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Citing the Lusa<\/strong> news agency, J.P. Morgan<\/strong> says that Macao<\/strong> casino revenues for January came in higher than expected, at $1.1 billion. The shocker, though, is the revision of market-share figures, which previously had shown Stanley Ho<\/strong> and Sheldon Adelson<\/strong> each holding a quarter of the market. Lusa’s revised numbers show Ho thrusting Adelson firmly into second place — 28% to 22%. This is a sobering setback for Las Vegas Sands<\/strong>, whose CEO had forecast the demise, at least a dramatic downsizing, of Ho’s casino empire.<\/p>\n Let this also be a lesson to those us (present company included) who thought Vegas swankiness would trump customer loyalty to Ho’s older — some would say seedier — product. The “B” plotline is that Wynn Macau<\/strong>‘s market share is 17%, only five points behind Sands Macao<\/strong> and Venetian Macao<\/strong> despite far less capacity. Galaxy Entertainment<\/strong> (13%), Melco Crown Entertainment<\/strong> (11%) and MGM Mirage<\/strong> (9%) divvy up the remainder, with the latter paying the price for being last into the market and a reportedly disadvantageous location. This is one race where those who bet on the tortoise over the hare will be chagrined.<\/p>\n Speaking of Stanley Ho<\/strong>, he and an associate have dropped $284,000 into the coffers of the New South Wales<\/strong> branch of Australian Liberal Party<\/strong>. This is significant because Ho made a run at a New South Wales casino years ago but was deemed “unsuitable<\/a>.” Don’t be surprised if the Liberals suddenly discover him to be cleaner than a hound’s tooth.<\/p>\n Shakeup at Sands<\/strong>. With its Macao and Singapore<\/strong> projects lagging badly, Las Vegas Sands has tasked a new executive team for its Asian portfolio. Senior Vice President Leonard DeAngelo<\/strong> comes by way of Penn National<\/strong> and, before that, a different kind of Sands — the vanished Sands Hotel & Casino<\/strong> in Atlantic City. Former Langham Hotels & Resorts<\/strong> executive Nigel Roberts<\/strong> has been named president of behind-schedule Marina Bay Sands<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Executive VP Brad Stone<\/strong> has been promoted to the newly created role of president of global operations and construction, which puts him in charge of design and building for all Sands projects worldwide. It’s a thankless task but expectations for Sands have fallen so low that if Stone effects even a modest improvement it will seem a triumph.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Citing the Lusa news agency, J.P. Morgan says that Macao casino revenues for January came in higher than expected, at $1.1 billion. The shocker, though, is the revision of market-share figures, which previously had shown Stanley Ho and Sheldon Adelson … Continue reading