Insight
MONACO Society des Bains de Mer
Pascal Camia, Gaming Managing Director of Monte-Carlo Society des Bains de Mer and Director of Casino de Monte-Carlo.
In July and August, SBM enjoyed a 12 per cent increase in terms of consolidated revenue, including hotels, real estate and casino. In gaming, SBM saw an increase of 16 per cent, which underlines the positive actions undertaken over the past 12 months. During the Monte-Carlo Sporting Summer Festival, five performances by the Cirque du Soleil at the Salle des Etoiles took place over five evenings in which SBM opened the former Sporting Casino. During the event, 700 people each evening would watch the dinner show at the Salle des Etoiles, with the number of players visiting the casinos during this event greatly increasing this year.
In March we staged our €1m Roulette Tournament, which attracted 15 high-roller clients to the Casino Monte- Carlo; while in September we held our first Punto Banco competition using the same knock-out rules, an event that attracted 60 players. At the final table we had three Italians, one French player, two players from Thailand and a Chinese player. The winner was from Bangkok, who travelled with seven players in total from Bangkok, two of whom qualified for the final.
Casinos de Monaco: breaking the mould in Monte-Carlo
It’s been a year since G3 interviewed Pascal Camia, Gaming Managing Director of Monte-Carlo Society des Bains de Mer and Director of Casino de Monte-Carlo. In 2017, SBM embarked upon a radical refresh of its gaming, hospitality and real- estate offer in Monaco. Speaking to Mr. Camia in October, we were eager to find out what progress has been made in 12 months and what still lies ahead.
Last year we discussed the relaunch and rebirth of Casinos de Monaco - what progress has been made in the last 12 months?
Te rebirth - is now a ’birth.’ We have had a great summer season in 2018. July, August and September were very successful months in Monaco, with the first period of October in line with our budget plans for the month too.
One of the new concepts we launched this summer involved the younger generation of customers to Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel, those that visit the Blue Gin bar and the entertainment facilities offered by the resort. We wondered if these same customers would enjoy playing games if we placed tables in their favourite locations? So this summer we initiated our ‘Nomadic Casino’ concept, placing tables on the terrace of the hotel over 12 days; Tursday-Saturday over a four week period, during which we sited a poker table, roulette and blackjack table close to the sofas and loungers where the young people of Monaco like to spend their time.
I can now report that it was a successful experiment. Among the participants at least 30 per cent had not played in the casino before playing with us on the terraces of the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel and Resort. It is important to offer players environments in which they feel comfortable and can experience the casino environment. Te Atrium of Casino de Monte-Carlo has been successful in promoting the casino to the non-players and fun-players, but taking table games to non-gaming spaces has interested players who had previously not stepped foot in the casino. Te Monaco Gaming Authority has allowed us to place tables outside of our casinos, but still within the two square- kilometers of Monaco, and this has been a great opportunity to change the mentality not just of the player, but of our dealers and management team too. If the customer doesn’t enter the casino, then the casino comes to customer.
Promotional tournaments also performing very strongly in 2018. In March we staged our €1m Roulette Tournament, which attracted 15 high-roller clients to the Casino Monte-Carlo; while in September we held our first Punto Banco competition using the same knock-out rules, an event that attracted 60 players. At the final table we had three Italians, one French player, two players from Tailand and a Chinese player. Te winner was from Bangkok, who travelled with seven players in total from Bangkok, two of whom qualified for the final.
Te event was staged over one weekend, but qualifying took place three days before the final, with spouses and travelling entourages having the opportunity to explore Monaco and the surrounding countryside. Te majority of players were visiting
P32 NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE / MARKET DATA
Monaco for the first time and had a great experience, which was very good for the image of the destination. Te winning player on his return to Bangkok was greeted by publicity in the local and national press, which further helps to promote the gaming destination of Monaco. We are planning another tournament in the first half of 2019, which could again be another Punto Banco competition due to the surge of interest we received in September.
Have you seen a performance boost due to the changes made?
In July and August, SBM enjoyed a 12 per cent increase in terms of consolidated revenue, including hotels, real estate and casino. In gaming we saw an increase of 16 per cent, which underlines all the positive actions we have undertaken over the past 12 months. During the Monte-Carlo Sporting Summer Festival, five performances by the Cirque du Soleil at the Salle des Etoiles took place over five evenings in which we opened the former Sporting Casino. During the event, 700 people each evening would watch the dinner show at the Salle des Etoiles, with the number of players visiting the casinos during this event greatly increasing this year.
In 2016-17, during the Sporting Summer Festival, we welcomed 280 customers to our casinos during the events. Tis year, the performances in July and August brought 520 customers to our casinos. Te five nights of the Cirque du Soleil saw 220 customers visit casinos during this period, which greatly increased the volume of players. When you target high-rollers as opposed to mass market, volatility can impact the revenue of the casinos. However, increasing the volume of customers decreases the volatility of the game, which has had a positive impact.
We did experience a small decline in the occupancy of our slot machines during the summer, but this is a general trend across the whole of the French Riviera, in Cannes and Nice too. Te impact of the World Cup from mid-June to mid-July played a significant role, as did entrance identity controls imposed at both Casino Cafe de Paris and Sun Casino for the first time. It was the decision of the Monaco government to impose identity controls to stress the safety and security levels of Monaco.
Outside of casinos, what has been the progress in the hospitality and real-estate structures within SBM?
Te refurbishment of the Hotel de Paris is on-track with the Grand Opening planned for the end of this year. Te real-estate project One Monte-Carlo is also scheduled to be completed very soon, with plans for its official opening at the end of February 2019. At the Hotel Hermitage, a new Managing Director of the
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92
