If Macau’s gaming industry breathed a collective sigh of relief earlier this month amid long-awaited signs of market stabilization, they shouldn’t get too comfortable just yet.
According to an Australian newspaper report published over the Easter weekend, Hong Kong tycoon Tony Fung’s ambitious Aquis Great Barrier Reef casino project – located near tropical Cairns – looks set to become reality after Chinese construction giants Tandellen and CCCC International Holdings agreed to provide financial backing.
![[b]The proposed Aquis resort[/b]](http://www.wgm8.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/images_wgm_online-only_Gaming_2016_29-03-16-1.jpg)
And this won’t be just any old resort. Boasting two separate casinos, 7,500 rooms across eight luxury hotels, a golf course and a spectacular artificial lagoon, Aquis will not only be the most expensive casino complex ever built but at US$8 billion cost twice as much as any of Macau’s new Cotai properties.
This is the new reality for Macau, with their rivals increasingly willing to spend whatever it takes to lure away those cashed-up Chinese players that have been at the heart of Macau’s success. As the old saying goes, “To be the best you’ve got to beat the best.”
Aquis isn’t the only property spending big either. The island of Saipan in the Western Pacific Ocean has promised a US$7 billion development and Sheldon Adelson has promised to spend US$10 billion should he be given license to build Japan’s first casino. More will come.
![[b]Saipan[/b]](http://www.wgm8.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/images_wgm_online-only_Gaming_2016_29-03-16-2.jpg)
Times might be improving for Macau, but the challenges keep growing every day.
