CR65-p14-World 2:SJC-Casino Review 16/2/08 23:03 Page 1
casinoreview
Macau’s gaming revenue for 2008 is in the past few years as Las Vegas Bridge Investment Group is progressing with its envisaged 300-room
expected to see a double-digit increase operators have entered the market. Four casino hotel investment project on Tinian, although the completed project
reaching the 100bn patacas (over new casinos opened last year, including
Bridging
will be smaller than the original $200m investment more likely costing
US$10bn. Last year gross gaming Las Vegas Sands’ massive Venetian
the gap to
$50m. The project’s “ceremonial groundbreaking” in late December
revenue increased by 46.6 per cent to Macao on the Cotai Strip, and the MGM
gaming on
2007 was cancelled, in part because of pending legislation to introduce
Macau looking to
83bn patacas (US$10.4bn). The former Grand Macau casino resort on the main casinos on Saipan, although the Senate rejected this a few weeks later.
Portuguese colony, the only place in peninsula. Ponte 16 opened in January Tinian The first phase of construction would involve the building of the hotel and
pass 100bn mark China where gambling is allowed, has and a further five are slated to start up casino complex. It would cost around $30m and is expected to be
attracted more than $20bn of investment this year, plus as many as nine next year. completed in the fourth quarter of 2009 or first quarter of 2010.
Queenco to develop Cambodian
Ho
Beachfront resort and casino
teams
up for
Following its initial
Macau
IPO in July last year,
Success
Queenco Leisure is
continuing its
expansion. With
makingitspont
projects already
CHINA
active in Greece,
The five-star Ponte 16
Romania and Serbia,
casino resort opened in
Macau at the start of
and projects in
February bringing the
development in the
total number of casinos
Czech Republic and
in Macau to 29.
This latest project was
Bulgaria, it is now jointly developed by SJM
planning to build a
(Sociedade de Jogos de
venue in Cambodia.
Club Hotel Loutraki on the Greek coastline:
Macao), owned by local
Co-owners Queenco now want to build in Cambodia gaming magnate Stanley
Ho, and Macao Success
Limited. It houses 105
queenofspades an area which has over the last potential of the area.” rounding areas. QLI believes of investment prospects, pri- gaming tables and 300
CAMBODIA 12 months seen a substantial As part of the acquisition, that the new international marily in Central and Eastern slot machines, and a
increase in property prices fol- QLI has also acquired exclu- transport links will transform Europe. These include the hotel run by the French
European casino operator lowing the announcement of sive rights from the Cambo- Sihanouk Ville and make it a development of a nightclub luxury hotel chain Sofitel.
Queenco Leisure International plans by the Cambodian gov- dian government for the highly attractive destination and slot machine hall, with To diversify its customer
has bought $10m of land in ernment to expand the local stretch of beach immediately for leisure and gaming. The sur- approximately 60 slot source, Ponte 16 is
Sihanouk Ville, a coastal area in airport to cater for interna- in front of the site. rounding area has a history of machines, in Prague with the looking to attract
the south-west of Cambodia, tional flights.The g roup bought The land that QLI has providing gaming facilities for expectation of developing it Japanese customers by
where it intends to develop a 48 hectares of land in Sihanouk acquired is situated in an excel- Thai and Vietnamese nationals into a full casino once the reg- offering Pachinko on its
destination beachfront resort Ville in February 2007. lent location for attracting where gaming is not permit- ulatory environment has gaming floor.
and casino. Dror Mizeretz, CEO of QLI, tourists and local customers. ted in their home markets. QLI become more developed. The resort has
Queenco manages two of said: “I am delighted that QLI The company aims to develop expects strong demand from It is aiming to use its estab- currently only opened its
Greece’s nine licensed casinos, has been able to acquire such a destination beachfront resort these markets, and throughout lished highly cash generative mass gaming floor and
Casino Palace in the centre of an ideal location for develop- on the land, based around a Asia following the develop- market leading operations in will open four to five VIP
Bucharest and Casino Beograd ing a new resort and casino casino, but which will also ment in Sihanouk Ville. Loutraki, Greece, as a base gaming rooms in March
in Belgrade. It sees Cambodia complex. Along with the include, hotels, conference Currently, Queenco is at from which to expand its and retail space in the
as an excellent emerging expansion of Sihanouk Ville’s centres and other related various stages of planning in casino portfolio in emerging near future.
market in which to invest and airport, the area is being trans- attractions. a number of projects in strate- markets. It currently operates Situated in the island
has purchased nine hectares of formed as a tourist destination, Foreign investment is pri- gically advantageous approximately 1,400 slot city’s old Inner Harbor,
land in an ideal location, situ- with a growing local economy, marily driving the significant markets, including Romania machines and 130 gaming which is surrounded by a
ated along the picturesque as both foreign and domestic increases in real estate values and Bulgaria. tables, and employs 2,470 number of local UNESCO
beachfront in Sihanouk Ville, investors recognise the future in Sihanouk Ville and the sur- It has an attractive pipeline people. Heritage sites, Ponte 16
drew its architectural
design inspiration from
the city’s early 20th
Gold Reef takeover deal falls by the wayside
century traditional
buildings.
Ambrose So, director
of SJM, said: “The Inner
noway Maxim Krok meant the R9,83bn The SRP’s ruling leaves the Harbor is full of the
SOUTH AFRICA private equity buyout of the high court’s sanctioning of collective memories of
company missed the deadline. the deal open for review. It society. SJM, through the
The intended takeover of Krok controls 25.9 per cent of has also put the brakes on development of the Ponte
Johannesburg Stock the shares in Gold Reef. the gambling boards allow- 16, aims to continue the
Exchange listed Gold Reef Rival operator Tsogo Sun ing the transfer of licences historical and cultural
Resorts is off following a col- had written to the South for Gold Reef’s casinos to the mission of the Inner
lapse in negotiation. African Gambling Board and consortium. Harbor.”
A consortium around South the Securities Regulation It is understood that no Prior to the opening of
Africa’s largest private equity Panel to try and persuade them further extensions have been Ponte 16, SJM owned 18
company, Ethos, had entered to block the sale of its rival set for the deadline. of Macau’s 28 casinos,
into negotiations regarding Gold Reef into private equity Casinos Austria said the with the largest market
Gold Reef Resorts, in which ownership. takeover price of R 34 per share of 31 per cent, 12
Casinos Austria International Tsogo Sun claimed that share - including the assump- per cent more than Las
holds 21.7 per cent. details of its offer were not tion of existing GRR loans - Vegas Sand.
It is believed that the private made known to minority would have resulted in a So said that due to the
equity consortium, compris- shareholders and that the transaction volume of over ever increasing local
ing Gold Reef management, leveraged buy-out would place 1bn euros. CFO Josef Leutgeb labour and construction
Ethos Private Equity and US such a heavy debt burden on had described the potential costs, the total
bank Goldman Sachs, has now Gold Reef that it would no deal as the biggest in the investment of the project
allowed the deal’s final dead- longer be a viable operator. company’s history and one it amounted to 3bn patacas
line to pass after certain terms The Securities Regulation could not refuse. However, (US$375m), but added
were not met including Panel (SRP) said in a ruling: he also said at the time that the group was ‘confident
licence approval by SA’s “Having heard the oral sub- due to the continuing good that we will have a very
regional gambling boards. missions and considered the performance of the South good return of our
Media reports out of South documentation presented African casinos, CAI would investment, we hope to
Africa suggest that the with- to the SRP, it is held that Gold not suffer in the event of the get our money back
holding of crucial information Reef is in breach of rules 13, takeover proposal being within three to four years
by Gold Reef Resorts chairman 16, 19 and 20.” withdrawn. time.”
14 March 2008 worldnews
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