The NASDAQ-listed firm, which operated at the Cotai Strip property owned by Las Vegas Sands Corporation subsidiary Sands China Limited in partnership with King’s Gaming Promotion Limited, stated that it took the decision “as the current rolling chip turnover volume does not warrant the operation of five VIP gaming rooms” in Macau and that it now expected to generate savings of around $750,000 a year.
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Sands China’s upcoming The Parisian resort was allocated 150 gaming tables by the Macau government, fewer than the 250 Las Vegas mogul Sheldon Adelson had hoped for, as the world’s biggest gambling enclave distances itself further from gaming.
Last month, American tycoon Steve Wynn’s Wynn Macau also received an allocation of 150 tables for its Wynn Palace luxury resort, fuelling concerns over the long term uncertainties in returns to its massive US$4 billion investment.
The new resorts are coming online as Macau reversed its 26-month slump in gaming revenue in August, with the city’s government pushing casino operators to build projects to attract tourists and are less dependent on gambling.
New table allocations have become a source of intense curiosity and speculation in the Macau gambling sector. Even without new gaming tables, “Parisian won’t miss a beat given the company’s ability to harvest unutilized / under-utilized tables from its other properties”, noted Union Gaming’s Grant Govertsen. Adelson had earlier said he wanted to get 250 tables for the Parisian.
Sands shares rose 1.4 percent in morning trading, in line with the benchmark Hang Seng Index up 1.3 percent.
Macau’s gaming regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau of Macau, approved the additional 25 tables for the Parisian in 2017 and another 25 a year later, as well as 1614 slot machines. But the Macau regulator, under pressure from Beijing, wants to limit growth to no more than 3 percent per year until 2023.
The government has authorised The Parisian to install 150 gaming tables until over three phases until 2018, Secretary for Economy and Finance Lionel Leong Vai Tac said on Saturday.
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