Melco Crown Entertainment submitted a formal request to include a casino business at its new Cotai location late last year. Bewilderment had greeted comments from secretary for economy and finance Francis Tam Pak Yuen when he stated no casino had been included on the original plans and it looks to have forced their hand. The source was quoted by Portuguese language daily Jornal Tribuna de Macau that said the application was lodged in early December. Analysts and the company themselves have made some lofty projections pertaining to Melco Crown having the most to gain from all Cotai expansion. Melco and CEO Laurence Ho have exuded confidence on the Studio City casino issue on a number of occasions and it certainly looks like a firm with a lot to gain.
SJM Holdings has presented a draft of its own plans on the Cotai strip. CEO Ambrose So Shu Fai admitted to Hoje Macay the first phase has been submitted to the government and could be open inside the next two years. It will have both gaming and non-gaming areas with the cost likely to hit MOP15 billion (US$1.9 billion). So added it’ll be financed using money from the firm’s existing properties.