G3Newswire ASIA & OCEANIA GAMING NEWS STUDIO CITY PREMIERES IN OCTOBER
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Melco Crown Entertainment will open its US$3.2bn Studio City on October 27, 2015 Studio City, on Cotai, Macau Macau - Operations
Melco Crown Entertainment will open its US$3.2bn Studio City on October 27, 2015 Studio City, on Cotai, Macau, close to the Lotus Bridge immigration point which connects with Hengqin Island, and a future station-point for the Macau Light Rapid Transit.
CHINA – MACAU’S ECONOMY FACING FALLING YUAN Following corruption crackdowns, smoking bans, a struggling economy and visa restrictions, the Macau casino sector is now being threatened by a weaker yuan with one analyst predicting that the unfavourable forex rate could shave another 10 per cent of Macau’s GGR next year.
The first half of 2015 has seen Macau’s casino sector almost half in value with GGR falling by 40 per cent to around the US$3bn mark from just over $5bn last year. Analysts at Daiwa Capital Markets have forecast that the weaker yuan could have an eight to ten per cent downward impact on mass market GGR next year and a 20 per cent effect on the VIP sector.
The level of the first half downturn was confirmed with the release of second quarter and first half results at SJM Holdings and Galaxy Entertainment, who saw revenues plunge by 40.3 per cent and 34 per cent respectively.
Galaxy Entertainment Chief Financial Officer Robert Drake said: “It has been one thing after another. In the short term we are still assessing the overall impact of the yuan devalua- tion on the market and what it means for Macau.”
Aaron Fischer, CLSA Regional Head of Consumer & Gaming Research, said: “We believe that most gamblers believe they are going to be lucky and win when they sit down to play. Therefore, a small change in currency is unlikely to materially impact their gaming decision-making process. It is too late to downgrade the sector. The earnings downgrade cycle is over.”
It could be that smaller junket operators will be hit harder than the casino operators. Wayne Lio of junket operator Tak Chun said: “It will probably impact the smaller junkets more. If they don’t have cash flow they won’t be able to wait for their players to pay them back.”
Meanwhile a new study carried out by the University of Macau has identified a growing negative attitude towards the casino sector from local communities. Locals who worked in the casino sector and those that didn’t ranked the casino sector as the lowest point of employment in the tourism sec- tor. Their main reasons though due to traffic congestion and poor public transportation.
Glenn McCartney, Assistant Professor in Gaming & Hospitality Management, University of Macau and co-author of the report, said: “In any sustainable, competitive and lead- ing tourism destination development, resident support and consensus is at its core. We discuss these factors, and within our implications and way forward, issues to most urgently address and communicate to local Macau residents.”
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This Hollywood-inspired resort will take best-of- class entertainment-fuelled leisure offerings to a whole new level in Macau, redefining the territory as a world-leading tourism destination. Envisioned by Lawrence Ho, Studio City is a new cinematically-themed entertainment and leisure destination in Macau that is set to become Asia's Entertainment Capital.
Mr. Ho, Co-Chairman and CEO of Melco Crown Entertainment stated: "The opening of Studio City represents another major achievement for Melco Crown Entertainment as we work to develop and re-imagine the future of leisure destination offer- ings across Asia. It also marks a major milestone for Macau as we continue to deliver on our com- mitment to expanding the non-gaming leisure and entertainment offerings available in the territory, as a continuing strategy in supporting its evolution into a highly-diversified and world-leading leisure and tourism destination.
"The 'best-in-class' entertainment offerings at Studio City are unmatched in Macau. The caliber of our movie-inspired, world-class leisure enter-
Studio City will feature the world’s first figure-of-eight Ferris wheel
tainment is no better exemplified than the endorsement and enthusiastic support of true icons of the cinematic world, who agreed to star in our short film, to celebrate the opening of this magnificent destination resort and support Macau's evolution into an internationally recog- nized leisure destination.
The Art Deco inspired facade, complete with the iconic Golden Reel is home to a world of non-stop entertainment including the action-packed 4D flight simulation ride, Batman Dark Flight; a 40,000-square-foot family entertainment center, Warner Bros. Fun Zone, featuring world- renowned characters from Warner Bros.' DC Comics, Hanna-Barbera Productions and Looney Tunes entertainment franchises; an incredible live magical experience showcasing the world's great- est magicians, The House of Magic; Macau's first- ever Ibiza-style nightclub, Pacha Macau; and a 5,000-seat multi-purpose entertainment center, Studio City Event Center, hosting exciting live concerts, theatrical and top sports offerings in addition to award shows and other special show- case events.
GES installs its Jackpot Poker System on 40 tables at Crown
AUSTRALIA Gaming Entertainment Systems (GES) announced the installation of its innovative table progressive and bonus system at Crown Melbourne (Crown). The GES Progressive system is installed on 40 Poker Tables in Crown’s Poker Room and offers the chance to win a Jackpot prize for all cash game players playing Texas Hold’em Poker.
The GES Progressive system utilises technologies offering a cutting edge and flexible solution. Each poker table is easily con- nected to the central manage- ment console which is ideal for poker room environments where table numbers and locations change regularly. Simon Witty Director of Tables for Paltronics Australasia, GES’ exclusive Australian distributor comment-
ed: “We have been working closely with Crown for 18 months on this project which represents the first major system installation for GES. The GES system is very innovative enabling quick instal- lation, ease of use for operators and a fully featured central man- agement console.”
Crown Melbourne’s General Manager Table Games Strategy & Commercial Tim Barnett, added: “Crown is always looking for innovative ways to improve prod- ucts and provide experiences that customers value and the GES sys- tem allows us to introduce a flexi- ble jackpot product to the Poker Room and provide a further rea- son to play poker at Crown Melbourne. We have been highly impressed with GES and Paltronics in their flawless deliv- ery of this project.”
Australia Australian casino operator Crown Resorts has entered the social gaming space by buying a 60 per cent share in Texas-based social casino and games developer DGN Games for US$ 27.5m.
Crown will invest a further $5m to DGN to support further growth. Ken Barton, Crown Resorts CFO, said: “It’s early days for us but we think the social gaming space is a relatively high growth market.”
DGN Games LLC is the developer behind Old Vegas Slots app, a social casino game with the feel of mechanical slots, which is available on the Apple iOS store and won Facebook’s 2014 Best New Games Award.
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