Nine Months of Growth in Macau
Results continue to improve for casino operations in Macau, despite the increased competition from new resort openings, with analysts optimistic for the future
Nine straight months of revenue growth would suggest the worst is behind them for the casino operators of Macau
CHINA CASINO OPERATIONS
Gross Gaming Revenue in Macau has increased by 16.3 per cent year-on-year in April, reaching MOP$20.16bn up from MOP$17.3bn in April last year. Te 2017 total has so far increased by 13.8 per cent whilst April marked the third straight month that the market has outpaced predictions.
Union Gaming’s Grant Govertsen said: “With the beginning of May representing a Chinese public holiday (Labour Day), we expect strong GGR growth to be maintained. We are currently forecasting 15 per cent growth in May, followed by 17 per cent growth in June. Heading into 3Q we expect the GGR growth rate to moderate into the mid-teens, and then into the low double digits in 4Q. Heading into the summer months we are also looking for a somewhat sharper shift in GGR geographical mix. With the benefit of new supply Cotai now constitutes a majority of Macau-wide GGR.”
Wynn Resorts recently posted a Q1 revenue increase of 47.9 per cent with CEO Steve Wynn keen to highlight the role of the rebounding VIP sector. He said: “Te suppression of the VIP
Vanuatu
Zagame Corporation is hoping to sell its Grand Hotel & Casino resort in Vanuatu for US$25m. Te eight-story, 74 room waterfront hotel overlooks Port Vila Harbour and Iririki Island. It includes a restaurant, four bars, conference rooms, and a pool whilst the casino boasts 136 slot machines, 15 gaming tables, and a VIP gaming room.
Rob Cross of CBRE Hotels in charge of the sale said: “We’re expecting considerable interest, predominantly from Australian and New Zealand investors. Te campaign provides an opportunity to acquire the best hotel and casino in Vanuatu, which is currently owner operated but is being offered with vacant possession. While the hotel and casino has enjoyed trading growth in recent years, the introduction of a professional management company with a strong brand reputation could lead to further trading upside.”
market was something that was the result organically of a process that the administration of President Xi Jinping thought was appropriate for the country, the elimination of corruption. And it had secondary effects on high-end products like shopping, and automobiles, and gaming was part of that. But having made a corrective move in China there comes a point when the corrective move finishes. And although corruption is still a major item, the impact has softened, because so much of the work that had to be done, was done.
Ciaran Carruthers, CEO of Wynn Macau, added: “We are very cautiously optimistic in terms of how the business in the VIP side is going moving forward. We've obviously seen some good growth over the last quarter. Te initial, early signs are out that that's going to be sustainable in the short period. For how long that can be sustained really is too early to tell. I'd like to see another quarter or two of some good solid growth. Te upside of course is that with properties like ours we obviously benefit the most in the marketplace being that preeminent product for service and luxury.”
Philippine focus turns to Cebu with $300m casino approval
Philippines
PAGCOR, the Philippines Amusement and Gaming Corporation, has granted a gaming licence to Udenna Corp. who will now build a US$300m casino resort on the Philippines island of Cebu.
Philippine-based Udenna Corp, said construction would start in the next three months on a 12 hectare beachfront property located around 6km from the main international airport. Te casino, retail complex and hotels will open in 2019. By 2022, villas, private residences, a convention centre and a skydiving centre located on a purpose built pier.
Dennis Uy, President and CEO of Udenna said: “Lapu-Lapu Leisure Mactan only marks the beginning of our vision of a
world-class leisure, residential and commercial destination in Central Visayas. We see this integrated development taking a major role in bringing the Philippines on a par with the region’s premier destinations for leisure, gaming and meetings as well as for commercial and residential investments.”
Mr. Uy contributed P30m (US$600,783) to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte election campaign, prompting speculation that the licence is linked to the contributions.
PAGCOR Chief Andrea Domingo has denied this, saying the businessman passed all the processes required. First Metro Investment Corp. Assistant Vice-President Cristina S. Ulang said: “Te venture is ‘the latest and strongest endorsement of the gaming industry by the Duterte administration. Te Udenna investment puts Cebu on the Asian gaming map.”
SAIPAN – Imperial Pacific International will be allowed an extra ten months to build its permanent casino, the Imperial Pacific Resort in Saipan.
The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Lottery Commission approved the amendment to its Casino License Agreement moving the deadline to August 2018.
It also approved an extension for the company’s temporary casino, Best Sunshine Live, which has been given the same extended deadline as the build deadline.
The Head of the Commission Mark O Rabauliman said: “We’ve moved forward with the extension based on a the public comments, made, those who are in support, and the concerns raised in the meeting. There are a lot of livelihood that’s tied into it. We’ve come this far on the progress Imperial Pacific had made, just to immediately yank it without further thoughts put forth, to me seems irresponsible.”
Imperial Pacific blamed ‘severe damage to construction equipment from Typhoon Soudelor that took several months to repair; adverse weather conditions making tower cranes inoperable, unstable soil conditions causing damage to pilings that were driven into the ground; a lack of readily available skilled laborers; an overabundance of water at the construction site delaying the pouring of the concrete foundation; lack of necessary construction materials.’
AUSTRALIA – NextGen Gaming, the Sydney- based game development subsidiary of NYX Gaming Group, has launched ARC, a new proprietary technology which enhances speed to market for third-party content delivery.
NextGen’s proprietary Game Development Module (GDM) provides end-to-game development and deployment capabilities, allowing third-party content developers to focus on as little or as much of the game development process as they choose. With the advent of ARC, external developers can now interface intimately with GDM to deploy their own servers and preferred client game engine framework, without the need for expensive and time consuming external middleware. Thus, completed games can be delivered to operators via NYX Gaming Group’s Open Gaming System (OGS) and other platforms in the quickest time possible.
ARC offers the flexibility to deliver games via varying API’s and programming languages, whilst bringing bespoke server and client technology together, allowing for more freedom than traditional game deployment methods.
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