Concessionaires look to sustainable mass player
The latest integrated resort to open on Macau’s Cotai Strip, the $3.4 billion MGM Cotai, offers plenty to do outside its casino, with 175 table games and 1,500 slot machines. Visitors can also enjoy a $100 million theater; a garden with more than 100,000 plants; a ballroom that can accommodate up to 1,000 people; extensive retail and dining options; a luxury spa; and a $12.7 million art collection.
Such amenities make MGM Cotai representative of the “new Macau,” which is pivoting to a more diverse lineup of entertainment and attractions. According to Business Insider, the property is “leading the charge” as Macau increasingly caters to “the rising middle class.”
This model is becoming the norm. Inside Asian Gaming reports that Sands China is spending US$1.1 billion to transform Sands Cotai Central into the Londoner, expressly to draw all tiers of customers. Though it will include 300 “super-luxury” apartments, the Londoner is weighing mass market demands given the segment’s increasing importance in Macau.
“Now we see three generations coming together—the grandparents, the parents and the kids—and they come in that combination because the parents want the grandparents to look after the grandchildren while they go and play,” said Sands President and Executive Director Wilfred Wong. “We are now grasping to try and build facilities that will appeal both to families and our high-end customers.”
In keeping with the central government mandate to build a more resilient economy, more varied entertainment will help operators look good when their concessions come up for renewal. The process starts in 2020, when the 20-year gaming licenses of fellow Macau concessionaires SJM and MGM expire. The licenses of Sands China, Galaxy Entertainment Group, Melco Resorts and Wynn Macau all expire in 2022 with re-licensing expected to involve a rigorous government review process.
“What we as operators and concessionaires have to do is to show our sincerity and hopefully this all counts in the government’s retendering exercise,” said Wong. “We want to make sure the government understands what we are doing.”
But one observer says Macau’s history of “protectionism” is stunting non-gaming growth. Professor Glenn McCartney of the University of Macau told Tribuna de Macau that the government is holding the city back, and keeping it from becoming “an international destination.” The heart of his argument is the government’s reluctance to rely on foreign labor.
“Macau’s policies do not help to develop non-gambling elements,” McCartney said. “Some non-gaming elements cannot grow as they need experts. It may at times require temporary import labor but these people cannot work because the law does not allow it. The events and conventions industry needs specialized people, especially the entertainment sector. Our policies need to change. Until we do that, it will be difficult to move forward.”
