{"id":16516,"date":"2015-07-31T10:36:01","date_gmt":"2015-07-31T18:36:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=16516"},"modified":"2015-07-31T10:58:43","modified_gmt":"2015-07-31T18:58:43","slug":"meet-galaxy-entertainment-the-lion-grumbles-steve-wynn-gets-in-touch-with-inner-scrooge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/meet-galaxy-entertainment-the-lion-grumbles-steve-wynn-gets-in-touch-with-inner-scrooge\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Galaxy Entertainment; The lion grumbles; Steve Wynn gets in touch with inner Scrooge"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Macao<\/strong>, “a pharaonic exercise in overbuilding” may be a canny strategy for a post-crisis economy. Once the Chinese government \"Galaxy<\/a>drives the money launderers from the Macanese temple and develops adjacent Hengqin Island<\/strong> into a family friendly plethora of resorts and attractions, Macao’s image could be almost wholly reinvented<\/a>. Or, as\u00a0Templeton Emerging Markets<\/strong> Group Chairman Mark Mobius<\/strong> says,\u00a0\u201cOnce they scrap the image of being a center for money laundering and other illicit activities<\/a>, Macao will be transformed into an entertainment center like Las Vegas<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the forefront of this is Galaxy Entertainment<\/strong>, which is proceeding with all deliberate speed on additional casino construction as well as Hengqin projects. Wintergreen Fund Advisors<\/strong> manager David Winters<\/strong> adds,\u00a0\u201cOur sense is that Galaxy will be the big winner when the clouds clear and the rain stops and the fear subsides.\u00a0They have built a beautiful facility, have a lot of land bank, don\u2019t have any debt, and are ahead of the curve in providing what the government wants.\u201d<\/p>\n

Galaxy has tended to be overshadowed by the brand-name casino operators in Macao, in part because it was a complete newcomer to the industry when it received its gaming concession a decade ago. \"Galaxy<\/a>However, Chairman Lui Chee-woo<\/strong> — did you know he’s had an asteroid named in his honor? — and deputy chairman (and son) Francis Lui<\/strong> now regularly vie for the top of\u00a0market share in Macao. Their flagship Galaxy<\/strong> casino and StarWorld<\/strong> alone outgross the Las Vegas Strip<\/strong>. Of the Macao\/Hengqin synergy, the younger Lui says,\u00a0\u201cIt will be like having Las Vegas and Orlando<\/strong>, Florida<\/strong>, right next to each other instead of 2,000 miles apart.\u201d And if that happens, it will achieve much of the economic diversification that Peking<\/strong> wants to see happening in the Pearl River<\/strong> delta.<\/p>\n

While allowing that\u00a0\u201cTrying to understand Beijing is like trying to read tea leaves through frosted glass,\u201d Mosaic Investments<\/strong> President\u00a0Stephen Monticelli<\/strong> praises the Luis:\u00a0\u201cThe rules in Macao are that Beijing makes the rules, and Galaxy fits exactly in with what Beijing wants Macao\u00a0to become.\u201d Even the increased reliance on (higher-margin) mass-market players works in Galaxy’s favor and will even more so when a highway to Hong Kong<\/strong> is completed, greatly expediting\u00a0access for the average consumer.<\/p>\n

Galaxy needn’t fear much from the expedited concession-review process that has been initiated at Chinese President Xi Jenping<\/strong>. Corporate-risk consultant Steve Vickers<\/strong> says\u00a0\u201cIt cannot be assumed” that all concessionaires will keep their licenses, with another Chinese company added to a U.S.-dominated mix or a concession being added expressly for a Chinese firm’s benefit. For now — and with visa restrictions being ever more loosened<\/a> — Macao is the Luis’ oyster and that doesn’t look to change anytime soon.<\/p>\n

* Recent discussion in the investment community of a possible sale of The Mirage<\/strong> is making MGM Resorts International<\/strong> hot under \"Mirage\"<\/a>the collar. When Howard Stutz<\/strong> started asking MGM about Wall Street<\/strong> speculation the matter, company\u00a0spokesman Clark Dumont<\/strong> blew a gasket and wrote<\/a>,\u00a0“We do not comment on rumor and speculation based on ‘multiple sources’ that are unnamed, and ‘press reports’ that do not exist, to my\/our knowledge.” Tell that to\u00a0Stifel Nicolaus Capital Markets<\/strong> and Wells Fargo Securities<\/strong>. By contrast, mooted buyer Starwood Capital<\/strong> simply declined to comment, which makes me think there’s some fire to go with all the smoke.<\/p>\n

* If you’re looking for a good gamble in Las Vegas<\/strong>, then Wynncore<\/strong> is someplace to avoid<\/a>. Sadly, Steve Wynn<\/strong> is probably right that his tightwad policies will be quickly emulated along the Strip.<\/p>\n

* In a Hail Mary pass, Wisconsin<\/strong> Attorney General Brad Schimel<\/strong> is taking his beef with the Ho-Chunk Nation<\/strong> to the Supreme Court<\/strong>. He’s been trying to bar the tribe from offering video poker. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals<\/strong> had earlier pointed out the inconvenient truth that Schimel cannot deprive the Ho-Chunk of a game that is legal in the state. But, deaf to reason, Schimel soldiers on<\/a>.<\/p>\n

* Reports of Reno<\/strong>‘s death as a gambling destination have been greatly exaggerated. Washoe County<\/strong> ended FY15 with a 3% gain, the third such gain in as many fiscal years. That was better than the Las Vegas Strip, down 4% in the year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Macao, “a pharaonic exercise in overbuilding” may be a canny strategy for a post-crisis economy. Once the Chinese government drives the money launderers from the Macanese temple and develops adjacent Hengqin Island into a family friendly plethora of resorts … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[14,201,22,62,11,25,79,32,9,20,38,170],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16516"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16516"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16516\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16520,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16516\/revisions\/16520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}