May 5th, 2008
Macau, the new gambling Mecca of the world, is getting a new attraction: another retail mall. Las Vegas Sands Corporation which owns the Venetian Macau casino will be opening another retail area in the Chinese city. It’s expected to open in July, states the company’s senior executives and will feature over 100 brand name stores. The retail area, which will be attached to the Venetian Macau will cover 210,000 square feet and built on the Cotai Strip, an area of land the Las Vegas Sands Corporation reclaimed last year.
Sheldon Adelson, the owner of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, is planning on opening three more of these malls that are common to find attached to casinos in the United States. He is hoping they will give the people of Macau a larger international selection of products to choose from. When completed, the Las Vegas Sands will have a total of 1,200 shops and close to 3 million square feet of shopping on the Macau Strip. According to David Sylvester, the vice president of Retail Development Asia for the company, they want to be able to cater to everyone that will visit the mall during their breaks from gambling.
The entire shopping complex is expected to be finished in 2011 and will include 20,000 new hotel rooms spread across a variety of top hotels, such as Sheraton and St. Regis, Shangri-La Traders, and Hilton and Conrad. Both the retail stores and hotels will produce jobs and boost the Chinese economy.
Macau is the only city in China that allows casino gambling and it has been enjoying a singular boost to the economy in the last few years. In 2002 the casino monopoly owned by the Ho family was broken, and casino owners such as Sheldon Adelson and Steve Wynn quickly jumped on the chance to open new establishments in this growing city. The city has turned into the equivalent of an Asian Las Vegas with international tourists and many gamblers from the neighbouring Chinese mainland. Beyond the casinos, there are many attractions to appeal to families as well as singles and couples wishing to discover the region. Macau, with its past as a Portuguese colony, is truly a mix of exotic Far East with a hint of European charm and history.
The casinos in the city brought in more than 10.3 billion dollars in revenue in 2007, up from the 6.95 billion dollars in 2006. Already Macau is leading Las Vegas in revenue during the first quarter of 2008 and the slowing American economy is finding many high-stakes gamblers choosing Macau over Las Vegas for their gambling trips.
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May 4th, 2008
Contrary to popular belief, Las Vegas is not the gambling hub of the world. This honor belongs instead to the city of Macau, so much so that the authorities are seeking to curb further casino development. In a surprise announcement, the government of Macau passed a ruling stating that they will temporarily halt the issuing of new licenses and freeze all land deals that may have been made for the construction of new casinos in the city. Macau has seen an influx of gambling giants over the last few years which has contributed to its booming success. However, some locals are concerned over the gaming explosion.
The city’s chief executive Edmund Ho made the announcement that new casino growth will be curtailed and no further licenses will be granted. Six companies currently have license, including Wynn, Sands, Galaxy and Crown. The news has been welcomed by Australian billionaire James Packer, however. Packer’s Crown casino group has been developing casinos and hotel properties in the city with Melco PBL Entertainment and the announcement has opened the doors for the agreement to gain some much needed ground against their competitors.
Crown Macau, which is run by Packer’s company, will be joined by the new casino The City of Dreams in March 2009. The first phase of the construction is already under way.
Part of the government’s decision came from the social tensions among the populace that feel the gaming boom has not helped the local economy – despite raking in an estimated $10 billion in 2007. The new policies have come all the way from the central government in Beijing. There have been numerous assessments and discussions about the decision and how the gaming industry has grown in the city and the people involved feel that the larger casinos are simply taking over.
Currently there are three casino licenses and three casino sub-licenses that have been issued to the six main companies that already have casinos in the city. These licenses have allowed 29 establishments to be built and operated in Macau and there is hope that the halting of the licenses will help consolidate the gaming industry as it currently stands. The government realizes that the decision may cause some of the smaller casinos to close their doors or merge with the larger ones. The casino boom in the city has not sat well with some of the populace and has spawned anti-government protests over the growing economic gap.
Macau has been faring better than Las Vegas in the current economic crisis in the United States and it remains to be seen how this licensing halt will affect the gambling industry overseas.
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