JAMES Packer's Crown Macau casino is about to face more competition with next week's opening of the upmarket $1.5 billion MGM Grand Macau, which will also pitch to the high-roller market.
The new Las Vegas-style casino/hotel complex has been developed by US casino operator MGM Mirage and Pansy Ho, the daughter of Macau casino veteran Stanley Ho and the older sister of Packer's Macau partner, Lawrence Ho.
The 35-storey tower complex, by Macau's waterside, has 600 luxury rooms with 385 gambling tables, 888 poker machines and 16 private gambling salons.
Pansy Ho has already warned her neighbours near the site, Wynn Macau and Galaxy StarWorld, to brace themselves for the competition from her upmarket operation.
"There's no end of creative ideas at MGM Grand Macau," she told the local media this week.
"I would urge our neighbours to watch out."
The new property features a 25m conservatory with a glass ceiling, which is inspired by the Central train station in Lisbon. It also has an original sculpture by Salvador Dali, hand-blown glass pansy flowers made by artist Dale Chihuly and a VIP lobby with jade floors and huge mirrors.
There is intense speculation about what will be planned for the grand opening on Tuesday, which is expected to emphasise its pitch to the VIP gambling market.
The entertainment is being designed by Yves Pepin, one of the artistic directors for the ceremonies at the Beijing Olympics next year.
The smaller Crown Macau, situated across the water on the island of Taipa, was opened by Melco PBL Entertainment in May.
The complex, which has 220 tables, 500 poker machines and 216 rooms, including 24 VIP suites, is also focused on the high-roller market.
Lawrence Ho recently told Forbes magazine that Melco PBL had made some mistakes in the early days with Crown Macau, which he said "didn't get off to a good start". He said the initial operation of the casino had moved away from his vision of a six-star high-roller VIP property and had squeezed in too many poker machines.
But the operators later moved to devote more of the complex to the VIP market.
The opening of the MGM Grand Macau means that the city now boasts 8300 luxury hotel rooms, 4400 gambling tables and 12,400 poker machines.
It has already outstripped Las Vegas in terms of total gambling turnover.
The ASX-listed Crown Ltd, which has just been demerged from the former Packer media interests, holds a 37.9 per cent stake in Melco PBL Entertainment.
The company, which listed on the Nasdaq over-the-counter market at $US19 a share in a strong US market, closed on Thursday US time at $US12.30 a share.
Crown this week announced a $US1.75 billion ($2 billion) purchase of four local casinos in the US, buying the business of Cannery Casino Resorts.
The purchase is expected to take 12 to 18 months as Crown and its principals will have to undertake lengthy probity checks by authorities in Nevada and Pennsylvania.
The Las Vegas Review Journal yesterday reported that Nevada Gaming Control Board chairman Dennis Neilander said that regulators had already had discussions with Crown's Nevada lawyers about the company's structure and what type of applications it would have to file.
The process is expected to include questioning of Packer, who is Crown's executive chairman.
The Cannery Casino business also has links with Packer's business in Macau.
It is 42 per cent owned by private investment firm Oaktree Capital Management, which is an investor in Studio City Macau, a new hotel, casino project that is being built in Macau.
The casino at Studio City will be managed by Melco PBL, which holds one of six casino licences in Macau. |
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