million by 2020.
On a recent visit to Resorts World Genting for an update on the renovation, the property was abuzz with crowds on a June Monday, despite ongoing construction works in some areas.
The resort is set to raise its total room capacity by 13 per cent when a new hotel tower fully opens in July 2015. Tower 2A, a RM500 million (€200m) extension of First World Hotel, will boast an inventory of 1,286 rooms when fully operational. As many as 412 rooms, from the lower levels to the ninth floor, were soft launched in December 2014.
The bulk of the rooms, from the tenth to 28th floors, are scheduled for opening this month, pending the passage of a fire inspection from the authorities. Along with First World Hotel, one of the world’s largest hotels with 6,118 rooms, and four other brands including Maxims, Genting Grand, Resort Hotel and Theme Park Hotel, Resorts World Genting currently has a total capacity of 9,770 rooms.
“There is a strong correlation between the number of rooms and revenue at Resorts World Genting. The timely opening of the Tower 2A and Sky Plaza is of utmost importance as the former will drive patronage to the latter,” said an analyst with a Malaysian firm, who tracks the region’s gaming industry. Construction of Sky Plaza, a lower building located below the yet to - be constructed new hotels Tower 3 and Tower 4, has reached the fourth floor.
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Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong, founder of Genting Highlands
were raised from RM50 -RM100 (€12-€24) last year to RM100- RM300 (€24-€72) this year, indicating the mass market is resilient despite recent macro economic challenges,” a second analyst said.
In 1964 the idea for a hill resort came to Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong during a visit to Cameron Highlands. Tan Sri Lim was working on a hydroelectric power project at the popular hill resort, patronised mostly by British colonials seeking cool refuge from the tropical heat. This is when he foresaw a prosperous Malaysia desiring a cool mountain holiday resort within the reach of all Malaysians.
“At this juncture, we don't see why Sky Plaza will not be opened by this year. Its timely opening is crucial as it will be the amenity housing new gaming floors and gaming units like electronic table games and slot machines,” the analyst said.
Tower 3 and Tower 4 are expected to be two new high - end hotels offering 1,150 rooms each. The two facing blocks are slated for openings in 2017 and 2018 respectively, upping the room capacity by another 20 percent, but fail to introduce the architectural wow factor some of Asia’s other casinos can boast.
On the mass gaming floors in May, the Pontoon and roulette tables were occupied, while the others were less busy. A good indicator of the business was during this Chinese New Year festive period. An analyst who visited the property on March 1, the second weekend within the 15 day Chinese New Year celebration, said that the mass crowd was thinner compared to that of last year.
“While there used to be an average three to four rings of people per table, there were only one to two rings of people per table this year. However, the minimum bets
To boost gaming revenue and ward off growing competition from its regional peers, Resorts World Genting recently added a new VIP club called the Genting Club Seasons, said the analyst.
It is understood that the club has 10 new VIP rooms themed on four seasons (spring, summer, autumn and winter). Most rooms have three baccarat tables each, while a few have two baccarat tables and a roulette table each.
“Minimum buy- ins are RM3 million (€720,000) for junket VIPs and RM2 million(€480,000) for direct VIPs; the minimum bet is RM1,000 (€240),” the analyst said, adding it is a worthy addition to Resorts World Genting’s gaming operations.
The real crowd puller of the RM5bn renovation project, however, is the Twentieth Century Fox World, the first theme park licensed by the US studio.
This RM1 billion theme park will be a major selling point after the facelift, adding to the overall appeal of its non- gaming attractions. Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore, also developed by RWG’s owner, Genting Group, touts a Universal Studios theme park.
“Rides of the previous Resorts World Genting theme park were nothing extraordinary and could hardly compete with the others in the region. Now Twentieth Century Fox World is going to be a world's first, we are very excited about the prospect of 2016,” said the employee, who has been with the company for more than 20 years. The new theme park, whose launch date has been pushed back to late 2016 from early in the same year, will feature more than 25 rides from the studio genres such as action, animation, adventure and sci fi. Attractions based on titles including the Ice Age, Night at the Museum, as well as Alien vs Predator, will entertain patrons in a 25 acre park.
Resorts World Genting has enjoyed a steady inflow of clientele from Singapore, China, Indonesia, India, and
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