March 31, 2018 |
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A local woman won a $1.4 million jackpot at Green Valley Ranch Resort this weekend, according to a spokeswoman for the resort’s owner, Station Casinos.
March 31, 2018 |
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Virgin Group founder Richard Branson announced Friday that his partnership in Virgin Hotels had snapped up the Hard Rock Hotel.
March 31, 2018 |
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Internet casino game developer iSoftBet has announced the release of their newest game 'Stacks O' Gold', which apparently was released around St. Patrick's Day, but went largely un-noticed.
March 30, 2018 |
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March 30, 2018 |
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British billionaire Richard Branson has planted his flag in Las Vegas.
March 30, 2018 |
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Bars and restaurants in the U.S. are selling less alcohol as a new generation comes of drinking age and third party services deliver beer, wine and liquor to the home.
March 30, 2018 |
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Casino cruise ship operator and Asian casino investor Genting Hong Kong Ltd narrowed sharply in 2017 its annual loss. Such loss was approximately US$242.3 million, compared to US$502.3 million in 2016.
The improvement – which had been flagged in a February filing – was partly due to a “one-off gain of US$205 million” which the firm had earlier said related to sale of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd shares and sale of shares in The Star Entertainment Group Ltd, an Australian casino operator. Another factor was “the absence of an impairment on Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings’ shares of US$305 million” as had occurred in 2016, the firm noted in its latest filing.
The group did however see a dramatic fall in its share of profit from joint ventures and associates, to US$1.3 million in the 12 months to December 31, compared to US$32.4 million a year earlier.
The decrease was “mainly due” to a lower contribution from Travellers International Hotel Group Inc, which operates the Resorts World Manila casino complex in the Philippines.
That venue had been “affected by closure of the gaming area and portions of the non-gaming segment for most of June 2017 following the incident on 2 June,” said Genting Hong Kong. It was referring to a lone-gunman attack, fire and subsequent deaths that occurred at the property on that date. Genting Hong Kong is an investor – alongside Philippine conglomerate Alliance Global Group Inc – in Travellers International.
Genting Hong Kong said in financial year 2017, the group had also incurred start-up losses in the Dream Cruises brand related to its new World Dream cruise ship (pictured) that arrived in Hong Kong and the repositioning of its Genting Dream vessel to Singapore in November 2017; and had had costs linked to the group’s Crystal Cruises brand moving into the river cruise market; and from the launch of its AirCruises segment.
The group did not give in its annual results a breakdown specifically on its gaming revenue. But it said revenue from cruise and cruise-related activities – which includes “revenue from food and beverage sales, shore excursion, entertainment and other onboard services” – increased 11.9 percent to just under US$1.02 billion in 2017, compared with
US$908.1 million in 2016. Net Revenue in 2017 increased 14.0 percent to US$786.0 million from US$689.7 million in 2016. It said the improvement was due to an 33.7 percent increase in “capacity days”, which was “primarily due to the inclusion of a full year of operations” for its Genting Dream and Crystal Mozart cruise ships as well as the launch of its World Dream, Crystal Bach and Crystal Mahler vessels during 2017.
Revenue from shipyard operations and non-cruise activities from external customers increased 60.6 percent to US$174.4 million in 2017 compared with US$108.6 million in 2016 “primarily contributed by revenue from its shipyard activities and from sales of residential property units in mainland China”.
March 29, 2018 |
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The Nevada Gaming Control Board has revealed that casinos continued to have a strong year, as Silver State betting establishments brought more than $1 billion for the second month in a row.
March 29, 2018 |
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Esports Arena Las Vegas, the first permanent esports venue on The Strip, is now open at Luxor Hotel and Casino.
March 29, 2018 |
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The Philippine casino industry reported gross gaming revenue (GGR) of PHP152.55 billion (US$2.9 billion) in full calendar 2017, up by 13.8 percent from the prior-year period, said the country’s gaming regulator.
Private-sector casino resorts in the Philippine capital Manila recorded overall GGR of PHP109.38 billion in 2017, an increase of 25.6 percent compared to PHP87.10 billion in the previous 12 months, according to data released this week by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor).
Manila’s private-sector casino resort sector includes four properties, namely: City of Dreams Manila, run by a subsidiary of Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd; Solaire Resort and Casino, controlled by Bloomberry Resorts Corp; Resorts World Manila, owned and operated by Travellers International Hotel Group Inc, a venture between Philippine-based Alliance Global Group Inc and Genting Hong Kong Ltd; and Okada Manila, owned and operated by Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment Inc, a subsidiary of Japanese gaming conglomerate Universal Entertainment Corp.
The data showed GGR generated by the casino junket segment stood at PHP41.75 billion for full 2017, representing 27.4 percent of total casino GGR for the period. The majority of junket-generated casino GGR was recorded in the private-sector casinos – a total of PHP33.58 billion – rather than the Pagcor-run ones.
In 2017, “non-junket” GGR represented 39.2 percent of the total, while electronic gaming machines claimed a market share of 33.4 percent.
Last year, revenue from electronic gaming sites – including traditional bingo, electronic games and sports betting – reached PHP23.63 billion.
Starting from the third quarter of 2017, the regulator began compiling data for “offshore gaming”. The sector achieved GGR of PHP319 million in the second half of the year.
State-owned Pagcor started accepting applications from companies wishing to acquire a Philippines licence for offshore gaming in September 2016.
Aside from being the sector’s regulator, Pagcor directly operates a suite of state-run casinos. Its own brand of casinos is called “Casino Filipino”. According to the latter’s website, the brand operates venues in 8 locations across the country, and has a further 34 so-called “satellite” sites across the Philippines.
Pagcor casinos reported GGR of PHP34.38 billion in 2017, up by 8.0 percent in year-on-year terms, show the firm’s latest data.
March 29, 2018 |
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The current deputy chairman of Singapore’s Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA), Tan Tee How (pictured), will take over the chairmanship of the regulatory body on April 2.
In a press release issued on Wednesday, Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs said Mr Tan would succeed CRA chairman Lee Tzu Yang, who was retiring after three years in office.
In a prepared statement included in the Wednesday release, Singapore’s Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law – K Shanmugam – thanked Mr Lee “for his valuable contributions to CRA”.
Mr Lee had “guided CRA in its efforts to further strengthen Singapore’s casino regulatory regime and forge closer ties with international partners. Under his leadership, CRA has enhanced its standing as an effective and robust regulator,” Mr Shanmugam said, quoted in the Wednesday announcement.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office of Singapore, the 59-year-old Mr Tan was until February 1 the Commissioner of Inland Revenue and Chief Executive Officer of the Inland Revenue Authority, the main tax administrator to the Singapore government.
He has also worked previously as Chief Executive Officer of the National Healthcare Group and as the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of National Development. He was also Principal Private Secretary to Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, who held office from 1990 to 2004.
March 28, 2018 |
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Imperial Pacific International Holdings Ltd says it is in talks with investors with the aim of completing construction of its casino resort (pictured in a file photo) on the Pacific island of Saipan, as its annual profit narrowed by 31.9 percent, and its trade receivables account swelled by 59.9 percent.
Such profit was HKD637.5 million (US$81.2 million) compared to HKD935.6 million in 2016.
The firm stated in its annual results filed to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Thursday: “The management is in discussion with certain potential investors with a view to secure long-term financing principally to be used on the construction of the integrated gaming resort. As at the date of approval of this result announcement, memorandums of understanding have been signed with these investors which are subject to terms and conditions to be completed and fulfilled.”
It added that – outside the reporting period – from January onward, the group had obtained unsecured loans amounting to HKD870.5 million.
For 2017, basic and diluted earnings per share were HKD0.45 and HKD0.24 respectively, as compared with basic and diluted earnings per share of HKD0.66 and HKD0.34 respectively in the corresponding period of last year, it said in its filing.
Unaudited rolling chip turnover from VIP table games – the main gaming activity of the firm’s Saipan casino by volume – increased 53.6 percent, to nearly HKD385.86 billion, from HKD251.24 billion in 2016.
But trade receivables for 2017 – mostly related to money owed on losses by gambling customers using credit to play – were HKD8.53 billion, compared to HKD5.33 billion in 2016. Impairment losses on trade receivables for the 12 months to December 31 amounted on a net basis to just under HKD4.19 billion, compared to net impairment losses of HKD847.1 million in the prior-year period.
“At the end of the reporting period, the group has certain concentration of credit risk as 8 percent (2016: 12 percent) and 23 percent (2016: 33 percent) of the group’s trade receivables were due from the group’s largest customer and the five largest customers, respectively,” stated Imperial Pacific.
During the reporting period, the firm operated an average of 23 VIP tables, compared to 16 in the prior year, and 39 mass-market tables, compared to 32 in 2016. Imperial Pacific additionally operated 165 slot machines and electronic table games in 2017, compared to 141 such machines in 2016.
‘Going concern’
As a condition of its casino licence for Saipan – the largest island of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), a U.S. jurisdiction – Imperial Pacific was required to complete an “initial gaming facility” at its Imperial Pacific Resort – including a minimum number of hotel rooms, a gaming area, food and beveragesoutlets, shops and meeting space – by no later than August 31 this year.
It had been reported previously in the Saipan media that U.S. authorities had conducted a number of enforcement actions against some contractors suspected of using illegal imported labour to build portions of the resort.
Imperial Pacific said its annual report had been compiled on a “going concern basis” in the belief that the local regulator would grant an extension on the August 31 construction deadline.
“Due to the termination of construction services by certain companies and drastic reduction and non-availability of sufficient construction labour locally in Saipan, as at the date of approval of these financial statements, the directors are of the opinion that the construction of the initial gaming facility will not be completed by August 31, 2018,” the group said in its annual report.
The Marianas Variety newspaper quoted on Thursday the Governor of CNMI, Ralph Torres, saying Imperial Pacific had not yet made an official request to extend the August deadline for the so-called “initial gaming facility”, but that he would consider it.
“But first, we will be strict with the new time frame to make sure that the project moves forward and to make sure we do our due diligence,” he was quoted as saying.
The company had previously sought and been granted an amendment to the terms of its casino licence. On July 31 last year it said it had reached an agreement for the August 31, 2018 deadline on the “initial gaming facility”.
At that time, Imperial Pacific’s deadline for completing the property’s phase one was pushed back to August 13, 2023. The conditions were that phase one include: an 800-room four- or five-star hotel; a US$100-million themed entertainment facility with amphitheatre; as well as additional restaurants, retail and meeting space. Phase one should also comprise an additional 10,000 square metres (107,639 sq feet) of gaming area, said the firm.
March 28, 2018 |
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March 28, 2018 |
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The Philippines’ Environment Secretary has publicly aired his reservations regarding the choice by the country’s gaming regulator of Boracay island for a US$500-million casino resort venture involving Macau operator Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd.
Roy Cimatu said a plan to construct a gaming resort in Boracay – in partnership with local firm Leisure and Resorts World Corp – might not fit with the government’s environmental planning for the island.
It was announced on March 21 that the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp, also known as Pagcor, had granted a provisional gaming licence for Galaxy Entertainment on Boracay.
Secretary Cimatu was quoted on Wednesday by the Manila Standard newspaper as having stated that the Galaxy Entertainment scheme – and another gaming resort said to be planned for Boracay and reportedly involving Philippine entrepreneur Andrew Tan, who also has an interest in Resorts World Manila via his conglomerate Alliance Global Group Inc – would need approval from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Environmental Management Bureau.
“We will be depending on the carrying capacity [of Boracay],” Secretary Cimatu was quoted as saying, referring to the department’s decision whether to issue an environmental compliance certificate.
The national government has proposed closing Boracay to tourists for a period of many months, for what has been termed a “clean up” of the destination, although Pagcor has said that should not affect the Galaxy Entertainment scheme, which will reportedly take circa three years to build.
The narrative noise locally surrounding the Galaxy Entertainment scheme was nonetheless increased on Tuesday with a report in the Philippine Star quoting Philippine Senate president Aquilino Pimentel saying that what the news outlet termed “local government units” in areas earmarked for hosting casino resorts should have a say in such matters, and that there should also be a public consultation process.
Comments from Abram Sualog, vice mayor of Malay municipality in Boracay, reported on Monday by the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper, suggested the Galaxy Entertainment scheme had been approved by the municipal government without a public consultation process, in return for certain guarantees from the scheme’s promoters.
GGRAsia separately approached Galaxy Entertainment and Pagcor for comment on the claim, but had not received responses by the time this story went online.
Investor perspective
DS Kim and Sean Zhuang, analysts at brokerage JP Morgan Securities (Asia Pacific) Ltd, said in a Sunday note on Galaxy Entertainment that their institution expected the property to open “around” the year 2021.
“Site preparation work has begun and construction will start within 12 months. In our view, this indicates the opening will probably be around 2021,” the duo wrote.
“We expect the project structure to be similar to that of Melco Resorts [at City of Dreams Manila] – that is, Galaxy Entertainment will likely lease the land/building from [local partner] Leisure and Resorts World Corp and pay a leasing fee to share the profits,” the analysts added.
The project partners had been quoted as saying at last week’s ceremony issuing the provisional gaming licence, that the scheme could generate US$100 million in revenue annually.
The JP Morgan team noted in its Sunday commentary: “Project capex will be up to US$500 million (likely excluding land price, in our view), most (if not all) of which will be paid by Galaxy Entertainment.”
In other local media commentary the Philippine Inquirer reported on Monday that a senior local clergyman from the Catholic Church, an influential lobby in the Christian-majority nation, had voiced opposition to the project.
Jose Corazon Tala-oc, Bishop of Kalibo, a municipality of Boracay, was quoted by the news outlet as saying that casinos “destroy the moral fibre” of families.
In Galaxy Entertainment’s March 21 statement announcing it had been granted a provisional gaming licence for Boracay, the group said it aimed to attract the firm’s existing “affluent customers from China, Hong Kong and Macau,” among other places, and that it would create local jobs.
In other commentary, the ABS-CBN news channel quoted on Saturday criticism from Felino Palafox, a prominent Philippine architect and urban planner. He reportedly said Galaxy Entertainment’s Boracay resort “might be the wrong land use at the wrong place at the wrong time,” in the light of the central government’s announced clean up of the holiday island.
On Monday, the Manila Bulletin newspaper quoted Ricky Alegre, Assistant Secretary at the Office of Public Affairs, Communications and Special Projects for the Department of Tourism, as saying the Boracay market closure could be for as few as six months, or an even shorter time “with the help of residents”.
March 28, 2018 |
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Wynn Resorts fired two top executives in 2013 for unauthorized gambling, lawyers said Tuesday during a court hearing.
March 27, 2018 |
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Hong Kong-listed The 13 Holdings Ltd has revised yet again the opening date for its hotel project on the Cotai-Coloane border. It is now aiming at June 30.
Several previous deadlines declared by firm have already been missed. In late January it said it hoped to launch the hotel “on or before” April 30.
In a February filing it stated that a casino at The 13 Hotel might open by March 31, 2019 along with some shops at the complex.
Last week, Lawrence Ho Yau Lung, chairman and chief executive of Macau casino operator Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd, was asked by local media whether his firm would supply its gaming licence and gaming table quota to enable gaming operations at The 13 Hotel under a so-called service agreement.
He said “it doesn’t really matter” whether The 13 Hotel had a “contract” with Melco Resorts or another Macau casino operator, as The 13 Hotel would have first to obtain Macau government approval for casino gaming.
The 13 Holdings said in a Tuesday filing that the latest revision to the hotel timetable was due to “unexpected time required for mobilising certain contractors, suppliers and vendors.”
It said that from the date of the announcement until mid-May, the group would complete the “remaining works and installation offurniture, fixtures and equipment and operating supplies and equipment for inspection by the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO)”, the local government body responsible for hotel licensing.
In mid-May, it expected there would be an MGTO inspection, with a licence in likelihood issued by mid-June. From then until the end of the month, there would be preparation work for the hotel opening.
In another filing on Tuesday, The 13 Holdings said that – via a complex transaction involving several offshore-registered firms and the sale of shares valued at HKD300 million (US$38.2 million) held by an entity called The 13 (BVI) Ltd – the group responsible for constructing The 13, Paul Y. Engineering Group Ltd, would become a “connected person” to The 13 Holdings under the Hong Kong listing rules.
That filing said that the total contract amount for the hotel work was just under HKD3.85 billion, and that “as at the date of this announcement, there were variation order works” of just under HKD1.39 billion.
March 27, 2018 |
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Online casino betting site Spinzwin Casino announced this week that they've re-launched their website, bringing an updated look and feel to players who access it through desktop and mobile devices.
March 27, 2018 |
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BGB recently announced that it has signed an agreement with 1xbet for BGB to provide its Live Casino platform to the 1xbet who will add BGB’s full portfolio of live games to its online platform.
March 27, 2018 |
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The operator of the Resorts World Manila casino resort in the Philippines expects to be able to recoup nearly PHP762.6 million (US$14.6 million) in insurance claims it lodged following the gunman attack, fire and deaths that occurred at the property in June last year. Meanwhile, net profit at the operating firm fell dramatically in 2017.
So said Travellers International Hotel Group Inc in its annual report filed with the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday.
“Based on the reports from the insurer’s adjusters, and taking into consideration the reports of the pertinent government agencies, there is strong legal ground to believe that the insurance claims related to the June 2 incident [pictured in a file photo] will not be disallowed,” said the firm in its filing.
Travellers International is a venture between local conglomerate Alliance Global Group Inc, and casino ship operator Genting Hong Kong Ltd.
“The company recognised and presented property damages and losses, and other losses as losses from casualty, net of insurance claims, in the 2017 consolidated statement of comprehensive income,” the venture stated.
Net profit at Travellers International fell sharply in 2017, to PHP241.7 million, compared to nearly PHP3.40 billion in the prior year. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) nearly halved, to just under PHP3.46 billion, compared to PHP6.42 billion in 2016. Net debt more than doubled, to nearly PHP20.89 billion, from nearly PHP8.63 billion in the prior-year period.
Group net revenues for the year ended December 31, declined to just under PHP19.26 billion “due to the June 2, 2017 incident that led to the closure of the gaming area for 27 days and portions of the non-gaming segment,” noted Travellers International.
But net revenues from hotel, food and beverage and other non-gaming services rose 8.5 percent in 2017, to PHP2.85 billion, from nearly PHP2.63 billion in 2016.
The firm said in a press statement issued shortly after the results, that gross gaming revenues “continued to recover” after the loss of the second floor gaming area following the June incident, and had increased by 22 percent sequentially in the fourth quarter, ending at PHP17.1 billion for full year 2017.
“We are pleased to see continuous improvements in our quarterly results and expect to sustain this upward trend, especially with the partial opening of the Phase 3 development’s gaming area in the near future,” said Kingson Sian, president and chief executive of Travellers International in the press announcement.
The new facility would be called Grand Wing while the original facility would be named Garden Wing, he added.
“The Grand Wing’s three hotel brands will open in phases beginning mid this year, with all three open by year end,” noted the CEO.
Grand Wing will have three international luxury hotels – Hilton Manila, Sheraton Manila Hotel, and Hotel Okura Manila, adding approximately 940 rooms. It will also include new gaming and retail spaces, as well as six basement parking decks.
March 26, 2018 |
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Casino equipment maker Paradise Entertainment Ltd narrowed drastically its full-year loss in 2017 compared to the prior year.
But revenue from sales of electronic gaming equipment and systems – via its LT Game brand – slumped dramatically, by 87.7 percent year-on-year, to just under HKD22.8 million (US$2.9 million), compared to HKD185.7 million in 2016, it said in a Monday filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
The firm said in a separate press release that this reflected the fact that in 2017 only 78 of its Live Multi Game casino game terminals were sold in the Macau market, compared to 893 such terminals in 2016 “when there were a number of flagship casinos opened” in the Macau market.
Paradise Entertainment’s 2017 loss was just under HKD30.7 million, compared to nearly HKD380.4 million for the preceding 12 months.
The 2016 loss had included the writing down of a nearly HKD334.8-million loss on intangible assets, “due to a one-off non-cash loss arising from assignment of intangible assets” in relation to patents and associated technology to International Game Technology Plc (IGT) in April 2016, Paradise Entertainment said.
Paradise Entertainment in April 2016 agreed to transfer all of its electronic table game technology, patents and other intellectual property to IGT, with the exception of table game intellectual property used exclusively in Macau. Paradise Entertainment said in its Monday press release it had commenced in 2017 “to recognise royalty income” from the deal with IGT, which contributed HKD2.9 million revenue to the Hong Kong-listed firm.
Full-year 2017 group revenue fell 13 percent, to HKD1.01 billion, from HKD1.16 billion a year earlier.
Revenue from casinos under the group’s management was flat year-on-year, up 0.6 percent, at HKD973.9 million.
The firm currently manages casino gaming at Casino Kam Pek Paradise on Macau peninsula under SJM Holdings Ltd’s gaming licence. It also manages casino operations at Casino Waldo also in downtown Macau, under the Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd licence.
Paradise Entertainment said in its annual results that the fall in total 2017 group revenue was “partly due to the change of the cooperation mode at Casino Macau Jockey Club”.
Last year the local gaming regulator said gaming licence rights of Casino Macau Jockey Club were “relocated” to a new property nearby – the Macau Roosevelt Hotel – and a casino there opened on June 29. Since January 1, 2017, Paradise Entertainment has changed its accounting process to reflect an operational change from provision of casino management services at Casino Macau Jockey Club to revenue sharing from Live Multi Game electronic table game terminals at the new venue.
Annual revenue from Casino Kam Pek Paradise rose 1.3 percent year-on-year, to HKD681.8 million, from HKD672.9 million. That from Casino Waldo was up 6.2 percent, to HKD292.1 million, from HKD275.1 million.
Jay Chun, chairman of Paradise Entertainment, said in a prepared statement in the press release, that 2017 had been a “challenging year as satellite casinos in Macau experienced sluggish recovery”.
He added: “Nevertheless, our management team has successfully executed the business strategies and the group has achieved solid results on the back of such a challenging and competitive operating environment in Macau.”
March 26, 2018 |
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Land betting groups International Game Technology and Boyd Gaming are beginning to offer a new product to customers looking for a way to draw in younger players.
March 26, 2018 |
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Macau-based casino operator SJM Holdings Ltd on Monday announced a salary increase for what it termed eligible employees, effective from April 1. The range of the pay hike is between 2.5 percent and 8.3 percent, according to a company press statement.
The firm said eligible staff members earning monthly salaries below MOP16,000 (US$1,981) would receive a pay increase of MOP600, which was equivalent to an increment of up to 8.3 percent. Eligible employees earning MOP16,000 or more per month would be entitled to a pay rise of 2.5 percent.
The statement did not specify the number of eligible employees receiving the pay hike. GGRAsia approached the firm on this matter, but did not receive a reply by the time this story went online.
The announced salary increment reportedly did not cover all of the firm’s employees, according to a company internal notice obtained by local gaming labour group Professional for Gaming of New Macau. For instance, employees on fixed term contracts or those still on probation by April 1 would not be covered by the pay increase, the notice stated.
SJM Holdings had already awarded its employees a bonus – referred by the firm as a “living subsidy” – for 2018, the firm’s executive director Angela Leong On Kei told local media on January 2.
But the firm was the last of the six Macau casino operators to publicly announce a pay rise for 2018.
SJM Holdings noted in its Monday press statement that its Cotai project, Grand Lisboa Palace, currently under construction, would offer over 10,000 employment opportunities for Macau residents.
March 26, 2018 |
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Cryptocurrency promises benefits for marijuana and gaming, but state regulators have yet to create rules to address its use in those businesses.
March 25, 2018 |
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Japanese gaming entrepreneur Kazuo Okada (pictured) has been placed on an immigration watch list in the Philippines, amid claims repeated by the country’s Justice Secretary that Mr Okada “misappropriated a huge amount of money” from Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment Inc, the promoter of Okada Manila, a US$2.4-billion Manila casino resort named after the billionaire.
The immigration alert was issued on January 9, five days after Tiger Resort requested the move, but was only revealed to the country’s media on March 22. The company has alleged fraud and perjury against Mr Okada.
““Allegedly, [Mr Okada] misappropriated a huge amount of money from Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment Inc while he was the chair of its board of directors. Moreover he allegedly made perjurious statements in a complaint he filed against Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment Inc with the Regional Trial Court of Parañaque City,”Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre said in his order.
According to one of the media reports, in the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper, the Immigration Commissioner, Jaime Morente, had instructed immigration officials at the country’s airports and seaports immediately to notify the Department of Justice and the country’s National Bureau of Investigation should Mr Okada “try to leave the country”.
The media reports did not clarify whether Mr Okada was actually in the country currently. The entrepreneur recently gave a sit down interview with a Hong Kong newspaper regarding an aspect of his dispute with Universal Entertainment Corp, a Japanese conglomerate he founded, and which controls Tiger Resort.
March 24, 2018 |
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The birth of bitcoin is shrouded in mystery. Its history is filled with controversy.
March 24, 2018 |
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A man who ran one of the first sports betting mutual funds in Nevada had filed for personal bankuptcy twice before receiving permission to manage other people’s money.
March 24, 2018 |
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March 23, 2018 |
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The Chinese gaming operator will stave off other potential unsolicited suitors while giving the company a key local ally in talks with Macau regulators.
March 23, 2018 |
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Betting group Ladbrokes Coral has been hit hard by the Court of Appeal in the UK, as the judicial body ruled against the bookmaker in its £71 million tax case.
March 23, 2018 |
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The recent shareholder reshuffle at U.S.–based casino operator Wynn Resorts Ltd – the parent company of Wynn Macau Ltd – will “not have an impact on Macau’s gaming sector,” said on Friday the city’s casino regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, also known by its Portuguese acronym DICJ.
The regulator stated in a press release it would “continue to closely monitor the situation, analysing and evaluating new developments, in order to ensure the sustainable development of Macau’s gaming sector.”
It was announced on Thursday by Wynn Resorts that Macau casino operator Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd was acquiring an estimated 4.9-percent stake in the former. Wynn Resorts also announced on Thursday that the company’s ex-chairman and chief executive Steve Wynn had reached an agreement with “two long-term institutional investors, both of whom are currently investors in Wynn Resorts”, to sell his remaining shares in the company.
In its Friday statement, the Macau casino regulator said it had been informed beforehand by the Wynn group of Mr Wynn’s intention to sell his shares in Wynn Resorts.
The Macau government “has been closely following up these events and has held multiple meetings with [Wynn Macau Ltd], maintaining close communication” on this matter with the firm, the DICJ statement said.
The document did not directly mention the acquisition by Galaxy Entertainment of a holding of almost 5 percent in Wynn Resorts. But the release did state that, “with the information currently in hand, there has been no breach of clause 10 of article 17 of Law 16/2001.”
The statute says that neither a Macau gaming concessionaire, nor any Macau gaming concessionaire’s shareholder with a stake of 5 percent or more in that business, can control a stake of 5 percent or more in any other local gaming concessionaire, be it directly or indirectly.
In a note issued on Friday, brokerage Sanford C.Bernstein Ltd said that the acquisition of Wynn Resorts shares by Galaxy Entertainment was an “important” event to both the Macau gaming industry and to the broader gaming market.
“Wynn Resorts and Galaxy Entertainment may be looking at collaborating on future development opportunities in Asia, with Japan being the critical development initiative,” said analysts Vitaly Umansky, Zhen Gong and Cathy Huang of Sanford Bernstein.
They added: “By jointly bidding for Japan (along with Japanese partners) the parties would be much stronger contenders together than separately. Such a joint bid likely would not have occurred under Steve Wynn.”
Both Galaxy Entertainment and Wynn Resorts have shown strong interest in bidding for a gaming business in Japan, as local authorities move to regulate casino gambling in the country.
The Sanford Bernstein note also said that Galaxy Entertainment “may use its 4.9 percent stake as a potential blocking party/influencer of any future attempted acquisition of Wynn Resorts”, or became “a potential acquirer of Wynn Resorts/Wynn Macau”. The brokerage described Galaxy Entertainment as “one of the few gaming companies that would have the financial wherewithal to execute” a potential purchase of Wynn Resorts.
“We do not believe that Galaxy Entertainment would be a buyer of Wynn Resorts in totality, but with China/Macau government approval a Galaxy Entertainment acquisition of Wynn Macau Ltd assets would create the leading Macau gaming company,” the brokerage said.
The institution added that if an acquisition of Wynn Macau Ltd by Galaxy Entertainment were to occur, the former’s gaming concession could be given or sold to a party approved by the Macau government, or simply be eliminated.
Allan Zeman, chairman and independent non-executive director of Wynn Macau Ltd, told Hong Kong media i-CABLE News Channel on Friday that Galaxy Entertainment and Wynn Resorts “could cooperate on potential projects in the future”.
March 23, 2018 |
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Casino equipment supplier and lottery services provider Scientific Games Corp has chosen the Macau market for a world debut of its new “Jin Ji Bao Xi” slot product. The company declined to say where it had been installed. The machine will however also appear soon in casinos in Asia-Pacific (Apac) markets, namely the Philippines and Cambodia.
“Some more” Macau venues would be having the product, said Ken Jolly, Scientific Games vice president and managing director of Asia, in a comment to GGRAsia. “Within two weeks, it will be installed in the Philippines and by next month in Cambodia,” he added.
In a press release on Thursday, Scientific Games had said the installation of “Jin Ji Bao Xi” in Macau followed “the success of the company’s ‘Duo Fu Duo Cai’ family [of games] link in Macau”.
“’Jin Ji Bao Xi’ is the latest multi-denominational, progressive linked jackpot from Scientific Games’ new offering of the Echo Fortunes base game on the Dualo cabinet, which debuted at the Macau Gaming Show last November,” the release added.
The firm further noted the new product had “exclusive content and design for Asian players”.
March 22, 2018 |
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Macau-based casino operator Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd is acquiring an estimated 5-percent stake in U.S.-based firm Wynn Resorts Ltd, the latter announced in a press release on Thursday.
Wynn Resorts is the parent company of Wynn Macau Ltd, a market rival of Galaxy Entertainment in Macau.
Wynn Resorts also announced on Thursday that former company chairman and chief executive Steve Wynn had reached an agreement with “two long-term institutional investors, both of whom are currently investors in Wynn Resorts”, to sell his remaining shares in the company.
According to Thursday’s press release, Galaxy Entertainment “has agreed to purchase 5.3 million primary shares of Wynn Resorts at a price of US$175 a share, resulting in US$927.5 million of gross proceeds to Wynn Resorts.”
Galaxy Entertainment vice chairman Francis Lui Yiu Tung said in a prepared statement included in the release: “This is a unique opportunity to acquire an investment in a globally recognised entertainment corporation with exceptionally high quality assets and a significant development pipeline”.
In a separate Thursday release, Wynn Resorts announced it intended to “use the net proceeds from that [sale] to repay amounts to be borrowed under the 364-day term loan facility contemplated by the commitment letters that the company entered into on March 9, 2018, with an affiliate of Deutsche Bank Securities in an aggregate principal amount of up to US$800 million.”
Commenting on the deal between Galaxy Entertainment and Wynn Resorts, brokerage Union Gaming Securities Asia Ltd said that, “ultimately, should this progress to an acquisition scenario, we think Galaxy Entertainment is only interested in Macau, and would therefore seek to concurrently sell the United States assets (Las Vegas and Boston).”
Analyst Grant Govertsen added: “In Macau, and considering Galaxy Entertainment’s long-term strategic view that Cotai represents the future … we could see another trade go up with another entity acquiring [casino hotel] Wynn Macau on the peninsula. Keeping Wynn Palace on Cotai would give Galaxy Entertainment the premier high-end asset in that geography (further cementing their status as the premium high-end operator), while also giving them further growth pipeline in the Phase 2 site at Wynn Palace. Combined with Phases 3 and 4 at Galaxy Macau, and Broadway, this would give Galaxy Entertainment no less than four major projects [in the Cotai district].”
Galaxy Entertainment announced earlier this week it had been granted a provisional gaming licence by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor), the casino regulator in that country. The Hong Kong-listed firm unveiled in December a US$500-million investment for the holiday island of Boracay, in partnership with Philippines-based Leisure and Resorts World Corp. The latter company has interests in the land-based and online gambling sectors in the Philippines.
Galaxy Entertainment acquired a 5-percent stake in Monaco casino firm Société des Bains de Mer et du Cercle des Étrangers à Monaco, also known as SBM, in July 2015. Last year, the two firms announced what was termed a strategic partnership.
Both Galaxy Entertainment and Wynn Resorts have shown strong interest in bidding for a gaming business in Japan, as local authorities move to regulate casino gambling in the country.
Steve Wynn to sell remaining shares
Wynn Resorts also announced on Thursday that “two long-term institutional investors, both of whom are currently investors in Wynn Resorts, have agreed to purchase the remaining 8 million shares held by founder and former Wynn Resorts CEO Steve Wynn, thus demonstrating their confidence in the long-term strength of the company.”
The release did not identify the buyers. It added that the purchase price of the shares held by Mr Wynn was also US$175 a share.
“The two sales, combined with previous sales by Mr Wynn, effectively eliminate his ownership in Wynn Resorts,” the firm said.
It had been announced on Wednesday by Wynn Resorts that Mr Wynn intended to sell some or all of his shares in the company. At the time of the announcement, he was the largest shareholder in Wynn Resorts, with 12.13 million shares.
Shortly after the announcement, Mr Wynn lowered his stake in the casino operator to about 7.8 percent from 11.78 percent, a regulatory filing showed on Thursday. That made him the third-biggest shareholder in the company, behind his former wife Elaine Wynn and The Vanguard Group Inc, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Wynn Resorts earlier this month announced it had agreed to pay a total of US$2.4 billion to settle a 2012 stock redemption dispute with Aruze USA and the latter’s parent company, Universal Entertainment Corp.
“The resolution of that litigation, combined with the new agreement with Galaxy Entertainment and the liquidation of Steve Wynn’s shares in the company positions Wynn Resorts for even greater stability, strategic focus and future growth,” Wynn Resorts stated in its Thursday release.
March 22, 2018 |
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A British Colombian man who lost $500,000 in disability payments at an online lottery site is suing The British Colombia Lottery Corporation for not intervening on his behalf.
March 22, 2018 |
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Online casino slot developer Yggdrasil Gaming has announced the release of their newest video slot 'Easter Island', which takes players to Polynesia for a chance to win big.
March 22, 2018 |
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Everi Holdings Inc, a U.S.-based specialist in cash handling technology and electronic game content for the casino industry, says it has a partnership with bZillions Inc for the development of “new gaming content”.
A Wednesday release from Everi described the other party as an independent game design studio based in Las Vegas, Nevada, in the United States. The tie up will focus on creating games for Everi’s “mForce” electronic slot game platform.
According to the release, bZillions will develop content for at least 10 new games over the next 12 months for several of the Everi’s newest gaming cabinets, including the Empire MPX and the Empire 5527.
“bZillions has a track record of creating product that drives increased performance on all sorts of different platforms,” said Dean Ehrlich, executive vice president and gaming business leader for Everi, in a prepared statement contained in the announcement.
In other developments, analyst Brian McGill of Telsey Advisory Group LLC said in a Sunday note that Everi expected to increase its slot sales in 2018 by 10 percent year-on-year, to nearly 4,000 units.
“We think this is realistic and believe it is possible there could be upside,” stated the analyst. “In the game operations segment, the company expects 7 percent to 8 percent growth in the installed base with better yields in each quarter than the prior year,” added Mr McGill.
March 21, 2018 |
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Steve Wynn has notified Wynn Resorts that he plans to sell his shares, potentially pre-empting a decision by regulators in Massachusetts and Nevada to force him to do so.
March 21, 2018 |
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It looks like Newcastle United could be facing a yellow card after they were caught offering betting group Fun88's logo on shirts worn by youth team players.
March 21, 2018 |
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The Macau government says that the Macau Horse Race Co Ltd, which runs the Macau Jockey Club, must pay MOP153 million (US$18.9 million) in backdated dues within three years, or risk termination of its recently-extended operating rights.
The government had “found” in 2015 that the concessionaire’s side owed it “MOP200 million,” dating back to a period running from 1997 to 2005, said Lionel Leong Vai Tac, Macau’s Secretary for Economy and Finance, in comments to local media on the sidelines of an event on Wednesday. Mr Leong did not explain the circumstances in which the government became aware of the debt.
But he added: “After we discovered this [outstanding] amount, I asked [the company] in 2015 – when we were dealing with the [horse racing] concession – to repay the government in 10 years, which would be MOP20 million per year.”
The outstanding money included payments to a pension fund the government maintains for civil servants, unclaimed prizes in relation to concession operations and money payable to the city’s Social Welfare Bureau.
“In 2018, [the Macau Horse Race Co] proposed an increase in investment and expressed the wish to continue operation. As a result, we told them to first repay the remaining overdue amount within three years… This means that they have to pay MOP50 million each year for three years,” the Secretary said.
He added that the extended concession contract would be terminated if the Macau Horse Race Co failed to pay the outstanding debt in three years.
The Macau government recently granted the Macau Horse Race Co a 24-years-and-six-months extension of the latter’s horse racing betting concession. The decision came after the company proposed investing MOP1.5 billion in improving the facilities at the racetrack site, and increasing the amount of non-gaming facilities.
Annuity exemption
Mr Leong also mentioned on Wednesday that the Macau government had since 2002 been exempting the Macau Horse Race Co from paying what he termed a “fixed annual tax” of MOP25 million; understood to be a reference to a fixed annuity due to the government from the concessionaire. The concession contracts filed with the local gaming regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, mention that for the period 1999 to 2005, a fixed annuity of MOP30 million had been payable. In 2005, when an extension had been granted to the same company regarding the horse race concession, the fixed annuity was reduced to MOP15 million, and payment had again been exempted annually.
“Therefore, either the Secretary of Economy and Finance or the Chief Executive had granted the company partial or full exemption from paying the fixed annual tax [the annuity] since 2002,” said Mr Leong in his Wednesday comments.
The Secretary stated that the exemptions were granted following the petition from the Macau Horse Race Co each year, claiming that it was running at an annual loss.
But he did not clarify either to what the tax applied and whether such taxes and exemptions were applicable following the most recent extension of the concession.
According to the 1997 amendment to the concession contract, Macau Horse Race Co had to pay the civil servant pension fund annually 1 percent of the total amount of horse race betting turnover each year. The company also had to allocate a sum to the Macau Department of Social Welfare – the predecessor of the Social Welfare Bureau – the equivalent of 1 percent of the annuity due to the government. Both requirements were abolished when the concession contract was amended in 2005.
The Secretary also mentioned a requirement that the Macau Horse Race Co pay “a certain percentage of gaming tax” if its annual betting turnover was more than MOP2.5 billion.
The current concessionaire – which last made a profit in 2004 – had accumulated losses of more than MOP4 billion as of the end of 2016, according to the firm’s 2016 results, the most recent annual results published in Macau’s Official Gazette.
As of calendar year 2017, horse racing betting accounted for only 0.04 percent of Macau’s overall gross gaming revenue. Most of the balance comes from the casino industry. Other non-casino segments are greyhound racing betting, sports betting, and lotteries.
In a separate development, the Macau government released a statement on Monday saying Macau Horse Race Co “has been paying its yearly rent for leasing government land”. The release came following suggestions reported in the local media that the Macau Horse Race Co may have failed to pay some rent owed for access to public land.
March 21, 2018 |
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Internet casino software groups Kiron Interactive and SoftGamings have signed a content supply deal this week that will see the latter offering the former's games on their gaming platform as a result.
March 20, 2018 |
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Steve Wynn, who settled with two former female employees who accused him of sexual misconduct, skipped his own company’s mandatory sexual harassment awareness training, court testimony shows.
March 20, 2018 |
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March 20, 2018 |
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Online betting group 888 Holdings has revealed their full year 2017 financial results, revealing that the company hauled in a record in terms of revenues for the period.
March 20, 2018 |
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Hong Kong-listed The 13 Holdings Ltd, the developer of a stalled Macau project called The 13 Hotel (pictured), has announced that 90.26 percent of the total number of rights issue shares in a rights issue exercise have found subscribers.
In a filing to Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Monday, the company said that “all the conditions to the underwriting agreement had been fulfilled and the underwriting agreement had not been terminated by the underwriter on or before the latest time for termination [March 12, 2018].”
In October last year the group announced a proposed rights issue to raise gross proceeds of approximately HKD1.01 billion (US$129 million at current exchange rates). It said that the rights issue was fully underwritten by Get Nice Securities Ltd and certain shareholders of The 13 Holdings.
The company received a total of 89 valid applications and acceptances in respect of a total of around 831 million right issue shares, the Monday filing said.
It added: “As a result of the under-subscription of the rights issue shares, the underwriter and the sub-underwriters have subscribed or procured subscribers to take up all the untaken shares [around 89 million] in accordance with the terms of the underwriting agreement and the sub-underwriting agreements.”
The firm said in a February filing that a casino at The 13 Hotel might open by March 31, 2019 along with some shops at the complex.
Lawrence Ho Yau Lung, chairman and chief executive of Macau casino operator Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd, was asked on the sidelines of an event for his company on Monday whether it had an agreement with the promoters of The 13 Hotel that would allow the latter to open a casino via Melco Resorts’ gaming licence.
Mr Ho said that “it doesn’t really matter” whether The 13 Hotel had a “contract” with Melco Resorts or another Macau casino operator, as The 13 Hotel would have first to obtain Macau government approval for casino gaming.
March 19, 2018 |
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Revenue from room-tax collections have reversed a three-month downward trend producing the second-highest monthly level since collections began in March 2017.
March 19, 2018 |
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German sportsbook site Sportwetten.de has announced that they've signed a partnership deal with the German Ice Hockey Federation which will make the group an Official Partner of the country's national hockey team.
March 19, 2018 |
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The Macau government has stopped short of issuing a general cessation notice for work on the Morpheus hotel tower construction site following a fatal accident on Sunday, the second death in nine months.
Macau’s Labour Affairs Bureau instead ordered a suspension on “works at height”, but only in the vicinity of the fifth floor of the Morpheus tower where the fatality occurred. Morpheus (pictured left) is a fifth hotel tower at the City of Dreams Macau casino resort, a venue promoted by casino operator Melco Resorts and Entertaiment Ltd.
The labour bureau said in a Monday afternoon statement it had requested a “detailed report” on what it deemed an industrial accident, and noted works at height in the area of the incident could only resume after its approval.
In the statement, the bureau said that it would also pursue a matter of alleged illegal employment in relation to the dead worker. Earlier on Monday a police spokesperson told GGRAsia that – according to investigations so far – the latest Morpheus victim was not registered as a legal worker.
Lawrence Ho Yau Lung, chairman and chief executive of Melco Resorts, was asked on the sidelines of a company event on Monday whether the accident would delay the opening of Morpheus. The company had previously said the facility was likely to launch by the end of the second quarter.
“We are not sure yet,” Mr Ho said. “At present, we are working very closely with our contractor to fully understand the situation. Our hearts go out to the family of the [deceased] worker and the people affected… At this point and time, our number one concern is to work with authorities and the contractor, and also to make sure that the family of the deceased is being taken care of,” the Melco Resorts boss added.
The labour bureau gave in its Monday announcement a brief summary of what happened to the latest Morpheus victim, a mainland Chinese woman aged 32.
“According to preliminary investigation, the [deceased] victim was doing painting work at a suspended ceiling over the fifth floor [of the Morpheus tower]; the suspended ceiling… cracked, causing the victim to fall from about seven metres above ground… and [she] was later certified dead after an emergency rescue,” it stated.
Last year, the Morpheus site had a government-ordered suspension lasting a fortnight, when a 33-year-old worker died after being hit by a steel beam.
March 19, 2018 |
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Macau officials have declined to comment on whether any work suspension might be imposed on the construction site for the Morpheus hotel tower at the City of Dreams (CoD) Macau casino resort, following the death on Sunday of a woman there.
The resort’s promoter, Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd, has previously said Morpheus (pictured) should be open by the end of the second quarter.
Last year, the Morpheus site had a government-ordered suspension lasting a fortnight, when a 33-year-old worker died after being hit by a steel beam. The works at the site only resumed on July 28. The US$1-billion Morpheus will feature approximately 780 hotel rooms, suites and villas, and will have space for premium mass gaming tables, according to previous company announcements.
In the latest incident, a 32-year-old worker fell to her to death when working on Sunday at the site. The event has been classified as an industrial accident and is under further investigation by the Judiciary Police, the city’s Public Security Police noted to GGRAsia in response to a telephone enquiry. The police spokesperson added that – according to the investigations so far – the victim was not registered as a legal worker.
On Monday the city’s Labour Affairs Bureau told GGRAsia – also in response to a telephone enquiry – that it was still looking into the fatal industrial accident, and declined to comment on whether a work suspension might be ordered at the site.
The mainland Chinese woman was said to have been working in the vicinity of the fifth floor of the Morpheus tower and suffered a serious head injury after falling. She was certified dead after an emergency rescue on the same day.
March 18, 2018 |
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At least three people were killed and 23 injured by a fire in a casino hotel in the Philippine capital Manila on Sunday, according to local authorities quoted by international media outlets. More than 300 guests were evacuated, some by helicopter, officials said.
The blaze engulfed the Waterfront Manila Pavilion Hotel and Casino (pictured in a file photo), a 22-storey hotel and casino complex operated by Philippines-based Waterfront Philippines Inc. The property is located in the heart of Manila’s tourist district.
Among the dead were two hotel security guards and a treasury officer. They had likely suffocated while another 23 people had been taken to hospital, Johnny Yu, the head of the Manila Disaster Risk and Reduction Management Office, was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
The casino at the property is operated by the country’s regulator-cum-operator Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor), under the “Casino Filipino” brand. The dead were all employees of Pagcor.
Officials had initially said at least four people died in the fire, but later said that one of those was revived by doctors at a hospital and was in critical condition. Two people were reportedly missing, according to officials.
Mr Yu said it was still unclear if the fire at the Waterfront Manila Pavilion Hotel and Casino started in the casino on the lower floors or in an area of the hotel that was under renovation.
The official said additionally that the sprinklers at the casino hotel did not work, quoting reports from firefighters deployed to the site, reported news network Rappler.
Waterfront Philippines said in August last year it would implement a PHP350-million (US$6.74 million) renovation programme at its Waterfront Manila Pavilion Hotel and Casino. It was part of renovation plan covering four of its properties, including the firm’s three casino hotel schemes.
According to local media, the fire at the Manila property was still raging nine hours after it began on Sunday morning. TV footage showed dark gray smoke billowing from the lower floors of the hotel as rescuers brought people out of the building.
Authorities blocked off the areas around the property, to allow firetrucks to approach and help fight the blaze.
This is the second fire to hit a casino property in Manila in less than 10 months. In June last year, an armed attacker set a fire at the Resorts World Manila casino hotel complex, claiming the lives of 37 people. The attacker later committed suicide by setting himself on fire inside a room at the property.
March 17, 2018 |
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Internet betting software developer Playtech has announced that they've struck a deal with the Polish lottery monopoly group Totalizator Sportowy and will open a Polish online casino as a result.
March 17, 2018 |
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March 16, 2018 |
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The nearly 90 people who thought they had won money in Station Casinos’ “bad beat jackpot” poker promotion had to wait more than nine months to cash in.
March 16, 2018 |
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The focus at the World Game Protection Conference in Las Vegas turned from cheaters to the active shooters this year following deadly incidents in the Philippines, Chile and Las Vegas.
March 16, 2018 |
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The focus at the World Game Protection Conference in Las Vegas turned from cheaters to the active shooters this year following deadly incidents in the Philippines, Chile and Las Vegas.
March 16, 2018 |
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Cambodian casino operator NagaCorp Ltd has affirmed its intention to pay a final dividend for 2017 of US$0.0145 per share.
The company said in its annual report filed on Thursday that the proposed final dividend – due to be approved at the annual general meeting on April 27 and payable on or about May 17, would – when combined with an interim dividend of US$0.0208 per share already settled – represent a dividend payout ratio for the 12 months of approximately 60 percent.
Hong Kong-listed NagaCorp is the operator of NagaWorld (pictured), the only casino resort in Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh.
In February NagaCorp reported 2017 net profit up 38.6 percent from the previous year. Revenue for the period increased by 79.8 percent.
The company said in the management discussion and analysis section of its annual report that “as a consequence of the strengthening balance sheet,” its casino players were “expressing more confidence, checking in more money, placing higher bets and generating a significant increase in business volume”. This was “especially” the case in the VIP segment, where rolling chip turnover increased 142 percent for the year, said the firm.
In February, Macau junket operator Suncity Group – said by investment analysts to be one of the largest VIP gambling organisers in Macau – stated it would be opening VIP facilities at Naga 2, an extension to the NagaWorld operation in Phnom Penh that opened in November .
In other commentary in the report, the chairman Tim McNally said that the group’s plan for a casino resort in the Primorye Integrated Entertainment Zone near Vladivostok in the Russian Far East remained “broadly on schedule” for operation by 2019.
“We believe our strategy to diversify our business geographically and expand into new casino markets will drive revenue growth in the long term,” noted the chairman.
At the opening of Naga 2, the group’s chief executive Chen Lip Keong said that the Naga brand had ambitions for several casino operations at strategic points, including places close to China border areas, curving around that country “as a dragon”.
In other developments on Thursday, NagaCorp said that Philip Lee Wai Tuck – an executive director and its chief financial officer – was being promoted to executive deputy chairman with effect from that date.
“The company’s gross gaming revenue having increased to approximately US$1 billion for the year ended 31 December 2017 and with the market capitalisation of the company having increased to approximately US$4.4 billion as at 12 March 2018, the company would like to focus on the realignment and strengthening of its senior management in order to meet with the higher aspirations and further growth of the company,” NagaCorp stated in that filing.
Mr Lee’s successor as CFO as of the same date was named in the same filing as being Tan Sean Czoon. Mr Tan joined NagaCorp in 2013 and was previously vice president of business development. Before that he was an asset manager for the Deutsche Bank group, based in Hong Kong.