Chan not interested in concession, for now
Chan Meng Kam’s Royal Dragon Casino opened late last month in the Macau peninsula’s Zape district. The casino’s 20 gaming tables were relocated from other casinos owned by Chan, including the Golden Dragon and others operating under the SJM Holdings license, reported the Macau Daily Times.
At the opening ceremony, Chan said he has invested approximately MOP1.5 billion (US$186.5 million) in the project to date.
Although the gaming tables were immediately filled, Paulo Martins Chan, director of the Gaming Inspection, and Coordination Bureau said the bureau has yet to finalize the casino’s license to operate.
Chan noted that he is not interested “at the moment” in bidding for a gaming concession. Macau’s three gaming concessions and three sub-concessions will expire between 2020 and 2022. The government has said that the concessions and sub-concessions won’t be renewed but will have to go through a bidding process.
“There are only two to three years left until 2020,” when the concessions of the Big 6 operators begin to expire, he said. “The government should pick up the speed to initiate, study the matter and make arrangements,” and possibly consider increasing the number of gaming concessionaires in the future.
“I think the Macau gaming market should be opened further.”
Chan’s company also owns two other casino resorts in the city: the Golden Dragon and the Taipa Square, which operates under Melco Resorts & Entertainment sub-concession. Chan said that the casinos run by his company have a total of about 100 tables. He said the Royal Dragon has capacity for 25 gaming tables, all located in the mass-market area of the casino, he said.
