In the past this page was titled “From the CEO”. With the expansion of our parent company World Gaming Group’s activities in the region, such as recently launching gaming operations subsidiary World Players Entertainment (WPE), I’m taking less of a role in the day-to-day production of WGM. Our highly capable Managing Editor Ben Blaschke, who has been editing WGM for over two years, is now responsible for most of the production of WGM and also our daily email WGM Daily (please visit our Facebook page to subscribe). – AWS
It’s hard to imagine a time of so much uncertainty in Macau as the one we’re experiencing right now. China’s anti-corruption crackdown, combined with issues such as the new smoking laws and uncertainty over future gaming table allocations, have prompted many to express concern that not only have Macau’s halcyon days past, but that they may never return.
At the same time, there remains reason for some cautious optimism – the great hope being that the opening of eight new properties in Cotai by the end of 2017 will spark Macau’s second golden era. If so, it shouldn’t be long before we start to see evidence of this resurgence with the first and second of those new properties – Galaxy Phase II and Broadway Macau – opening on 27 May.
Whatever the case, there is no doubt there is a lot to look forward to as Cotai 2.0 takes shape. Following Galaxy II and Broadway, Melco Crown’s Studio City will open its doors in September, followed by The Parisian, Wynn Palace, Louis XIII and MGM Cotai in 2016. Finally Lisboa Palace will join them to complete Cotai’s facelift in late 2017.
The significance of these properties is more than just skin deep. In the past, Macau has been extremely gaming focused which, although detrimental to the city’s diversity, was in line with the demands of players who by and large visited from Mainland China with the sole purpose of hitting the tables.
But as time has passed, at least some of the casino operators have started to recognize the need to invest in more non-gaming offerings in order to add a wider range of destination tourists to the list of people visiting Macau’s shores. This has become even more important since China’s “tigers and flies” crackdown.
As a result, we can expect the new integrated resorts to provide a range of exciting new entertainment options such as Asia’s highest Ferris wheel at Studio City, an aerial transport system at Wynn Palace and an open-air street market at Broadway as well as any number of new retail outlets and restaurants.
It is these non-gaming features WGM is looking forward to most and we can’t wait to experience what promises to be a new Macau as it evolves over the next few years.
Follow the Dragon,
Andrew W Scott, CEO
Ben Blaschke, Managing Editor
