If wasn’t already, Macau should be a destination inked on the to-do list, especially for the industry professional who loves to gamble and carry on.
Galaxy reported Wednesday its net profit dropped 22% last year amid one-time accounting and valuation adjustments to the casino operator’s bonds. The result comes about six weeks before Galaxy is due to open a US$1.9 billion casino-resort in Macau’s Cotai area.
Galaxy said its net profit attributable to shareholders more than tripled to HK$1.3 billion in 2010 from HK$400 million the prior year. Revenue rose 57% to HK$19.26 billion from HK$12.23 billion, tracking the 58% increase in overall gambling revenue in Macau last year.
It’s still full speed ahead with the plans for the uber casino. The company said its new Galaxy Macau property will open May 15 with 450 gambling tables, 1,400 out of the 2,200 hotel rooms planned for the project, 50 food-and-beverage outlets, and a rooftop wave pool. In September, the resort will also open a nine-screen, 1,000-seat movie theater. With all of those activities, you could literally spend a week inside the casino without ever leaving.
And for the near future, Galaxy’s casino will be the big fish in the Cotai district, considering SJM Holdings Ltd., Wynn Resorts Ltd. unit Wynn Macau Ltd. and MGM Macau—a joint venture between MGM Resorts International and Pansy Ho, all continue to await land rights from the government for their planned casino projects in Cotai.
