Macau Companies Reward Employees

All employees of Macau casino operator Melco Crown Entertainment, except managers, will receive a bonus of one month's pay. Company officials also said 1,300 employees will be promoted or...

Published February 9, 2015

Singapore Casinos Penalized For Breaches

The Casino Regulatory Authority of Singapore fined Marina Bay Sands $65,000 for letting four people stay in its casino after their 24-hour entry levies expired, and letting two with...

Published February 9, 2015

Macau’s Big Slump Ending?

Gross gaming revenues in Macau rose 6 percent for the week ending January 25. That could mean the market, which saw seven months of precipitous decline in 2014, could...

Published February 2, 2015

Macau Casino Workers: Partial Smoking Ban Not Good Enough

Macau limits smoking in casinos to VIP rooms where the high rollers play. Employees of those casinos are now demanding a total ban on smoking within one year. They...

Published February 2, 2015

Vietnam Allows New Casino

A decision by the government of Vietnam to bring a casino to the island of Phu Quoc—and even allow Vietnamese patrons under certain circumstances—has generated mixed reaction among the...

Published February 2, 2015

Casinos for Tokyo Olympics? Doubtful

A report from Union Gaming Research says integrated resorts in Tokyo and Osaka “will never happen” before the start of the 2020 Summer Olympic games in Tokyo. Even so,...

Published February 2, 2015

South Korea Studying Cruise Line

South Korean casino operator Grand Korea Leisure Co. Ltd. is exploring the feasibility of cruise ships to draw more Chinese patrons. South Korea has no domestic cruise line, but...

Published February 2, 2015

City of Dreams Manila Officially Opens This Week

The grand opening of Melco Crown’s highly anticipated City of Dreams resort in Manila is set for February 2. On hand for the celebration will be company co-chairmen Lawrence...

Published February 2, 2015

Bloomberry Invests in South Korea

Bloomberry Resorts Corp., based in the Philippines, has bought 12.2 hectares (30.1 acres) of land on Muui Island in South Korea. The property in the Incheon Free Economic Zone...

Published February 2, 2015

China Star to Divest of Macau Land

China Star Entertainment has about a month to dispose of several plots of prime real estate in Macau. The land, worth HKD2.23 billion (US$288 million) is next to the...

Published February 2, 2015

South Korea Adding More Casinos

The South Korean government is preparing to license two more foreigners-only casinos and also add some 5,000 new hotel rooms. The move could increase tourism investment by about KRW3.5...

Published January 26, 2015

Junket Firms Exiting Macau

The David Group, one of the Top 10 junket operators in Macau, will close down three of its seven VIP rooms in the gaming hub. David Group locations are...

Published January 26, 2015

Russia’s Primorye Takes on Macau

With more than $1 billion in investments promised by international gaming companies, the Primorye region of Russia hopes to rival Macau as a casino destination. A new casino resort...

Published January 26, 2015

Macau Operators Could See Tax Hike

Casino companies that do business in Macau may be looking at a spike in their tax rate. Macau casinos now pay a tax rate of 39 percent on gross...

Published January 26, 2015

Vietnam OKs Phu Quoc Casino; Inches Toward Dropping Locals Ban

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved plans for a casino complex at Phu Quoc Island (l.), the country’s largest island. Officials in the southern province of Kiên...

Published January 26, 2015

Nepal OKs New Casino Operator

The government of Nepal will issue a special license to Hong Kong-based gaming operator Silver Heritage Ltd. to run the Shangri-La Casino (l.), located at the Shangri-La Hotel &...

Published January 26, 2015

Chinese Government: UnionPay Is Small Potatoes

Reports that Mainland China is monitoring UnionPay debit cards as part of its crackdown on money laundering in Macau may be overstated, say some analysts. For one thing, high...

Published January 26, 2015

Singapore Considering Group Self-Exclusions

The Singapore ministry has asked the National Council on Problem Gambling to consider several options regarding casino self-exclusions, including allowing religious groups to apply. Minister Denise Phua also has...

Published January 26, 2015

Labor Has Upper Hand in Macau

Macau’s gaming industry is growing and shrinking at the same time. Though a crackdown by the Chinese government has caused high rollers to flee and revenues to plummet, the...

Published January 26, 2015

Chinese Lawmaker Pushes Full Smoking Ban

Speaking on behalf of the Federation of Trade Unions, Chinese legislator Ella Lei Cheng I warned that the historic drop in gaming revenues in Macau could hamper efforts to...

Published January 26, 2015