Melco PBL Bought Peninsula Waterfront Casino Site
Written on October 30, 2006 by admin
PUBLISHING and Broadcasting Limited and its Hong Kong partner Melco are believed to have paid US$190 million to buy the land for their third Macau casino.
To be called Trinity, the third project is expected to be a tower/hotel development with at least 200 casino tables and 300 poker machines. The move gives the partnership a waterfront spot on the Macau peninsula - the traditional centre of gambling in Macau - as opposed to their current two sites further away on the island opposite the main city.
While PBL and Melco have not released any figures, the Macau media has speculated that the land deal was worth around $260 million. The news comes as PBL executive chairman James Packer is set to visit the city again next month - his third time this year - to mark the topping out ceremony for the $300 million Crown Macau, on the island of Taipa, the first hotel/casino complex to be opened by the PBL-Melco consortium.
Work on their second development, the $1.5 billion City of Dreams, which will feature four hotels, a theatre and at least one residential block, is expected to step up following an agreement this month for Leighton to do the construction work.
The PBL-Melco consortium is now looking at listing its Macau casino assets in the US on the Nasdaq, in a deal which could raise more than $US1 billion ($1.3 billion). Last week, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange reversed its ban on Melco’s proposals, allowing the partnership to push ahead with the plans for the listing which is now expected early next year. The first stage of the City of Dreams is expected to open in the second half of 2008.
Initial promises that the project would include an underwater casino have been replaced with statements that the casino will have an “underwater theme”.
Still in the concept stage, the third Macau project is expected to be a more modest one than the City of Dreams, given the limited size of the land.
The waterfront land is down the road from the MGM Grand project being built by Las Vegas casino operator MGM and Pansy Ho, the daughter of Macau gambling veteran Stanley Ho, which is expected to open late next year.
News of the latest PBL-Melco deal comes as Macau has now officially bypassed Las Vegas as the world’s largest gambling destination, as increasingly affluent eager gamblers from mainland China flock to the city which is opening up its market to outside casino operators.
It follows last week’s release of figures showing that total gambling revenue in the city rose by 37 per cent to $US576 million in September - with the opening of the $1.5 billion Wynn Macau by Las Vegas casino operator Steve Wynn.
Las Vegas leisure consultancy Globalysis said late last week that the figures showed that Macau’s monthly gambling revenues were now surpassing those in Las Vegas.
“Macau’s current-month run rate now exceeds that of the Las Vegas strip by about $US20 million a month,” said Globalysis partner Jonathan Galaviz. Globalysis predicts Macau’s gambling revenues will reach $US6.8 billion this year - topping an expected $US6.6 billion in revenues expected to be generated in Las Vegas.
Macau’s higher revenues are being generated off a much smaller base in terms of casinos and gambling tables with mainland Chinese gamblers more interested in betting higher stakes at the gaming tables than the cheaper poker machines.
Macau’s 23rd casino, Star World, was opened two weeks ago by the Hong Kong property company Galaxy. Another operator is expected to open the Babylon casino on Fishermans Wharf by the end of the year. Macau’s casino revenues are expected to skyrocket over the next few years with more than $25 billion in further casino/hotel projects planned or under way.
The city’s gambling revenues have also been fuelled by relaxations on restrictions on Chinese citizens being able to travel to Hong Kong and Macau. After the SARS health crisis in 2003, Beijing decided to open up individual travel to Hong Kong and Macau on a city-by-city basis. There are now 44 mainland cities where residents are allowed to travel freely to Hong Kong and Macau as opposed to the previous requirement of travel in officially sanctioned tour groups.
Courtesy | The Australian
Related Link: Casino
Technorati Tags: City of Dreams, Crown Macau, macau, Macau Casino, Melco Crown, Stanley Ho
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