Casino Oct08 P16-17 9/29/08 11:33 am Page 14
MACAU BUSINESS
King of the
New Frontier
Despite its tag as one of Asia’s poorest countries, Cambodia’s gaming
industry has grown on a phenomenal scale. Now, one of the country’s
new players is in Macau on a mission to find the secret of luring
Chinese punters and forge a partnership with Asia’s gaming mecca
by Alan Tso
I
t was in the dusty Nevada desert that gambling China appeal
first established itself as a multi-billion dollar
business, but today Asia holds the mantle of Despite the strong Vietnamese connection, Suhr
gaming mecca, with Macau the biggest draw. Up aims to cast a wider net, setting his sight on the
and coming Cambodia is one of the brightest enormous Chinese market. According to the savvy
gems in the region’s casino crown contends David executive, the Chinese market means more than just
Suhr, President of Las Vegas Sun Hotel & Casino on the mainland, it’s about the really Chinese diaspora
the country’s border with Vietnam. in Asia.
Despite the use of the world’s entertainment “Let’s not forget that many countries in southeast
capital in the property’s name, Las Vegas Sun couldn’t Asia have a sizable population of ethnic Chinese who
be further from neon-town-Nevada. still maintain the Chinese way of life,” Suhr says.
Instead it is a venture mainly funded by South Conventional wisdom dictates, he underlines, that
Korean capital and is well grounded in the vast global gaming firms will be going after Chinese
neighbouring Vietnamese market. But the casino punters for years to come. And grabbing a slice of this
hotel’s name does reveal an inner truth, its founder’s considerable pie is the driving force behind Las Vegas
aspiration to provide quality luxury services on par Sun’s move to open a representative office in Macau.
with those in Vegas. “Setting up a presence here is a natural choice for
“Whether you are running a hotel or a casino, the us. We can’t afford to miss out on the action in
one thing that truly matters is service,” says seasoned Macau because it happens to have the largest gaming
Korean hotelier Suhr. industry in the world right now,” says Suhr in his
Open for less than a year, Las Vegas Sun – the first firm’s new Macau office.
entertainment complex in Cambodia which boasts The representative office’s mission is to promote
hotel and casino facilities under one roof – is a cross-marketing between Macau and Cambodia.
relatively new player in the fledgling Cambodian He points out: “This is a win-win solution. On the
gaming market.
However, the firm can trace its roots back
to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, where it
opened some slot machine arcades eight
years ago. It was there that the firm began
building its network of VIP customers, which
now makes up about 90 percent of the
clientele of Las Vegas Sun today.
With a total investment of about US$50
million (MOP402 million), the casino now
has 48 gaming tables, 84 slots and 25 virtual
machines. It is planning to add sports betting
and online games, plus, a luxury villa casino
is under construction.
14 OCTOBER 2008
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