An outmoded business model?
The chairman of the board of SJM Holdings Ltd. says the Macau gaming company will not bring new satellite casinos to operate under its license after the Grand Lisboa Palace resort opens in the Cotai district next year.
According to GGRAsia, SJM now has 16 third-party promoted satellite casinos in addition to its flagship, Casino Grand Lisboa, and three “self-promoted casinos”: Casino Lisboa, Casino Oceanus at Jai Alai and Casino Taipa. The chairman says the company has a stronghold on the peninsula, where it commands a 40 percent market share.
“We are basically based on the Macau peninsula, and in Cotai we’re setting up a new property, so we want to compete in both markets, one is in Cotai which is a different market than the peninsula,” So said.
The Royal Dragon Casino in downtown Macau is the most recent satellite casino to open under the license of SJM Holdings Ltd.; it debuted September 27. Analysts speaking to GGRAsia that the satellite model, which typically includes a small gaming area in a hotel with non-gaming amenities is “no more attractive than it was during the recent downturn in Macau casino gross gaming revenue.”
