Looking for love in Macao; Resorts World LV’s big bet

“All of the juice has been squeezed out of the orange. Macao is starting to resemble more mature competitive markets such as Las Vegas and Atlantic City.” Ouch! That was Bloomberg Intelligence contributing analyst David Bonnet, taking an exceptionally gloomy view of the world’s gambling Vatican. Like Atlantic City, Macao struggles to evolve beyond a daytripper’s market. Because business has been so bad for the past two years, 2020’s expected 3% revenue isn’t the stuff of banner headlines. Whales who formerly took their action to Macao are now heading to Vietnam, away from governmental scrutiny, and the prospect of megaresorts in Japan is another cause of worry. Oh, and there’s no end in sight to the protest movement in Hong Kong, much as Chief Executive Carrie Lam would like us to believe otherwise. Nor has the U.S./China trade war—which Melco Resorts & Entertainment CEO Lawrence Ho cites as Problem Number One—eased yet.

Junket operator Suncity is going into casino business for itself, opening a gambling house in Vietnam next year. And it’s set its sights on runaway-gambler market Manila next. Don’t think that won’t siphon play from Macao. Operators are looking toward the mass market, which has remained strong amidst the Hong Kong strife, and tailoring their product accordingly, as with the reinvention of Sands Cotai as The Londoner. Long-awaited light rail began service in Macao this week. The bottom line with present-day Macao is that the casino business is learning to love the proletariat.

* $4.3 billion Resorts World Las Vegas will be a gamble in more ways than one. President Scott Sibella is banking on non-gaming amenities bringing in 75% of revenue. He explained, “You have to think differently and design differently, because not everyone is going to want to gamble. It’s a different way of thinking than it was years ago.” A third of the 88-acre land plot is being held in reserve for future development, which will surely be contingent on Resorts World LV coming strongly out of the gate. As for the now-deemphasized Asian theme, Sibella said, “it will have a lot of Asian inspiration when it comes to the design inside, art, the colour palletes and floors.” Sibella is flanking himself with several ex-MGM executives. MGM 2020‘s loss will be Resort World’s gain.

Jottings: Despite 30 days of flood-related closure, River Spirit Casino in Tulsa is Oklahoma‘s most-requested Uber destination. That’s got to make Gov. Kevin Stitt that much more covetous … Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small (D) is pleading with the New Jersey Lege to let him have a share of the sports-betting taxes paid by Boardwalk casinos. Aforesaid Lege is expected to give Small the back of the hand. As powerful state Sen. Stephen Sweeney (D) put it, “You can’t talk about raising taxes or finding new sources of revenue until you really do have your house in order” … Isle of Capri Casino Cape Girardeau officially has a new owner. Century Casinos co-CEO Erwin Haitzmann worked his way up from being a croupier in his native Austria. The Isle brand will go away (as will that of Lady Luck Caruthersville) in favor of the Century moniker. Existing customer-loyalty cards will still be honored, a good first move … When the music stopped in Hokkaido, player Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment was left without a chair. The company says it will “we remain committed to the broader region,” at least through its South Korea venture, Inspire. Also placing bets on Hokkaido were Rush Street Japan and Hard Rock International.