If there’s something more certain than a fake pair of boobs on a transsexual then it’s that Galaxy Entertainment Group’s EBITDA will show growth. Q3 2012 was no different as the figure rose by 46 percent to HK$2.6billion thanks to their Galaxy Macau resort seeing a rise of 81 percent in the same category. In the same period mentioned overall revenue was up 6 percent to HK$14billion with a debt of thanks owed to the mass market gaming segment. It explains why they professed being “very confident” in growth prospects for the Macau gambling industry, pointing to future major infrastructure projects as catalysts for growth. The company has already embarked on its next stage of construction at Galaxy Macau and confirmed the second phase is on course for completion in 2015. At least this, and the earlier results from Wynn, might put pay to those rumors of Macau’s demise, which are greatly exaggerated.
There’s always something to celebrate in Macau and the latest to pop open the Kristal is Melco Crown Entertainment with the news of a deal to develop a casino resort in the Philippines. Melco will develop the complex in Manila with Filipino property developer Belle Corp with the resort called Belle Grande. A 60-day deadline for discussions between the two to come to a conclusion came over six weeks ago and the chief sticking point seemed to be who was taking the bigger slice of the pie. To finalize the deal both sides have agreed to make equal investments in the project and it’s so far not clear when the resort will open. I know, steady on.
MGM Resorts International chairman and chief executive Jim Murren is never short of a comment or two and right on cue he called on gambling regulators to quit being inappropriate when not in their own back yard. Murren, talking at the International Association of Gaming Advisors 2012 International Gaming Summit in Singapore, is reported to have said, according to Business Daily: “The days of paternalism, where one jurisdiction says what other gaming jurisdictions must do to be legitimate, must be put behind us.” At the same time, Murren accepts anything that brings another jurisdiction into disrepute should be investigated. This should be it though, and he added: “It is an entirely different proposition in my opinion for a jurisdiction to dictate policy choices to another jurisdiction. It’s impossible and inappropriate to try and regulate other regulators.”
