Shortage of workers dogging two companies
Several long-awaited integrated resorts in Macau and South Korea are scheduled to open in January. MGM China’s $3.4 million MGM Cotai is expected to debut before January 29, just ahead of the Chinese New Year, despite the fact it has yet to receive license approvals, according to Inside Asian Gaming. MGM China Executive Director Grant Bowie told Macau government broadcaster TDM the company is working closely with the government ahead of the much-anticipated grand opening of the resort.
“We have very stringent standards and we’re working through those processes and collaborating with the government,” Bowie said. “We’re confident that we can make the 29th opening.”
He conceded that MGM faces a manpower shortage and will have to transfer some employees from MGM Macau on the peninsula to the new Cotai resort. The company will also hire qualified non-resident workers.
Landing International’s Jeju Shinhwa World on South Korea’s Jeju Island has marked January 18 as its grand opening, the company recently confirmed to GGRAsia. The casino will reportedly have 150 to 160 gaming tables and relocate Landing’s existing gaming operation from the Hyatt Regency Jeju Hotel.
Mark Brown, chairman of Imperial Pacific International, says he’s confident that company will meet its August 2018 deadline to complete its integrated resort in Garapan on the island of Saipan. Imperial Pacific is already open but construction remains incomplete.
According to the Saipan Tribune, like MGM Cotai, work on the IPI resort has been delayed in part by a shortage of construction workers. Brown said the company has hired workers from the United States and the U.S. territory of Guam who are expected to arrive soon; Saipan is part of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, also a U.S.-controlled jurisdiction.
“I wish we had 1,500 workers, but if we can have 300 to 400, we’ll still be able to handle it and we’ll get through it,” Brown said. “We’ll meet our target which is August of 2018. This building will be completed on time.”
Brown said IPI will also need permanent workers to run the facility when it’s complete. “Think about it—we need three, four or five times more people than anybody else on the island. So whatever problem a local restaurant is facing, multiply that by 20. That’s our problem.”
