August 31, 2018 |
No Comments |
August 31, 2018 |
No Comments |
Playsugarhouse.com sportsbook went live last Thursday, and reported that there are already some interesting trends to be seen.
August 31, 2018 |
No Comments |
Imperial Pacific International Holdings Ltd has been granted another deadline extension, this time until February 28, 2021, to complete the initial phase of its casino resort (pictured) on the Pacific island of Saipan, reported local media on Friday.
The previous deadline had expired on August 31, with no prospect of being met.
Under amended terms to its monopoly casino licence – agreed after a Friday meeting with the local regulator, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Lottery Commission – Imperial Pacific will pay a fine of US$5,000 a day if it fails to meet the new deadline. That is according to the Marianas Variety newspaper, a local media outlet in the United States jurisdiction.
Under the fresh agreement, the company also pledged – in exchange for the more than three-and-a-half-years of leeway – to donate US$500,000 to a body called the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp, for the purchase of medical equipment, reported the newspaper.
In its interim results filed with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Thursday, Imperial Pacific said it was “in discussion with other potential investors to secure long-term financing for the remaining construction of the integrated gaming resort”.
Profit at Imperial Pacific plummeted 91.3 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2018.
VIP table games rolling – accounting for most of Imperial Pacific’s casino business – nearly halved year-on-year in the first six months.
August 31, 2018 |
No Comments |
This week Finland gaming monopoly Veikkaus posted their first half financials, which were down due to the implementation of new responsible gambling controls.
August 30, 2018 |
No Comments |
August 30, 2018 |
No Comments |
The latest edition of the Australasian Gaming Expo (AGE) set a new attendance record for the annual event, said a Thursday press release issued on behalf of the organiser, the Gaming Technologies Association.
A total of 8,638 visits was recorded during the three days of the 2018 show this month at the International Convention Centre (ICC) Sydney (pictured) in New South Wales. The turnout – involving attendees from a total of 26 countries – was said to be 7 percent up on 2017.
Those present included 92 “senior executives” from Asia, said the release. There was also a good showing from New Zealand and the United States, it added..
The latest edition featured 237 exhibitors including firms trading in cash security know-how, furniture, staff uniforms, and food and drink, as well as suppliers of casino-floor games and management systems.
AGE 2018 also offered three days of seminars on key topics including international and domestic legal trends affecting the gaming industry.
AGE 2019 will be held from the August 13 to 15 inclusive.
August 30, 2018 |
No Comments |
Playsugarhouse.com sportsbook went live last Thursday, and reported that there are already some interesting trends to be seen.
August 30, 2018 |
No Comments |
888 Holdings launches a new Live Dealer casino product backed by Evolution Gaming.
August 29, 2018 |
No Comments |
Casino operator Genting Malaysia Bhd and its parent Genting Bhd respectively reported their second-quarter results on Wednesday.
Profit at Genting Malaysia rose 104 percent year-on-year for the quarter, despite what Japanese brokerage Nomura said was a 21 percent year-on-year decline in VIP gambling volume in the period.
Such profits were MYR395.7 million (US$95.9 million), on revenue that rose 5.7 percent year-on-year for the quarter, to MYR2.42 billion, said Genting Malaysia in a filing to Bursa Malaysia.
The firm, which operates a casino outside the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, as well as properties in the United States and the Bahamas; and in the United Kingdom and Egypt, declared an interim, single-tier dividend of MYR0.06 per ordinary share, payable on September 19 to shareholders registered as of September 14.
Analyst Samuel Yin Shao Yang of Maybank IB Research said Genting Malaysia had delivered “decent results given the challenging second-quarter environment”.
Nomura analysts Tushar Mohata and Rahul Dohare stated in a Wednesday memo on Genting Malaysia: “Casino revenues were up just 3 percent, as VIP volume fell 21 percent and mass volume fell 1 percent: we attribute this to the World Cup-related disruption as high-roller business declined.” They were referring latterly to an international soccer tournament that took place in Russia in June and July.
The casino operator reported group-wide adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of MYR701.8 million for the three months to June 30, up 31.1 percent from the prior-year period.
Genting Malaysia said in a press release: “The group’s overall adjusted EBITDA was aided by lower foreign exchange translation losses on its U.S. dollar-denominated assets of MYR14.4 million recorded in first half 2018 compared to MYR53.2 million reported in the same period last year.”
The Nomura analysts stated, referring to two new theme parks at the Malaysian casino venue – Resorts World Genting – under a major multi-year revamp for the site: “The indoor theme park is now scheduled to open by fourth quarter 2018 (delayed from third quarter 2018) and [20th Century] Fox World by first half 2019 (delayed from end-2018).”
Genting Malaysia said in a press release filed to Bursa Malaysia on Wednesday that in the second quarter its Malaysian leisure and hospitality business recorded revenue up 10 percent to MYR1.59 billion while quarterly adjusted EBITDA had grown by 24 percent to MYR540.2 million.
It said this was “mainly attributable to an improved hold percentage in the mid- to premium-players segment.”
It added that the “new facilities and attractions” already opened at Resorts World Genting under the Genting Integrated Tourism Plan – a major revamp of the property – had been “well received” and had also contributed to improvement in those business indicators.
Parent profit down
At parent Genting Bhd – which gets a share of profits not only from Genting Malaysia but also from Genting Singapore Ltd, operator of the Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore – second-quarter profit actually fell 15.6 percent year-on-year, it told the Malaysian bourse.
Such quarterly profit was MYR383.5 million, on quarterly revenue that slipped 2.6 percent year-on-year, to MYR4.82 billion.
The parent nonetheless declared an interim single-tier dividend of MYR0.085 per ordinary share.
Mr Yin of Maybank IB Research noted in a memo regarding Genting Bhd: “Second-quarter headline net profit of MYR383.5 million was suppressed by MYR206.5 million net fair value loss on a bio-renewable energy investment.”
The Nomura analysts said in their separate note regarding Genting Bhd, that the firm’s revenue decline had been “due to weakness in Singapore, U.S.A. operations and plantation business”.
In early August Genting Singapore had reported higher second-quarter profit despite a fall in revenue.
Genting Bhd stated in an earnings press release issued to Bursa Malaysia that regarding the prospect of a casino licence in Japan, Genting Singapore had been “gearing up for this expansion opportunity and has been hiring a new team of Japanese nationals in different disciplines to prepare for the bid”.
The parent said that in the U.K. market, the Genting Malaysia unit “remains resolute in delivering sustainable performance by managing business volatility in the premium players segment”.
August 29, 2018 |
No Comments |
Lee, 98, a real estate developer and casino owner, died Tuesday at her home in Las Vegas after a brief illness.
August 29, 2018 |
No Comments |
Fiscal-year profit at Australian slot machine maker Ainsworth Game Technology Ltd fell 15.8 percent year-on-year to AUD31.9 million (US$23.3 million), on revenue that declined 5.8 percent for the period, to nearly AUD265.6 million.
Pre-tax profit was down 9.8 percent, to about AUD42.3 million, the firm said on Wednesday in a filing to the Australian Securities Exchange.
Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were AUD68.0 million, a decline of 3.3 percent in year-on-year terms. Underlying EBITDA – adjusting for currency impacts and other significant items – fell by 19.6 percent on year to AUD67.6 million.
The company said sales were higher in the second half of the year at AUD145.3 million, compared to AUD120.3 million in the first half. The firm sold a total of 9,714 units during the reporting period, down 9 percent from the previous fiscal year.
Revenue from international markets declined by 3 percent year-on-year for the full fiscal year, to nearly AUD202 million. International sales however accounted for 76 percent of the group total sales in the period. Revenue in the Australian market fell by 14 percent year-on-year, said the firm.
In its ‘rest of the world’ sales segment, the slot machine maker recorded revenue of AUD17.6 million, down 37 percent year-on-year, and profit of AUD10.4 million, a decrease of 31 percent.
Ainsworth Game said segment revenue declined “due to lower Asia, New Zealand and Europe sales” for the period. The segment’s profit included a one-off impairment loss recognised for an Asian trade receivable in the amount of AUD0.9 million, said the company.
In Wednesday’s filing, Ainsworth Game said that when measured before accounting for the effects of currency movements, profit before tax was AUD39.2 million, “slightly ahead of the upgraded guidance provided” in July.
“We are pleased to deliver fiscal-year 2018 results slightly ahead of our upgraded guidance,” said Ainsworth Games’s chief executive Danny Gladstone, in a prepared statement.
“Our performance continues to show signs of improvement and is a direct result of the strategies implemented to expand our international footprint, invest in technology to enhance our product suite, and build our participation fleet to improve the quality of our earnings,” he added.
The firm’s board declared a final dividend of AUD0.025 per share, fully franked. This made a total dividend of AUD0.04 per share for the year, totalling AUD13.3 million and representing a payout ratio of 42 percent.
Mr Gladstone said that while Ainsworth Game recognised “the intense competition” it faced across the markets where it operates, the company was “confident [it] can outperform” in the sector.
“We will continue to judiciously invest our cash flow in product improvements and innovation, and sales and marketing while retiring debt and rewarding shareholders,” said Ainsworth Game’s CEO. “In fiscal year 2019 we expect to release a new suite of products which should assist in translating to improved financial results.”
August 29, 2018 |
No Comments |
Macau’s Health Bureau revealed on Tuesday that Studio City (pictured), operated by Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd, is the second of two Macau casino resorts to have been granted approval for new-style smoking lounges in the local market. The other, mentioned by name in April, is Ponte 16.
All Macau casinos wanting to continue to offer on-site smoking to patrons must apply to the local authorities to operate the new, higher-standard lounges, said to have better air extraction equipment than is mandated under the current regulatory regime. From January 1, only authorised, enhanced, lounges will be permitted in the local market.
A number of investment analysts have said in commentaries that those casino markets completely prohibiting on-site smoking had seen – initially at least – a negative effect on casino gross gaming revenue.
Tuesday’s Health Bureau release stated that so far 13 of Macau’s 47 relevant venues, i.e. casinos and slot parlours – had applied for such improved smoking lounges. That was two more than was mentioned in a Health Bureau statement at the beginning of the month.
The latest document did not identify which properties had sought such permission but were still awaiting a decision.
It only stated that the 13 venues had filed an aggregate of 107 requests for approval of smoking lounges. That was 39 more requests than had been submitted up to June 30.
Macau’s gaming operators have to submit by September 28 any applications for new smoking lounges, in order for such requests to have a chance of being approved before the city’s new regime on smoking is enforced in casinos on January 1. The Health Bureau justified the September 28 deadline on the basis of how long it would take to inspect and approve the smoking lounges with enhanced technical standards.
The Macau government banned in October 2014 smoking on casino mass floors. An exception was made for tobacco use in enclosed smoking lounges – facilities without gaming machines or tables – located on some casino mass-market floors in the city.
Macau’s Legislative Assembly approved on July 14 last year a revised bill on smoking that bans tableside tobacco use in VIP rooms.
Although the new rules apply from January 1, 2018, tableside smoking at VIP rooms will in effect be able to continue until January 1, 2019, as casinos have been given a year’s grace period to set up VIP smoking lounges.
If any existing smoking lounges in mass-market areas of casinos were found to be in operation – without the necessary technical upgrades and fresh authorisations – after January 1, 2019, operators could be fined up to MOP200,000 (US$24,747), the Health Bureau mentioned in its Wednesday statement.
That day the Health Bureau said additionally that the aggregate number of charges filed for instances of smoking in unauthorised areas inside the city’s casinos reached 781 in the first six months of 2018. That was an increase of 131.1 percent from the prior-year period, according to the official data.
Statistics from the Health Bureau showed that a total of 436 site inspections in relation to smoking were conducted inside casinos in the six months to June 30 – up from 312 inspections in the prior-year period.
Smokers that use a tobacco product in no-smoking areas are subject to a fine of MOP1,500.
August 28, 2018 |
No Comments |
Casino services provider Macau Legend Development Ltd swung back into profit in the first half of 2018, boosted by the sale in April of the Landmark Macau hotel (pictured) for a consideration of HKD4.60-billion (US$586.1 million).
The sale was booked as a HKD3.43-billion gain in the firm’s results for the six months to June 30, filed on Tuesday with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Group profit for the period was nearly HKD2.85 billion, compared to a loss of HKD233.9 million in the first half of 2017. The figures in both years exclude the contribution of Savan Legend Resorts Hotel and Entertainment Complex, a casino resort in Laos acquired in 2016. That is booked separately on the company’s balance sheet.
The group’s first-half adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation was approximately HKD200.6 million, an increase of approximately HKD99.8 million or approximately 99.1 percent over that of the last corresponding period, when it was approximately HKD100.7 million. The firm did not declare an interim dividend.
In Macau, Macau Legend runs three casinos including Babylon Casino and Legend Palace Casino. Those gaming venues are located on Macau peninsula and are operated under the casino licence of Macau gaming operator SJM Holdings Ltd. Legend Palace Casino is inside the Legend Palace Hotel, a property also run by the group. Macau Legend also manages the gaming at Pharaoh’s Palace, the casino within the Landmark Macau, under the SJM Holdings licence.
For the six months to June 30, gaming revenue for the Macau Legend group increased by approximately 19.7 percent to approximately HKD674.2 million. It said the performance was “offset” by a year-on-year decrease in non-gaming revenue of 5.2 percent to approximately HKD277.4 million. The company reported aggregate revenue of nearly HKD951.6 million, up 11.2 percent from the prior-year period.
It stated: “The increase in gaming revenue was primarily due to increase in the reported revenue contributed from Legend Palace Casino of approximately HKD168.8 million and increase in reported revenue contributed by Savan Legend Casino [in Laos] of approximately HKD13.3 million, which was offset by the decrease in reported revenue contributed by Pharaoh’s Palace Casino of approximately HKD72.1 million.”
Macau Legend said the fall in group non-gaming revenue was primarily due to “the cessation of consolidation of the Landmark Macau’s revenue” starting from April 28, 2018 – the time of the disposal – which resulted in the decrease in reported revenue contributed by the Landmark Macau of approximately 30.8 percent. The firm added that the decrease was “offset” by the increase in reported revenue contributed by Macau Fisherman’s Wharf – “mainly” from Harbourview Hotel – of approximately HKD14.3 million.
August 28, 2018 |
No Comments |
August 28, 2018 |
No Comments |
Macau’s Judiciary Police recorded a total of 840 suspected gaming-related crimes in the first half of 2018, down by approximately 3 percent when compared to the prior-year period, according to a press briefing held on Tuesday. But the police have seen more gaming-related cases of suspected loan-sharking in the period.
The Macau authorities typically label cases as gaming-related when they take place inside a casino or in its surroundings, but have been spreading their net.
During the first half of this year, the police recorded a total of 254 gaming-related cases of suspected usury – unlawful lending of money and commonly known as loan-sharking. The tally represented a 38-percent increase when compared to the prior-year period, according to Macau’s Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak (pictured in a file photo), who led Tuesday’s press briefing.
A reason for the rise seen in the number of gaming-related cases of suspected loan-sharking had to do with the police initiating more investigations in areas some distance from casino properties but where the suspects were nonetheless thought to be targeting casino gamblers, said Mr Wong.
“These [suspected loansharking] cases had been prevented from evolving into unlawful detentions,” the security official said, referring to situations where the illegal lenders seek to hold a victim captive until they arrange for friends or family members to settle the ‘debt’. He added that some of the loan-sharking suspects had been working in flats. Intelligence gathered from neighbouring residents and property management workers had helped the police in disrupting the alleged criminal operations.
“In the first half of 2018, the police have initiated more investigations against loan-sharking cases, and then successfully dismantled several loan-sharking gangs. That helps combatting gaming-related crimes,” Mr Wong noted to local media.
The Macau security official also stated that illicit gambling websites that pirated Macau casino brands “hurt Macau’s image”, even if such sites had no connection to the city.
The Judiciary Police had investigated and analysed these gambling websites, and had subsequently requested the web hosting companies working outside Macau to block or remove these websites. So far about 90 related websites had been ” blocked or removed”, Mr Wong said on Tuesday.
In the first half of this year, gaming-related cases involving a total of 1,015 suspects had been sent to the city’s Public Prosecutions Office, down by 3.3 percent year-on-year, the security official said.
August 28, 2018 |
No Comments |
The company on Monday announced the renewed program is now available at the company’s recently acquired Aliante and Cannery properties in Las Vegas and at other Boyd casinos nationwide.
August 27, 2018 |
No Comments |
Hong Kong-listed Suncity Group Holdings Ltd reported a net loss of nearly CNY1.65 billion (US$241.8 million) for the first half of 2018, compared with CNY632.3 million in the prior-year period. The company is linked to Alvin Chau Cheok Wa (pictured in a file photo), who controls Macau junket investor Suncity Group.
The company said in a Monday filing that – after the reporting period – it obtained a loan of HKD400 million (US$51 million) from a “related company” owned by Mr Chau.
“The facility is unsecured, interest bearing at 3.5 percent per annum, and repayable after 60 months from the date of facility,” said Suncity Group Holdings. The firm added that it had already withdrawn HKD176 million from such loan.
Suncity Group Holdings does not contain the profit streams of junket operations for privately-held Suncity Group in its declared assets but is nonetheless linked to Mr Chau, the founder of the junket brand. The brand is said by investment analysts to be the largest-single investor in junket room operations in the Macau market.
In Monday’s filing, the Hong Kong-listed entity said that despite its revenue increasing 25.9 percent year-on-year to CNY456 million; its cost of sales grew much quicker in the six months to June 30, increasing 77.3 percent year-on-year to CNY279.2 million.
Suncity Group Holdings said additionally that the significant increase in loss was mainly attributable to the increase in loss of approximately CNY944.1 million “in respect of the change in fair value of derivative component of convertible bond”.
On August 1 Suncity Group Holdings said in a filing it had again delayed completing the purchase of 34 percent of a casino resort project in Vietnam, telling the Hong Kong bourse it had put back the deadline for completion to August 31.
Mr Chau’s side announced the HKD600-million deal in July last year.
August 27, 2018 |
No Comments |
Portugal's online gaming market saw an uptick in revenues during the second quarter, as casino operators hauled in €16.9 million, up more than €3.6 million from the same period in 2017.
August 27, 2018 |
No Comments |
Hong Kong-listed casino developer Imperial Pacific International Holdings Ltd has reportedly asked for a further extension on the deadline to complete construction of the initial part of its permanent casino resort on the Pacific island of Saipan.
The firm has requested until December 31, 2020 to complete what is known as the “initial gaming facility” of the casino scheme, the Marianas Variety newspaper and Saipan Tribune newspaper separately reported on Monday. In March Imperial Pacific said it was seeking new investors.
The group had previously asked this summer for an extension until December this year, versus an August 31 one it had negotiated previously. The Saipan Tribune newspaper reported at that time it was the sixth amendment sought by Imperial Pacific to its monopoly casino licence agreement. On Monday Marianas Variety said the casino promoter had told the local authorities it was impossible to meet the August 2018 deadline.
The Saipan Tribune stated on Monday that the new deadline extension bid would be discussed at a meeting of the local regulator, the CNMI Lottery Commission. The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) is a United States jurisdiction. Saipan is about five hours by air from Hong Kong.
The Commission meeting must to be held before August 31, the Commission’s chair Mark Rabauliman – who is also CNMI’s commerce secretary – was cited by the Saipan Tribune as stating.
The “initial gaming facility” – as referred to by the company in filings and as cited by media reports – refers to a real estate development that includes a 329-room hotel with a rating of either four or five stars; a gaming area covering a total of 14,140 square metres (152,202 sq feet); villas; restaurants; shops; and meeting space.
In its Monday article, Marianas Variety also reported that Imperial Pacific had reiterated a commitment to complete what it terms “phase one” of the casino resort by August 13, 2023; with “phase two” to be completed on August 13, 2028.
Marianas Variety said Imperial Pacific’s latest deadline extension proposal had been submitted to a local government unit called the Development Plan Advisory Committee, which had deemed it reasonable. The committee is said to have prepared a report for the CNMI governor, Ralph Torres, mentioning what were termed “unforeseen delays” in immigration and labour matters, which were said to have delayed the project.
Imperial Pacific has said in filings that as of December 31, 2017, “approximately US$650 million” had been invested in the “design, consulting, engineering, construction materials and labour costs” for the Saipan resort.
August 27, 2018 |
No Comments |
A land deal for a second purpose-built Nepal resort for boutique casino developer Silver Heritage Group Ltd has been completed at the second attempt, with a local partner taking a minority equity interest in the arrangement, the firm said in a Monday filing to the Australian Securities Exchange.
The US$3.2-million deal is for a plot of 74,500 square metres (802,000 sq feet) in Jhapa, in eastern Nepal.
Silver Heritage’s first purpose-built Nepal resort – Tiger Palace Resort Bhairahawa, which had a revised capital budget of AUD70.3 million (US$51.5 million) – started gaming operations in December.
The firm also runs the Millionaire’s Club and Casino in Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital, and the Phoenix International Club, near Hanoi, in Vietnam.
In the prospectus for its 2016 initial public offering, Silver Heritage mentioned to its potential investors that increasingly affluent Indian consumers were willing to travel cross-border to gamble in neighbouring Nepal.
Regarding the site for a new Nepal scheme, a previous attempt to purchase a larger plot of just over 115,000 sq metres in Jhapa had ended without success in March this year – with the technical forfeiture of circa US$2.8 million in deposits already paid as of that date – because at the time “the company had no ability to fund the remaining purchase price,” the group noted in the Monday filing.
But it added the group had “worked closely” since then with the original vendor and was “delighted to report” it had successfully completed the acquisition of a “reduced parcel of land by utilising in full the initial deposits paid by the company”.
In a May business update the group said it had reached agreement regarding land for a possible additional Nepal resort referred to as “Tiger Palace Resort Jhapa”. Jhapa is a district of eastern Nepal, near the country’s border with the Indian states of Bihar and of Sikkim, and a relatively short distance from India’s contiguous border with Bangladesh. The firm had reiterated in a September 2017 business update its interest in having a new Nepal resort.
In May it said Tiger Palace Resort Bhairahawa was expected during the third quarter to approach “monthly break-even”.
In the latest filing, Silver Heritage stated: “Given the company’s focus on cash management… [it] has agreed to sell a circa 20 percent interest in the Jhapa land-owning entity to its local partner Mr Sanchit Shrestha, a transaction which both generates the required capital to compete the purchase while also reducing its outstanding supplier payables.”
It added such an arrangement was subject to being successfully registered with the country’s Department of Industry, but would reduce the group’s outstanding liabilities by US$536,000.
The filing added that the new parcel of land in question had recently been valued at circa US$4.1 million.
In April Silver Heritage said it had recorded a first-quarter loss in terms of adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) amounting to US$1.9 million.
August 26, 2018 |
No Comments |
Asian casino developer Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd says it is to introduce “in coming months” a new system regarding its contribution toward provident fund payments for its Macau non-management staff.
The firm said the new system was the result of a consultation process that had been going on since the beginning of the year. One Macau labour group claimed the casino firm had previously been dragging its heels.
Earlier this month a protest picket on the issue was held outside the firm’s City of Dreams Macau resort (pictured in a file photo), organised by the New Macau Gaming Staff Rights Association – formerly known as Professional for Gaming of New Macau. That group also delivered a petition on the matter to Government Headquarters in mid-August.
Melco Resorts said in a Friday press release the proposed new system for its employee contributions to the Macau-government organised provident fund would involve Melco Resorts providing contributions that would be calculated based on up to 5 percent of base salary, plus an employee’s guaranteed tips if applicable.
The firm further stated that it would award a “one-time special gift of one month salary to eligible Macau non-management employees upon completion of the process related to their participation in the new pension fund plan, subject to further applicable terms and conditions”.
Melco Resorts said the new employer contribution system would be “implemented in the coming months and payment of the one-time special gift to eligible employees, if applicable, is expected to be made on or about the end of October 2018”.
The announcement did not specify what was the previous percentage of base salary contributed by the firm. But several labour groups had been complaining that tips had been excluded by the casino operator – a practice New Macau Gaming Staff Rights Association said had been “discontinued” by other Macau casino firms since “2014 or 2015”.
Melco Resorts said on Friday: “This review has been in progress since the beginning of this year and was developed listening to employees through the company’s regular focus groups and other direct channels, which have been implemented since May 2014.”
A fortnight ago Melco Resorts said in an emailed statement to GGRAsia that it had been talking to the long-established Macau Federation of Trade Unions (FAOM) as well as the Macau Gaming Enterprises Staff’s Association (MGESA) about the issue.
In a posting on that point, New Macau Gaming Staff Rights Association had claimed the firm had been selective regarding to which labour groupings it spoke.
Nonetheless Melco Resorts said in its Friday release that “from January 2018 alone,” 144 communication sessions were held. “This is in addition to table games employees’ global survey conducted every six months since May 2012. We have also been in close communication with relevant Macau SAR government departments,” stated the casino operator.
August 26, 2018 |
No Comments |
August 25, 2018 |
No Comments |
For MGM Resorts International Chairman and CEO Jim Murren, Friday was quite the New England homecoming.
August 25, 2018 |
No Comments |
August 25, 2018 |
No Comments |
This week the UK Gambling Commission announced that it levied a hefty £1.15 million fine against Camelot, the group that operates the country's National Lottery.
August 24, 2018 |
No Comments |
Malaysia-based Genting Group is sticking to its target of opening the $4 billion Resorts World Las Vegas by the end of 2020 as some analysts begin to question the timeline.
August 24, 2018 |
No Comments |
Nevada’s largest casino industry trade group is throwing its support behind the effort to break up NV Energy’s electricity monopoly.
August 24, 2018 |
No Comments |
Hong Kong-listed casino developer Landing International Development Ltd saw its shares plunge in value on Friday, the second major slump this week, amid a mystery regarding the whereabouts of its chairman, mainland Chinese businessman Yang Zhihui.
GGRAsia approached the firm on Friday afternoon, seeking an update on the whereabouts of is boss, who controls a majority of its shares. Landing International said it was unable to give one. On Thursday industry sources had told GGRAsia he was reportedly last seen in Cambodia earlier this week.
An image circulating online during the day on Thursday showing a person resembling Mr Yang airside on an airport’s tarmac, being escorted in handcuffs by two men. In the background of the image could be seen an aircraft in the livery of Lanmei Airlines Co Ltd, a Chinese-owned low-cost airline registered in Cambodia. A spokesperson for Landing International told us on Friday that it could not verify the authenticity of the photograph.
Speculation concerning Mr Yang had intensified from Thursday evening onwards, when the group told the Hong Kong Stock Exchange it had been unable that day to contact him.
That morning the stock had been suspended before lunchtime, after losing 35 percent of its value in only 90 minutes of full morning trading. The shares were back in play on Friday morning but the slump continued.
By market close on Friday, Landing International – which currently operates a casino resort complex in the South Korean island of Jeju – saw its shares at HKD3.17 (US$0.40), down nearly 16 percent on the day. The market capitalisation of the firm stood at HKD9.30 billion by Friday.
The stock is down 42 percent from the HKD5.46 per share recorded a week ago. It has plunged 83 percent from its 2018 high point of HKD18.50 per share in January.
A Friday report by mainland Chinese financial media outlet Caixin asserted Mr Yang had become “the latest target” of mainland authorities looking into people with possible business ties to state-owned China Huarong Asset Management Co Ltd. The latter’s former chairman Lai Xiaomin is under investigation for alleged corruption.
August 24, 2018 |
No Comments |
Palace Station has completed the renovation of its race and sports book just in time for the kickoff of football season.
August 23, 2018 |
No Comments |
Hong Kong-listed casino developer Imperial Pacific International Holdings Ltd says it expects to record a substantial decrease in profit for the six months ended June 30.
The firm said in a Thursday filing that “the expected decrease in profit is mainly attributable to the decrease in total revenue and the impairment of trade receivables.”
In the casino industry, “impairment of trade receivables” often refers to money owed on losses by gambling customers that have used credit to play.
Imperial Pacific said it planned to report its first-half 2018 results by the end of the month.
For the first half of 2017, Imperial Pacific posted a net profit of HKD912.0 million (US$116.6 million), up 8.9 percent from the prior-year period. The company reported adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of HKD1.62 billion, up 26.2 percent from a year earlier.
Earlier this week, the firm announced that executive director Cai Lingli had resigned from the board, and had relinquished the chair of its executive committee. It added that Xia Yuki Yu had assumed the chair of the board and its executive committee.
Imperial Pacific has the right to an exclusive casino licence on Saipan, the main island of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, a United States jurisdiction. The company began in July 2017 gaming operations at its casino resort on the Pacific island of Saipan. Previously it had been running an interim facility called Best Sunshine Live.
Imperial Pacific is currently completing the first phase of the Imperial Pacific Resort. Conclusion has been delayed six times the Saipan Tribune newspaper has reported.
In July, the news outlet said that a subsidiary of the company asked the island’s gaming regulator, the Commonwealth Casino Commission, to put back until December the deadline for completion of the first phase. It had been due to be completed this month.
Local media have also carried reports of labour disputes said to be ongoing between Imperial Pacific and construction workers involved in completing the first phase of the Imperial Pacific Resort.
August 23, 2018 |
No Comments |
If CG Technology was expecting the Nevada Gaming Commission Thursday to approve a slap on the wrist for several sports betting violations, they were in for a nasty surprise.
August 23, 2018 |
No Comments |
Nevada’s largest casino industry employer is preparing to enter the potentially lucrative New England market when the doors of its $960 million property open Friday at 11 a.m., local time.
August 23, 2018 |
No Comments |
PlayAGS, Inc. recently announced that it entered an agreement to provide AGS’s Social White-Label Casino to PokerStars Play.
August 22, 2018 |
No Comments |
MGM Cotai, a new Macau casino resort promoted by Hong Kong-listed MGM China Holdings Ltd, is to begin opening VIP gambling rooms with external junket partners in September, the firm’s chief executive Grant Bowie told media on Wednesday. Between then and early 2019, the casino operator expects to see a total of five junket operators establish gaming business at the Cotai property (pictured).
“In total we have facilities for five [junket] operators. We’re looking for two [to be launched] in September and probably another two in October and a fifth will open early next year,” said Mr Bowie when asked about the timetable.
In January investment analysts said they expected the initial MGM Cotai junkets to be provided by Suncity Group, Guangdong Group, Tak Chun Group, David Group and Meg-Star International.
“We’re now finishing off the construction of the [junket] rooms… now what we are working through is all the licensing process with the government. We’re very happy that the [junket room] construction is nearly completed, and the licensing process is being finalised,” Mr Bowie noted to media on Wednesday.
The MGM China executive did not disclose the number of gaming tables that the firm would move from its Macau peninsula property to MGM Cotai for the planned junket operation.
In January the Macau government said that MGM Cotai – which cost circa US$3.5 billion – was at launch being allocated 100 new-to-market live-dealer tables under the city’s table cap; a further 25 new-to-market tables on January 1, 2019; and had been authorised to move 77 tables from MGM Macau in the city’s traditional downtown casino district.
The opening of the VIP rooms at MGM Cotai would be followed by the launch of a facility called President’s Club, described by MGM China as “an ultimate exclusive gaming area” for the firm’s premium-mass customers; a segment betting in high multiples but using cash rather then the credit extended to traditional VIP players signed up to rolling chip programmes. Management at MGM China’s parent firm, United States-based MGM Resorts International, had mentioned the premium mass facility for MGM Cotai in a conference call with investment analysts following its second-quarter results.
Mr Bowie made the latest comments about the coming VIP rooms on the sidelines of a media preview for MGM China’s “International Lion Dance Championship 2018”, an event that will take place at the MGM Theater at MGM Cotai in November. The 2,000-seat capacity theatre can offer 10 different seating arrangements. MGM China calls it “Asia’s first dynamic theatre”.
The theatre is going to host events – including public concerts – before the resident show “Destiny” is launched at the Cotai property, Mr Bowie briefly noted. The date for that will be announced “in the near future”, the firm’s chief executive said.
August 22, 2018 |
No Comments |
Today our sister site Latest Casino Bonuses announced that they're re-branding, taking on the moniker LCB and updating their main domain to LCB.org.
August 22, 2018 |
No Comments |
The Nevada Gaming Commission on Thursday will consider placing Joseph Whit Moody on the list of excluded persons, commonly called the “black book.”
August 22, 2018 |
No Comments |
August 21, 2018 |
No Comments |
Wynn Macau Ltd has one of the most efficient gambling operations in the Macau market, with its VIP tables registering win-per-unit-per day that is 30 percent higher than that for the average VIP table in the city. So said a Wednesday note from brokerage Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd, putting an “outperform” rating on the firm’s stock.
Wynn Macau Ltd – the local operating unit of United States-based Wynn Resorts Ltd – operates two venues in the Special Administrative Region of China: Wynn Macau on the city’s peninsula, and Wynn Palace (pictured), which opened in August 2016 in Cotai, the new casino district located in a landfill zone between the formerly separate islands of Taipa and of Coloane.
Sanford Bernstein analysts Vitaly Umansky, Zhen Gong and Kelsey Zhu said in their memo, referring to the health of the mainland China economy, said to be a major factor in Macau gambling spend: “For Wynn Macau [Ltd], we believe the market had overreacted to the China macro slowdown risks and the decelerating GGR [gross gaming revenue] environment.”
They added, referring second to a mass-market gambling segment where the players wager high stakes but in cash not credit: “Even though Wynn [Macau Ltd] has higher exposure to VIP than other operators, the market is underestimating Wynn [Macau Ltd]‘s strong position in premium mass, its superior operation and marketing capability and strong brand, [and] the continued ramp up growth opportunities at Wynn Palace.”
The brokerage said Wynn Macau Ltd had “the highest table yields in the Macau market helping drive strong operating leverage”.
It said – without specifying a timeline – that in VIP, Wynn’s tables generated nearly US$43,200 in win-per-unit-per day, a 30 percent premium to the average VIP table in Macau. The institution said that in the mass segment, “table utilisation was strong as well” with the Macau operating unit generating nearly US$13,400 in win-per-unit-per day. Sanford Bernstein said that was a 47 percent premium to the average Macau mass table.
The Macau unit’s stock had closed at HKD20.65 (US$2.63) on Tuesday in Hong Kong, a gain of 2.48 percent on the day, according to Bloomberg data. The stock has produced a one-year return of 20.87 percent.
In a report earlier this month, Sanford Bernstein had said anti-corruption investigations in China had recently reached a volume not seen since the end of 2015. The brokerage had mentioned such activity could play a role – with other factors – in moderating demand for VIP gambling in the Macau market, which overwhelmingly caters for Chinese customers in its high-roller rooms.
August 21, 2018 |
No Comments |
CG Technologies would have six months to “transition to an unaffiliated third-party’s pool wagering system” and “permanently discontinue the use of its sports pool wagering system and all of its components.”
August 21, 2018 |
No Comments |
Police have arrested two men suspected of stealing at least $25,000 in burglaries involving slot machines at more than a dozen bars in the Reno-Sparks areas.
August 21, 2018 |
No Comments |
When you think of old school slot machines, your mind instantly shoots to images of bells, bars, and yes, cherries. Casino game operator Tau Marketing is banking on this with their choice of name for Seven Cherries Caisno. The site features are bright and vibrant, and while you don't see too much in terms of classic appeal, things do look sharp. On the other hand, this bold look doesn't mean much when it comes to the full operation of the site, as there are some banking limits and terms that aren't nearly as appealing as the site's look.
August 20, 2018 |
No Comments |
The Full House Resorts CEO has proposed building a $200 million resort and race track in New Mexico with a moving grandstand that will allow spectators to take in every gallop up close.
August 20, 2018 |
No Comments |
Relax Gaming launched its new generation Silver Bullet partner program.
August 20, 2018 |
No Comments |
Police in Huai’an city in the mainland Chinese province of Jiangsu have disrupted what Xinhua News Agency reported as a “family-run” online gambling ring that handled as much as CNY500 million (US$73 million) in relation to casino-style games, some streamed live, and delivered via five websites.
The sites used names including “Grand Lisboa” and “Venetian” rendered in Chinese, according to the official Chinese outlet. Those particular names are protected brands respectively of legitimate Macau casino operators SJM Holdings Ltd and Sands China Ltd.
Apart from the unauthorised use of Macau names, there was no indication in the report that the ring had any other connection to Macau. Last year and earlier this year, there were cases of illegal gambling syndicates making use of Chinese social media platform WeChat to bet on games actually taking place in either Macau or Philippines casinos.
A total of 63 suspects was arrested over the Jiangsu case: 15 were said to have surrendered themselves to mainland officials after returning to China from either neighbouring Laos, Cambodia or the Philippines.
The Xinhua report quoted police sources as stating three alleged ringleaders had leased a house in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, and had used it to operate gambling websites. Other members of the alleged criminal group that were based in China were believed to be responsible for promoting the websites, expanding the network of players and handling transfer of wagers.
The report also noted that dozens of game types – including live-streamed versions – were available on the gambling websites, adding that the platforms were interactive, allowing players to place or increase bets at the stroke of a keyboard or at the push of a handset screen.
The initial investigation was launched after the police were given a tip-off about the gaming websites in March last year, according to Xinhua.
August 20, 2018 |
No Comments |
The promoter of a new US$1.5-billion casino resort and theme park planned for Manila has issued a clarification on activity occurring at its site, after a local news outlet published an editorial saying that concrete-making at the plot was at “full steam”.
Monday’s op-ed piece in the Philippine Star newspaper had also criticised the scheme’s promoter – Hong Kong-listed Landing International Development Ltd – claiming it was “defiant” of the wishes of the country’s leader, President Rodrigo Duterte.
Questions have been raised locally regarding the land for the scheme, a venture dubbed by the promoter as “NayonLanding” (pictured in an artist’s rendering). On August 7 – the same day that the developer held a ground breaking ceremony - it emerged that President Duterte had dismissed the entire board of the Nayong Pilipino Foundation – a body controlled by the Philippine government – that leased the land for the casino project to Landing Resorts Philippines Development Corp, a subsidiary of Landing International.
It later emerged that the Philippines’ Department of Justice had ordered the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel to review the land lease contract. Landing International has stressed for its part that the land deal was still “valid and effective”.
A Landing International representative said in a Monday email to GGRAsia regarding on-site activity: “Other than [putting up] site hoardings and clearing the land, we have not commenced any construction works since our ground breaking on August 7.”
The person added: “The construction equipment that the news article referred to including the bulldozers, cement mixers, [and] batching [cement-making] plant belong to another adjacent site, which is unrelated to us.”
Subsequent to receiving the statement, GGRAsia asked Landing International to clarify its planned timetable for construction. It said it had “no comment at this stage” but stated it aimed to “maintain” the 2022 target for launch it had mentioned previously.
August 19, 2018 |
No Comments |
August 19, 2018 |
No Comments |
Despite regularly receiving critical reviews on popular travel sites TripAdvisor and Booking for an outdated interior, Circus Circus’ posts an impressive financialperformance.
August 18, 2018 |
No Comments |
August 18, 2018 |
No Comments |
OK, let’s get this out right from the top because it seems this is what people around here care about most: Parking will be free at the new MGM Springfield and the company is encouraging visitors to downtown Springfield to use its seven-story, 3,400-space parking garage when they shop or have dinner in the neighborhood.
August 18, 2018 |
No Comments |
Morphy Auctions accepts consignments and conducts auctions on a variety of antiques at its auction house warehouse on Arville Street near the Orleans.
August 17, 2018 |
No Comments |
Nearly 900 employees of MGM China Holdings Ltd graduated this week from training programmes put on by the Macau casino operator. A MGM China press release said the company held a graduation ceremony on Thursday at the MGM Cotai casino resort.
Each graduate completed studies via either: the MGM Management Associate Programme; the continuing education programme at the MGM Academy; or with one of Macau’s tertiary or secondary education centres; or via skills training in partnership with the Labour Affairs Bureau, the Macau Federation of Trade Unions and others.
MGM China said it tries to give its employees comprehensive training and chances for personal development so they can fulfil their potential. Last year the company offered more than 200 training courses,delivering an aggregate of about 569,000 hours of training across its more than 10,000-strong workforce, it added.
“We take a special interest in developing our local talents to enhance the overall talent pool of Macau,” said MGM China chief executive Grant Bowie (pictured front row, centre) regarding Thursday’s graduation ceremony. MGM China asserts that more than 85 percent its management-level workers are Macau people.
In the Macau government’s policy address for 2018, delivered last November, the city’s Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On, said the authorities wanted to increase the share of locals working in middle- and upper-level management positions in the city’s casino industry to at least 85 percent by 2020.
Since opening in 2007, MGM China has offered more than MOP5.1 million (US$631,600) in scholarships and sponsorships, it says. Mr Bowie stated his company would continue to contribute to Macau’s performance as a hub for tourism business education and training serving the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area. The latter is a recent initiative of China’s central government to promote coordination and integration of economic and infrastructure development among major cities around the Pearl River Delta.
MGM China recorded net revenue of US$561.4 million for the second quarter of 2018, 32.4 percent up compared to the same period last year. The figures included the contribution of the company’s second Macau property, MGM Cotai, that commenced operations in February.
August 17, 2018 |
No Comments |
Vietnam's Ministry of Finance is looking to cut down on bureaucracy within the country, which could help create a boom in the gambling industry there.
August 17, 2018 |
No Comments |
Earlier today a punter playing a Gamesys slot ended up taking home the Tiki Temple 20p Jackpot, taking home a large £910,856 cash prize in the process.
August 17, 2018 |
No Comments |
August 16, 2018 |
No Comments |
Entrepreneur Kazuo Okada (pictured) has told GGRAsia that unless he is restored as head of Japanese gaming conglomerate Universal Entertainment Corp, the group he founded, then the value of the business will be destroyed “in a year”, hurting not only him and his immediate family, but also the public shareholders.
“We are running out of time,” the businessman said in an extensive interview in Hong Kong conducted via an interpreter. GGRAsia is publishing the first part of the interview here.
“Universal Entertainment has been making a loss… The market for pachinko in Japan is shrinking,” he added, referring to a core business segment of the group in Japan’s domestic market.
In the past 12 months the stock price of Universal Entertainment has see-sawed between a low of JPY2,611 (US$23.58) and a high of JPY6,290. At close of business in Tokyo on August 16 the shares were valued at JPY3,665 apiece.
Since Mr Okada made his comments about the health of the Universal Entertainment business, the Japanese group has reported a JPY172.5 billion profit in the second quarter 2018, compared to a JPY6.62 billion loss in the prior-year second quarter. The two figures are not directly comparable because in 2017 Universal Entertainment changed its fiscal year end to December 31.
Despite the well-documented challenges of Japan’s pachinko sector – with an ageing player base and gradually shrinking sales – two important assets that Universal Entertainment does currently control are the Okada Manila casino resort in the Philippines – which is being primed for an initial public offering next year – and US$2.6 billion in cash paid by Wynn Resorts Ltd earlier this year. The money was in settlement for the 2012 cancellation of shares held in the U.S. casino operator by Aruze USA Inc, a casino equipment business founded by Mr Okada but controlled by Universal Entertainment.
‘Smear’ campaign
The story of Mr Okada’s rise in business – and his current predicament – could fill hundreds of pages of text. He was recently detained and interviewed by Hong Kong’s anti-graft authorities as they seek clarification regarding a slew of allegations and counter-allegations relating to his struggle to wrestle back control of the Universal Entertainment business.
Universal Entertainment’s current management claim that Mr Okada acted fraudulently in relation to several loans it says involved company money. Mr Okada denies any wrongdoing. He says the current management of Universal Entertainment is out to “destroy” him by smearing him – via innuendo – by trying to associate his name with criminal acts.
Mr Okada is at pains to point out that he has passed previous scrutiny by the Nevada Gaming Control Board in the United States as a “suitable person” for a gaming licence for his casino gaming equipment manufacturing vehicle Aruze Gaming America Inc. He controls that independently, but there is nonetheless litigation going on between his side and Universal Entertainment regarding that casino equipment business.
A spokesman for the Nevada regulator said in an emailed reply to GGRAsia regarding the status of an investigation into Mr Okada stemming from the Universal Entertainment fraud allegations last year: “The investigation is ongoing and the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s policy is to not comment on active investigations.”
The Nevada Gaming Control Board did not comment regarding whether it planned to investigate specifically Mr Okada’s recent brief detention by Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).
The encounter with ICAC is understood by GGRAsia to be part of the fallout from his struggle with Universal Entertainment’s current management. Mr Okada says he was detained – though not arrested, as claimed by Universal Entertainment in a filing – posted a bond and required to surrender his passport, before being allowed to leave.
Mr Okada’s side said that to publicise the specific allegations that prompted ICAC’s involvement would be prejudicial to his legal position. But the businessman’s camp concedes that even the fact of ICAC’s involvement risks prejudicing public opinion against him.
Wrest back control
Mr Okada told GGRAsia: “The ICAC in Hong Kong has the authority to detain people or to arrest people. But being detained or arrested – and actually being charged – are completely different things.”
In any case, according to Mr Okada’s side, the powers of the ICAC and of the Hong Kong Police – in relation to powers of detention and arrest – are completely different to what happens in Japan.
“The ICAC or police in Hong Kong usually arrest people to interview them without probable cause and court order… relying on only one side’s accusation,” stated Mr Okada.
The powers of law enforcement in Hong Kong were “almost beyond imagination for Japanese citizens… because merely being arrested or detained can risk destroying a person’s reputation,” the entrepreneur noted.
Mr Okada added: “I truly believe that the purpose of people at Universal Entertainment is to damage me and completely destroy me so as to prevent me from taking back control [of the business]. They will do as much as they can to try and achieve that, not only in Hong Kong but also in other regions including the Philippines.”
He thinks the current Universal Entertainment management chose to try and apply pressure via the Hong Kong legal system because of his own criminal complaint against them, filed in Hong Kong.
That Hong Kong case brought by Mr Okada against the current management of Universal Entertainment alleges theft, fraud, conspiracy to defraud, and money laundering, against specific people.
“I believe the attack on me relates to wrong actions within Universal Entertainment in the past by other people. They are trying to cover up what they have done wrong, by attacking me,” he said.
GGRAsia approached Japan’s Universal Entertainment seeking comment on Mr Okada’s specific assertions, but had not received a response by the time this article went online.
In other commentary, Mr Okada claimed that the current management at Universal Entertainment did not have the flair and drive to replicate his business success.
“The situation in the [pachinko] market is hard. Now in particular is not the time to take my company [Universal Entertainment] away. There will come a time when taking back the company will no longer be worthwhile, because [without my leadership] there will be no value left,” Mr Okada told GGRAsia.
Pachinko sales accounted for half of Universal Entertainment’s JPY46.5-billion net sales in the second quarter ending June 30, according to its August 9 filing to Jasdaq Stock Exchange.
“Every step I am taking” to wrest back control of Universal Entertainment “is important,” stated Mr Okada.
“Without me, one year from now the company [Universal Entertainment] will be completely finished. It cannot survive without me and my vision,” he noted.
August 16, 2018 |
No Comments |
Marriott International’s W Hotels Worldwide brand will leave SLS Las Vegas Friday after a 1½-year run as a four-diamond-rated “hotel within a hotel.”
August 16, 2018 |
No Comments |
Macau’s gaming regulator said on Wednesday it had received a detailed investment plan issued on behalf of the Macau Horse Race Co Ltd, which runs Macau Jockey Club. Paulo Martins Chan, head of the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, told reporters that the renewed concession contract with Macau Horse Race Co included a timetable for the firm to complete its investment.
Hours earlier a Macau legislator claimed on the sidelines of a Legislative Assembly committee meeting that no such document had yet been submitted to the city’s legislators. The gaming bureau’s Mr Chan later said the firm’s plan would be submitted to the appropriate Legislative Assembly committee once his bureau had completed a detailed assessment of the document.
Macau Jockey Club had pledged an investment plan as one of the conditions for being granted in February a circa 24-year extension of its horse racing betting monopoly. A specific condition of the continued rights was that the firm should invest MOP1.5 billion (US$186 million) in improving the facilities at the club venue and increasing non-gaming facilities.
The concession extension was granted despite the fact that in March it emerged the club owed the government at least MOP153 million in backdated dues, and that the government had known about the fact since 2015.
Angela Leong On Kei – an executive director of Macau casino operator SJM Holdings Ltd and a Macau legislator – was listed as a vice president of the board of Macau Horse Race Co in the most recent publicly-available information about the latter firm.
August 16, 2018 |
No Comments |
A Las Vegas judge has thrown out a defamation lawsuit lodged by ousted casino mogul Steve Wynn against The Associated Press.
August 15, 2018 |
No Comments |
Casino Arizona recently launched its "Talking Stick" brand casino app.
August 15, 2018 |
No Comments |
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board approved a set of regulations Wednesday that agency officials say is sufficient to allow sports betting to start.
August 15, 2018 |
No Comments |
A Macau gaming labour group says it is to present on Tuesday a petition for the attention of the city’s Chief Executive, Fernando Chui Sai On, regarding what it asserts is an unresolved pay and conditions dispute with Macau casino operator Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd.
The New Macau Gaming Staff Rights Association – formerly known as Professional for Gaming of New Macau – stated in a social media post it would deliver the petition to Government Headquarters (pictured).
Earlier this month the labour group organised two protest marches in succession, urging Melco resorts to pay what it termed a “summer bonus” to staff, in line with the practice of some other Macau operators. The labour group had also called for Melco Resorts to base its employer contribution to the city’s provident fund scheme not on employees’ base salary but on what it termed “full” salary. The activist group additionally wanted that it termed improvements to “occupational health and safety”.
Melco Resorts said in a statement emailed to GGRAsia on Tuesday, referring to several other Macau labour organisations: “We have had meetings with Macau Federation of Trade Unions (FAOM) and Macau Gaming Enterprises Staff’s Association (MGESA), and have been in discussion with these associations regarding the additional bonus, contribution to the provident fund and offer of seats at gaming tables.”
The latter was a response to complaints from workers saying some table dealers were being required to stand while doing their jobs.
Melco Resorts’ statement added: “Melco responded positively during a meeting with Lee Chong Cheng, vice president of the FAOM and Choi Kam Fu, secretary-general of the MGESA, on August 10.”
New Macau Gaming Staff Rights Association gave a different perspective on the situation.
“It is unfortunate that the company is not giving any positive feedback to the employees, but only disclosing information through certain community and media groups,” it said in a posting.
“The company says it is discussing with the government how to distribute the bonus. How can this discussion last for over six months without any results?” added New Macau Gaming Staff Rights Association, quoting what it said was comment from its membership.
Last month, the same labour group organised a petition among staff at Macau casino operator Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd urging the firm to issue a “summer bonus” to employees. The firm later announced what it termed a “one-off special discretionary bonus” equal to one month of base salary and guaranteed tips (if applicable), payable to “97 percent” of its non-management employees, namely those at senior manager level or below.
On July 13, casino operator Wynn Macau Ltd stated it was offering most of its staff a “special bonus” equal to one month of gross salary, with the gratuity payable on August 15. Earlier, in June, Macau casino operator Sands China Ltd said it was to pay on August 31 what it termed a “one-off special bonus” equivalent to one month’s salary, to eligible full-time workers of “qualifying grades”.
Rival Macau operator MGM China Holdings Ltd announced in February the issuing of a discretionary bonus, plus a “special bonus”, the latter equivalent to a 14th-month salary for eligible non-management team members.