CR85-p02&03-International1&2:SJC-Casino Review 25/10/09 14:54 Page 1
internationalcasinoreview
Chinese in to finish Atlantic City resort
China State Construction Engineering has signed a
US$1.7bn agreement with property firm Tishman and
casino builder Revel Entertainment to help build an
upcoming casino resort in Atlantic City. China’s biggest
property conglomerate said in a filing to the Shanghai Stock
Exchange that the project would probably be completed in
News
July of 2011. Revel Entertainment’s Atlantic City casino
resort, which will be 79,000 square metres, was supposed
to open in 2010, but was delayed due to difficulty in
securing financing during the economic downturn last year.
INTERNATIONAL
City Centre shines as America’s
biggest ever jobs opportunity
The US casino sector has taken a bit of a political beating in 2009, yet in terms of boosting the
economy through new jobs, nowhere has the potential to turn things round more than Las Vegas.
And never has there been one project that has generated more jobs than CityCenter.
citysaviour trict. Positions cover all
UNITED STATES departments including food
and beverage, hotel opera-
Much has been written about tions, casino operations,
the economic boost MGM entertainment, finance,
Mirage’s eagerly awaited City- human resources, facilities,
Center will provide to security and more. Crystals’
Ho believes
Nevada’s current economic retail and restaurant partners
problems, so much so that it each will hire their employ-
credit
has become an icon of these ees independently. The
troubled times. Harmon, a luxury 400-room
crunch will
Securing funding has boutique hotel, is slated to
become the be all and end all open at CityCenter in late
prevent over
for the world’s biggest opera- 2010 and will announce
tor in what has been termed hiring plans at a later date. capacity
its biggest ever gamble. But The operator states the
with the $8.5bn complex of project is in healthy shape.
shops, condos, casinos and Although MGM Mirage is now silverlining
boutique hotels set to open in $1.8bn in debt due to the CHINA
December, a jobs windfall is project, it has secured financ-
now on the horizon the likes ing to complete it, it has sold Melco Crown’s chief execu-
of which nowhere in The half of the 2,440 condos for tive Lawrence Ho believes
States has ever been able to sale and has collected $350m that Macau’s operators have
provide before. The 4,000-
EMPLOYMENT FACTS
in deposits. However, it is had a reality check forced
room hotel casino is currently
• More than 1,300 table game dealers, floor supervisors, slot operators and guest
resigned to taking a hit on onto them by the global credit
hiring 12,000 people in what
service representatives will work in ARIA’s casino
the remaining condos. It had crisis and that new builds in
Michael Peltyn, CityCenter’s
• Nearly 4,280 food and beverage employees - including 165 master cooks, 15
envisaged selling its condos the world’s most profitable
vice president of human
sommeliers, 255 bartenders, 60 bakers, 10 shabu shabu cooks, and numerous ice
at top-of-the-market prices, casino playground will now
resources, described as the
cream and crepe makers - will guide guests on delectable culinary journeys at
which would have brought grind to a halt.
‘single biggest hiring oppor-
ARIA and Vdara’s restaurants
in $2.6bn but it has been “I don’t see major resorts
tunity in the history of the US.’
• Approximately 130 employees - handling lighting and props to wigs and make-up - will
forced to slash prices by 30 opening for the next couple
Unemployment in Nevada
be behind the scenes to bring ARIA’s spectacular Cirque du Soleil production to life
per cent, which would only of years now,” Ho said in an
is currently suffering its worst
• Guests may indulge in soothing treatments from more than 160 massage
bring in$1.6bn in revenue. interview with MarketWeek.
rate for some time at a depress-
therapists, aestheticians and manicurists at ARIA and Vdara’s spas
Feldman believes that a “People were blindly chasing
ing 13.2 per cent. The
• Approximately 1,200 guestroom staff will work at ARIA and Vdara combined
project of this scope will not market share without any
company has already offered be attempted again in Las regards for margin. The good
4,000 of CityCenter’s employ- Vegas for at least ten years. thing that came out of the
ment positions to current nomic activity. We’d be gence and passion, this team created by CityCenter will Whether CityCenter financial crisis is that, while
MGM employees and a happy as a community to will form the foundation of result in thousands of addi- signals the start of the resur- the market was booming, the
massive 95 per cent have been have someone do a $100 the extraordinary experience tional jobs at outside compa- gence or the end of an era of competitors looking at this
happy to be involved. The million tower.” that CityCenter will deliver.” nies. This is more than a investment or spending industry were more con-
12,000 positions attracted Bobby Baldwin, president “Breaking ground in 2006, collection of resorts; we see remains to be seen, but in cerned about ego and
160,000 applications. and CEO, CityCenter, added: CityCenter has employed it as a beacon of hope for a terms of making history, MGM market share than creating
MGM Mirage senior vice “We’re proud to celebrate more than 9,000 construc- future of renewed economic Mirage has already made the value for shareholders.”
president Alan Feldman said: this significant milestone as tion workers who have vitality in Las Vegas." sort that each and every state He said the days of secur-
“In good times we’ve had we begin to extend job offers helped bring this vision to Jobs will be filled at the would be proud to make fol- ing easy credit from the
states fall all over themselves to 12,000 deserving individu- reality,” he added. “When we Aria Resort and Casino, Vdara lowing the credit squeeze and banks, which helped fund
to try to get that kind of eco- als. Rich in diversity, intelli- open this December, demand Hotel and Crystals retail dis- its effects on jobs. Melco’s $2.4bn City of
Dreams casino, are now over.
He also believes that
today’s tighter credit envi-
Internet more problematic than bricks and mortar
ronment could be a boost for
those operators who devel-
oped when the mood was
riskfactor Psychology Conference. gamble (five per cent) was internet gamblers and non- may be more likely to more buoyant and that it
UNITED KINGDOM Using data from the ten times higher than internet gamblers. Internet contribute to problem would prevent the market
most recent British those who did not. gamblers were more likely gambling than gambling in from saturation and canni-
Problem gambling is Gambling Prevalence Other findings to come than non-internet gamblers offline environments. It is balising itself.
much more prevalent Survey, the research led by out of the study, internet to be male, relatively young clear that gaming “Liquidity in the banking
among those who Dr Mark Griffiths, Professor gambling: A secondary adults, single, well companies need to market is not going to be as
gamble online compared of Gambling Studies at analysis of findings from educated, and in acknowledge they will free as it was from 2005 to
to those who only Nottingham Trent the 2007 British Gambling professional/managerial need to provide even better 2008, so with these massive
gamble offline, according University, showed that the Prevalence Survey, showed employment. Professor social responsibility projects, if you don’t have the
to research presented at level of problem gambling a number of significant Griffiths said: “This study’s infrastructures online than proper balance sheet and
the British Psychological among those who had socio-demographic findings suggest that the offline to minimise the financial structures, it’s
Society’s Social used the internet to differences between medium of the internet harm to problem gamblers.” impossible to build,” Ho said.
2 November 2009 • internationalnews
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