Word: macau
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...Bouyed by Macau's nascent recovery, other operators are pushing ahead with new projects. On Sept. 21, SJM Holdings, controlled by long-time Macau gambling king Stanley Ho, opened the French-themed, 170-table Casino L'Arc. It is SJM's 17th casino in the city, and the company plans to launch another, Casino Oceanus, by the end of the year. In June, Ho's son Lawrence, CEO of NASDAQ-listed Melco Crown Entertainment, opened a mega-resort called City of Dreams, with a 520-table casino and a Hard Rock Hotel. An 800-room Grand Hyatt opens...
...other city in Asia may have been deflated more quickly by the global recession than the Chinese gambling mecca of Macau. After the local government opened the gaming business to new casino operators in 2002, the former Portuguese colony (population 540,0000) boomed as billions of dollars of investment poured into new hotels and casinos and newly wealthy Chinese crowded baccarat and blackjack tables. But the good times came to a sudden end in late 2008 as the credit crunch paralyzed global financial markets. Gaming revenues sank and casinos laid off staff. Sheldon Adelson, chairman of casino operator Las Vegas...
...Asia's economy starts to pick up steam, Macau looks to be on another roll. Gambling revenues surged an estimated 17% in August from a year earlier to $1.4 billion, a record monthly total. Aaron Fischer, gaming analyst at brokerage CLSA in Hong Kong, expects the revival to continue. September's revenues could surge 25% or more, he says, and he sees at least "low teens" growth rates annually from 2010 to 2012. "You can put me on record saying Macau is back," Fischer says. (Watch a video about the rise of Poker in China...
...Reflecting this renewed optimism is the buzz surrounding upcoming initial public offerings by two Macau casino operators. Las Vegas casino titan Steve Wynn, who opened the Wynn Macau luxury hotel and casino in the city in 2006, plans to offer 25% of his Macau operations in an IPO on the Hong Kong stock exchange. The IPO could raise as much as $1.6 billion; the shares are expected to start trading on Oct. 9. "With this IPO, we're a Chinese company with Chinese ownership," Wynn said, adding that the move would help management "assimilate ourselves with China more efficiently...
...Also preparing to spin off Macau operations through an IPO is Adelson's Las Vegas Sands (LVS), although the company has yet to provide any specific details of the offering. Adelson in 2004 was the first Vegas mogul to open a Macau casino; his business today is anchored by the giant 3,000-room Venetian hotel on the Cotai strip. Ron Reese, an LVS spokesman, says that the company is hoping to restart stalled construction on Shangri-La and Sheraton hotels in Cotai as soon as possible. (See 10 things to do in Las Vegas...