The upcoming resorts on Cotai are set to bring new features to specifically entertain families, with the hope of bringing more mass market players to the city. In the month June the number of visitors to Macau fell 7.6 percent to 2.25 million, which, according to data from the Macau government, is the lowest level since September 2012. Nonetheless, companies are hoping that the new properties will reverse this trend.
By the end of this year, Melco Crown Entertainment’s art deco-style resort Studio City is scheduled to open, featuring Hollywood inspired studios, a Warner Bros. fun zone, a Batman Dark Flight ride and the unique the Golden Reel ferris wheel. Next year is the planned opening of Wynn Palace with an 8-acre Performance Lake and Sky Cab ride, and Sands China’s Parisian, which will feature a half-scale replica of the Eiffel Tower.
In the pipeline is also the Cotai debut of MGM Resorts International with its USD3 billion casino resort, along with Louis XIII, an ultra-luxury destination and Lisboa Palace, the first project from Stanley Ho Hung-sun in Cotai, set for a 2017 opening.
According to the assistant general manager at Aruze Gaming Macau Limited, Albert Yu, even though VIP gaming revenues are shrinking, now is an “excellent chance for Macau to become more balanced, back to where it should be.”
For the city to grow, Yu believes the industry should be more “balanced and not just rely gaming revenue completely from the VIP tables”. In his opinion, mass market will bring more tourism and “other peripherals on the side – other than tables you have shows, cinemas, entertainment complexes and other stuff.”
For Aruze, which is already more mass market oriented, such a change in Macau’s market comes at just the right time.
“We have the sounds, the colours, the graphics, our machines are more fun generated,” according to Yu, highlighting machines such as Paradise Fishing and Amazon Fishing, which are multi-player community games. “It brings more people to the machine, instead of individuals battling against the machine.”
For Yu, the drastic revenue drop in the past year is something he had been expecting.
“It was impossible for the revenue to grow every single month by 20 percent. We are not too concerned about the drop,” he says, adding: “We are in a good position because of this readjustment, and added to the fact that Aruze has been developing mass market oriented games, extremely well positioned to gain market share and to get good results or performance from this.”
He believes new visitors are likely to come to Macau, mostly families, but they will still come from Mainland China.
“The new properties will have more entertainment, like Studio City with its Hollywood theme, or the Parisian with the Eiffel Tower,” he says, meaning people will want to spend more time in the city. He also believes the VIP segment will continue to maintain its traditional role, with the figures starting to stabilize at a certain level, probably by the end of this year.
– Continuing the good job –
“Whenever you’re running a business, it’s always important to service all parts of the business, all the markets you’re in,” notes Vincent Kelly, Managing Director of Asia Pacific for casino equipment maker Aristocrat Leisure Ltd.
He believes Macau has always been “a good mix of market, from VIP to premium mass”, but now the mass market is becoming more important.
“Aristocrat needs to make sure that the products we’re offering appeal to all segments of the market place,” he says.
According to Kelly, Aristocrat has historically had “very good strength” within the premium VIP sector, but is now aiming at “doing an even better job with products for the mass market.”
Fortuitously, the products they started developing a couple of years ago are coming into the market now, such as the E-series family, and a number of Asian-themed games to attract players as well, like Magic Flower, which is already well placed in Galaxy Macau.
However, Kelly is not expecting new types of visitors to come to Macau.
“I don’t see the type of visitors we’re going to have to be changing dramatically, only the mix is changing. I don’t think we’re going to see visitors coming to Macau we haven’t experienced before and that Macau hasn’t been serving very well already.”
While still going through an evaluation process by the Macau government, Aristocrat is planning bring to Macau three Super Wheel Blast travel-themed base games – Miss Liberty, Lion of Venice and Hong Kong Fortunes.
“These are again appealing to a more mass market, interested in playing games and having some fun,” he says.
Miguel Choi, the Regional Marketing Manager – Asia Pacific at Aristocrat adds: “These games are good for people who haven’t played slots before. They have new 3D graphics and you get three high frequency game jackpots, not really high up and high down, keeping the players here to have enjoyment, compared to high volatility.”
And Aristocrat also has other products that “appeal to our more traditional and new customers, like the Fortune Tree.”
IM BRIEF
Gambling in Africa
David Chow Kam Fai’s Macau Legend Development Ltd. has signed a contract with the government of Cape Verde for the construction of a tourism complex in Santa Maria island, right in front of the capital city, Cidade da Praia. The tourism complex should be ready in three years and will include between 30 to 40 gaming tables and slot machines, targeting mass gaming players.
A new lab
Suzo Happ Asia Pacific and Australia Group和Transcity Asia攜手於澳門理工學院博彩教學暨研究中心設立一個教育研究室。該研究室會負責研究及開發新技術及產品,並於同時培育本地專業人才。
A division of the Suzo Happ Asia Pacific and Australia Group, Transcity Asia, has jointly set up an educational laboratory at the Macau Polytechnic Institute (IPM)’s Gaming Teaching and Research Centre. The laboratory will be in charge of research and development of new technology and innovative products, as well as developing locally skilled talent.
A road in Cotai
Macau casino operator Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd will pay for a new road infrastructure in Cotai. The works include a new flyover at a roundabout near Galaxy Macau, the operator’s flagship property, to relieve traffic congestion. For the time being, there are no details on the timeline or the budget.