Macau will be a winner for years, US casino billionaire Steve Wynn wagers
Casino mogul sees no threat from mainland crackdown on graft and extravagance
Casino billionaire Steve Wynn has dismissed fears that Macau's gaming industry is threatened by the mainland's crackdown on corruption and extravagance, saying he's bullish about the city's long-term prospects.
"I don't give a damn," Wynn said of revenue projections for next month's National Day "golden week" holiday after a speech in Macau yesterday in which he outlined his vision for the world's largest gambling hub.
"The answer is no, I'm not concerned … I think the future of Macau is terrific. We have invested more in Macau than we've made. That shows as a capitalist I am completely confident that I am reinvesting in this country."
Macau's gross gaming revenue has fallen for three consecutive months, the first such prolonged decline in five years, and full-year growth forecasts have dropped from heady double digits to as low as 3 per cent.
"We're ahead of where we were last year in our company," Wynn said of Wynn Macau's third-quarter performance. "We've been beating the market generally in the mass tables and the slots.
"I can't answer the question [whether gross gaming revenue will decline this year]. I don't have enough information yet, but colour me bullish and happy to have this investment and looking to making more."
Wynn said Macau and neighbouring Hengqin would together provide a world-class hub for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions.
"What you're going to see between now and 2017 as these 13,000 [new hotel] rooms open up is more imagination, creativity in non-gaming areas than anybody is going to witness before," he said. "[Sands Macao casino owner] Sheldon Adelson is having prize fights and concerts. Anything being offered in the world is being offered here.
"Then throw in Hengqin Island, which will have several parks. I expect that Hengqin Island and Macau are probably going to be the most dynamic tourist and meeting convention areas not only in the Asia-Pacific but in the world - one of the two best in the world."
The Macau government has been vocal about wanting to encourage the development of non-gaming activities. In July, MGM China chairwoman Pansy Ho Chiu-king said that developing attractions besides gaming should be one of Macau's key priorities if it did not want to risk losing tourists to other destinations.
Wynn operates two casinos in Macau - Wynn Macau and Encore. A third - the US$4 billion Wynn Palace - was on track to open "in 15 to 16 months". That property will double the number of gaming tables operated by the company and increase hotel room capacity by 170 per cent.
Luis Pereira, managing director of gaming industry website Asia Gambling Brief, said it was difficult to expand in Macau because it was "a very small place". "I'm sure every casino operator there would like to use more land but it's just not there," he said.
