If anyone doubted the government’s convictions in the allocation of new gaming tables across Cotai, they were given a rude shock earlier this week with the announcement that Studio City would be allowed to operate 250 tables.
Melco-Crown’s latest offering, due to open next Tuesday, has benefited from its considerably more diverse range of non-gaming attractions than Galaxy Phase II which received only 150 new to market tables when it opened in May.
The Macau government announced in early 2014 that the allocation of new gaming tables to the eight properties opening in Cotai between 2015 and 2017 would depend on the quality and quantity of its non-gaming offerings as they seek to increase Macau’s diversity.
As we explained in detail in the cover story of our May/Jun issue of WGM, most of the new properties don’t appear to have heeded the warning with the vast majority of their non-gaming being more shops and more restaurants.
But there is no doubt Studio City stands out from the crowd with a fully operational TV broadcast studio, a resident magician, Pacha Nightclub and most significantly Macau’s first theme park – a 30,000 square foot Family Entertainment Center boasting rides and Warner Bros characters among other things. The property is also home to Asia’s highest Ferris wheel, The Golden Reel, which sits 130 metres above the ground.
![[b]Steve Wynn has been critical of the Macau government's table cap ahead of Wynn Palace's launch in 2016[/b]](http://www.wgm8.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/images_wgm_online-only_Gaming_2015_23-10-15-2.jpg)
Only last week Steve Wynn, who is set to open Wynn Palace nearby in March 2016, launched a stinging attack on the Macau government both for limiting the amount of tables allowed and for the fact that both Galaxy and Studio City were informed of their allocation barely a week before opening.
He probably has a point, but it won’t help him get any nearer the 500 new tables he wants next year. For the time being at least, the government is well and truly standing by its word.
