The New Face of a Gaming Mecca
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6 HK | BUSINESS Friday, April 6, 2018 CHINA DAILY HONG KONG EDITION The new face of a gaming mecca Perhaps, in the past, we had gone slightly overboard empha- Key players in ent company MGM Resorts International operates casinos sizing gaming. If across the globe, has more than Macao’s casino 65 percent of its revenue gener- you look at our new ated from the non-gaming sec- business join rush tor in its casinos in Las Vegas. property, it has Gary Monaghan, Fidel- seen a signifi cant to diversify with ity International’s investment director in Hong Kong, said increase in non- resort complexes Macao’s non-gaming business is much smaller than that of gaming activities.” for mass market Las Vegas as tourists to Macao Grant Bowie, are dominated by those from chief executive of MGM China the mainland who are largely By EVELYN YU in Hong Kong infatuated with the casinos. [email protected] However, a few things are happening — consumer tastes The biggest names in Macao’s are changing and they are 30 percent gaming business are pulling looking for other things to do, of MGM China’s revenue out all the stops in the enclave’s said Monaghan, adding that a comes from the non-gaming push to recast its image to number of Macao casinos are sector income become one of the region’s top looking at becoming integrated resort-and-entertainment hubs resorts that also o er shows, with an eye on the mass con- exhibitions, food and retailing for a relaxation of gambling sumer market. with the hope that custom- curbs in mainland cities. The rejig has been well ers may end up staying extra He reiterated that mainland coordinated with a dramatic nights and ultimately spending customers remain at the heart rebound in the casino mecca’s more. of MGM’s business strategy, fortunes following one of the MGM Cotai has 1,390 hotel and MGM Cotai complements chilliest “winters” on record rooms — more than double MGM Macau well. “MGM sparked by a massive crack- that of MGM Macau. Macau is what we call classic. It down on graft on the Chinese Above: The Cotai Strip in Macao One hurdle for Macao is has a great sense of Portuguese mainland that had kept high boasts some 10 major hotel-and- its limited number of hotel Chinese influence and MGM rollers at bay. casino resorts. rooms, reckoned Monaghan. Cotai is a pure celebration of Macao’s bid to diversify itself BILLY H.C. KWOK / BLOOMBERG Thus opening new qual- China’s modernity.” has also been given greater Left: Newcomer to the famed ity resorts is conducive to the As Chinese consumers Cotai Strip, MGM Cotai, is a whole sector. relevance as regional competi- resplendent $3.4-billion casino are leading global consumer tors, notably Vietnam, South resort that opened earlier this Recent years have seen key trends, especially with their Korea and the Philippines, up year. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY regional competitors, such as digitalization lifestyle, Bowie the stakes with the opening of Vietnam, South Korea and the said MGM Cotai is built around a string of plush casino resorts Philippines, opening up an the understanding of Chinese in the past few years, with more array of opulent casino resorts consumers’ “connectivity”. on the cards. It’s not Las to lure Chinese consumers. From the four-story-high MGM Resorts China — one Adding to the apprehen- LED light featuring videos of of the six licensed casino opera- Vegas, but sion of Macao casino operators well-known Chinese moun- tors in Macao and a joint ven- has been talk that the central tains and rivers, the 28 imperial ture between MGM Resorts it’s growing fast, government might eventually carpets from the Qing dynasty International and Pansy with the theater, legalize gambling on the island hanging in the hotel lobby, or Ho Chiu-king — threw open province of Hainan, which has the QR code attached to its art the doors of its resplendent the expansion of been having its fair share of works around the building that $3.4-billion MGM Cotai casino restaurants and offering top-market holiday lead consumers to its website resort earlier this year, joining resorts and hosting high-profi le with more information of the the ranks of the group’s fl ag- hotels and other international conferences and art piece, such designations ship MGM Macau (formerly beauty pageants. speak volumes about the casino MGM Grand Macau) that has Cotai Strip — Sands Cotai Cen- ing Inspection and Coordina- campaign is a good thing. It facilities. It’ll con- “I have heard, probably 25 operator’s goal of winning over been operating in the penin- tral, both run by Sands China; tion Bureau, casino revenues offers an opportunity for all tinue to grow.” times, that gambling may be a wider spectrum of Chinese sula area of Macau since 2007. Wynn Palace Cotai operated stormed past market expecta- of us to go back and reassess allowed in Hainan,” said Bowie, clientele. MGM Cotai’s launch adds by Wynn Resorts; the Parisian tions in January this year with where the market is headed Grant Bowie, while shrugging o fears that “Everyone says Singapore another spark to the escalating Macao owned by Las Vegas a staggering 36.4-percent leap and what consumer expecta- chief executive of MGM China Hainan would be a threat to will cause us problem. It tug-of-war along the Cotai Strip Sands and newcomer MGM year-on-year, and maintained tions will be,” Grant Bowie, Macao. “Gambling is still a very didn’t. Everyone says the Phil- — Macao’s answer to the famed Cotai. an above 20 percent growth chief executive of MGM China, sensitive issue on the main- ippines will cause us problem. Las Vegas Strip — o ering non- Casinos in the gambling rate in February and March, told China Daily. land,” he quipped. It didn’t. Other jurisdictions gaming themed attractions to enclave took a hit in 2014 and recording 20 consecutive “Perhaps, in the past, we huge increase compared to 15 MGM China, he said, would will try to compete, but it’s lure more mass-market con- 2015 as the mainland’s war months of gains. had gone slightly overboard years ago when it was less than be interested in investing in almost impossible for anyone sumers rather than hard-core on corruption swung into top Stocks of Macao’s biggest emphasizing gaming. If you 4 percent. Hainan if gaming were to be else in the region to create the baccarat or poker enthusiasts. gear, reducing the number of casino operators listed in Hong look at our new property, it has “It’s not Las Vegas, but it’s allowed there and with all the infrastructure, the quality and Cotai currently boasts some big-time gamblers to a trickle. Kong rose across the board. seen a signifi cant increase in growing fast, with the theater, infrastructures in place. diversity of resorts like here in 10 major hotel-and-casino The sector has staged a strong Wynn Resorts saw its share non-gaming activities.” the expansion of restaurants Bowie emphasized that they Asia,” Bowie said. resorts, including the iconic comeback since 2016 as the city price jump three-fold — from He said MGM China’s and hotels and other facilities. do respect mainland regula- “If you look at all the six big Venetian Macao — the largest put on a more diversifi ed mar- around HK$60 in late 2015 to income from the non-gaming It’ll continue to grow.” tions and would be happy to casino players in Macao, we’re casino in the world and one ketplace facade. some HK$180 this April. sector now takes up nearly 30 The hospitality and enter- cooperate with the central gov- actually pretty good at what of the earliest settlers on the According to Macao’s Gam- “I think the anti-corruption percent of its total revenue — a tainment provider, whose par- ernment, but would not push we’re doing.” 5G era — racing toward the big splash By LIN WENJIE in Hong Kong ated with Swiss investment international 5G standards- [email protected] This year bank UBS. setting body 3GPP (the 3rd will be a Chinese companies and Generation Partnership Proj- South Korea gave the world organizations involved in 5G ect). The organization is now a glimpse of the much tout- critical year for development — upstream and working on the fi rst interna- ed fifth-generation mobile downstream — are also gear- tional version of standalone technology (5G) by present- setting the 5G stan- ing up to meet the nation’s 5G specifi cations, which will ing sports contents via live dards and the devel- goal of getting 5G o the com- be released in June this year. streams and virtual reality at mercial launch pad by 2020. “This year will be a critical the recent Pyeongchang 2018 opment of commer- With the Chinese mainland year for setting the 5G stan- Winter Olympics, leaving visi- having started the third phase dards and the development tors in a swoon. cial products.” of 5G technology research and of commercial products. Chi- The 5G magic — higher Fan Xiaobing, development tests ahead of nese companies have done an speeds, lower costs and low senior vice-president at ZTE schedule in November last excellent job in the fi rst two latency — promises to mani- year, regulators are likely to stages of the tests, and are fest itself at the Summer issue 5G licenses to domes- expected to keep it up in the Olympic Games in Tokyo in access and security.