Casino City Times
Boyd Gaming properties gear up for Chinese New Year
Gaming properties across southern Nevada will offer special gaming and dining promotions as well as lion dance performances.
6:50 PM
Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings revised on Tuesday its outlook on Las Vegas-based Wynn Resorts Ltd and its subsidiaries – including its Macau unit – to “negative” from “stable”. The ratings agency said the negative outlook reflects the “significant uncertainty” over the resolution of various investigations into the allegations of misconduct made against the founder and chairman-cum-chief executive of Wynn Resorts, Steve Wynn.
Wynn Resorts – with gaming operations in Las Vegas, Nevada – is the parent company of Macau-based casino operator Wynn Macau Ltd. Mr Wynn is also chairman and chief executive of Wynn Macau Ltd.
The misconduct allegations against Mr Wynn “could impair the company’s brand and ability to maintain or review its gaming licences,” the ratings agency noted in its research update. Standard & Poor’s has also affirmed its ratings on Wynn Resorts and its subsidiaries, including the “BB-minus” corporate credit ratings.
“The negative outlook also reflects our limited transparency into potential succession plans in the event that Steve Wynn is forced to resign as CEO, whether his departure would include monetary compensation or a buy-out of his ownership in the company, and potential rebranding risks if the company elected to discontinue using the Wynn brand,” the ratings agency wrote.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board launched a formal investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct made against Mr Wynn, a move that followed a report last week by the Wall Street Journal detailing the allegations made by former Wynn Resorts employees. Mr Wynn has denied the allegations featured in the article.
The Macau regulator – the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, a body also known by its Portuguese acronym DICJ – met on Monday with representatives from Wynn Macau Ltd “better to understand the situation” regarding the allegations against Mr Wynn.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission announced on Friday it would independently investigate the allegations raised in the Wall Street Journal article. Wynn Resorts is developing a casino property in Boston, in the U.S. state of Massachusetts.
Wynn Resorts also announced on Friday it would form a special committee consisting solely of independent directors to investigate the claims against Mr Wynn.
“Given Steve Wynn’s intimate involvement in design, branding, and marketing, this could impair the company’s ability to maintain or renew gaming licences and weaken its ability to secure licences in new jurisdictions,” Standard & Poor’s wrote in its Tuesday report.
It added: “We believe reputational damage has the potential to hurt cash flows (especially in Las Vegas) through reduced visitation and spending at the properties.”
But the ratings agency also highlighted that the Macau operation of Wynn Resorts could be “less sensitive” to the allegations made against Mr Wynn.
“We believe visitation to and cash flow generation at Wynn’s resorts in Macau, which constitute about two-thirds of total [group] EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation], will be less sensitive to the allegations… the magnitude of the cultural conversation occurring around these types of incidents in China are less impactful than those occurring in the U.S.,” stated the report.
Basseterre, the capitol of St. Kitts in the Caribbean's Leeward Islands, is a charming city with French architecture, coconut palm trees, cannons, ancient museums and bustling hard-working people who greet each day with a smile.
There is a pizza parlor that makes, frankly, the best pizza I have ever eaten. It is located about two blocks from the pink palace that houses the governmental headquarters. That is where the Prime Minister and his Ministers have their officers.
I worked as editor of The Observer, a weekly newspaper that served the people of St. Kitts and Nevis, for two years before my work permit expired. My publisher was Kenneth Williams, a native of Trinidad who prided himself on printing a politically independent newspaper that kept locals as well as tourists informed on island and world events.
One of my favorite past times in St. Kitts was to wander through the narrow twisting streets. I would pass fruit vendors selling anything from mangoes to passion fruit and sea grapes. There were open-shuttered bars where you could buy a bottle of Carib or Heineken's Beer for the equivalent of .85 cents U.S. And there would always be island food -- roast pork, black beans, plantains, rice and whatever else the cook could conjure.
My days were spent assigning reporters to stories and to interviewing Ministers on the various projects they were involved in to improve the lives of the people. I spent my evenings at the island bars and restaurants and visited the Marriott Hotel's Jack Tar Casino two or three times a week.
There I would play blackjack, video poker or live poker. My foes at the table included business owners, sugar cane laborers and police officers who took their poker seriously.
One of the players was a smiling black man who was a native of St. Kitts. Jerome was a muscular individual who wore a gold cross around his neck. He was a regular reader of The Observer and told me he liked my by-lined stories.
I asked him what he did for a living. He smiled and said, 'I grow plants in my Garden of Eden.'
Really, I said?
'God actually grows the plants but I tend to them to benefit humanity,' he said. 'If you would like, I could show you my garden. You may even be interested in writing a story about it.'
He gave me instructions on how to find the place. The next morning, I walked from the newspaper office and found my way to Jerome's Garden of Eden.
He lived in a small one-bedroom house on the property. There were over 100 different plants in the well-attended garden, including the digitalis plant. My father had suffered a heart attack and was taking digitalis pills for his condition.
'The pills are made from this plant,' Jerome said. He produced a book and showed me the scientific names of all the plants growing in his garden. I borrowed the book and write a story about the Garden of Eden.
One of the plants was used to make Noni, a healthy drink made from the Noni tree. It is packed with anti-oxidants and is used to treat inflamed joints as well as heart disease. The drink was a bit harsh but tasted like grape juice.
I kidded him. 'What about the Blessed Herb?' I asked. 'Do you grow that?'
He gave me a serious look. 'Of course,' he said. 'I am Rastafarian and I believe in the spiritual as well as the healing qualities of Ganja.'
I wrote an article about the Garden of Eden. It is a special place of peace, good health and good karma. If you are ever lucky enough to make it to St. Kitts, be sure to visit the place. It will be a rewarding journey.
Former customers of Atlantic City's Revel voiced complaints about the NJ casino's glaring weaknesses in hopes Ocean Resort Casino owners are listening.
The post NJ Gamblers Tell Ocean Resort Casino Owners How To Un-Revel The Revel appeared first on NJ Gambling Sites.
Macau recorded a total of 4,714 cases of suspected gaming-related crime in full-year 2017, according to data disclosed on Tuesday by the city’s Judiciary Police in a press conference (pictured). The figure represented an increase of 2.4 percent compared to the 4,602 such cases in 2016.
The Judiciary Police label cases as gaming-related when they take place inside a casino or in its surroundings.
Gaming-related cases of suspected usury – unlawful lending of money that is more commonly known as loan-sharking – decreased in 2017 by 2.9 percent year-on-year to 428, the police data showed.
In 2017, a total of 464 cases of gaming-related suspected unlawful detention were recorded, reflecting a decline of 7.8 percent year-on-year. Such cases are typically associated in Macau with loan sharking connected to gambling.
Commenting on the overall increase in cases of suspected gaming-related crime in Macau last year, the Judiciary Police acknowledged there had been a growth in several types of gaming-related crime in recent years. The body said it had readjusted its strategy to curb such crime cases and that it had successfully dismantled several criminal groups last year.
Police and other Macau emergency bodies joined a drill – involving a simulated armed robbery in a public area – last week at the Galaxy Macau casino resort operated by Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd. The government said the drill had been designed to test the ability of public emergency departments and the local casino industry to coordinate and handle a response to major incidents.
The drill came only days after the theft of casino chips with a face value of nearly HKD47.9 million (US$6.1 million) from the Wynn Macau casino property on the city’s peninsula operated by Wynn Macau Ltd. The Macau authorities decided to conduct the drill following two deadly attacks in 2017 involving gaming properties respectively in the Philippines and in Las Vegas in the United States.
The Judiciary Police said on Tuesday that a total of 2,171 people had been sent to the Public Prosecutions Office for further handling in 2017 for alleged gaming-related crimes, up by 8.4 percent in year-on-year terms.
Macau’s accumulated casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) for full-year 2017 increased by 19.1 percent compared to 2016, according to data released earlier this month by the city’s regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau. It marked the first year of GGR growth after three consecutive years of annual decline: in 2016, GGR fell 3.3 percent; in 2015, it slipped 34.3 percent; and in 2014, GGR declined by 2.6 percent year-on-year.
From a distance the mountain is shaped like a saddle. It is located about 10 miles northeast of Wickenburg, AZ., nicknamed the 'Dude Ranch Capital of the World.'
The remains of two ghost towns, Stanton and Weaver, lie at the foot of the mountain. Parts of old buildings still exist, with the desert breezes blowing through the crumbling remains. In the distance a coyote howls. A Gila Monster sits on a rock sunning itself, its tongue darting out to catch flies. A sidewinder rattlesnake slithers off and disappears beneath a barrel cactus.
Rich Hill became famous in 1863 when a party of travelers camped at the foot of the mountain. The group was led by Pauline Weaver. When an animal escaped from the makeshift corral Weaver had set up, one of the members followed it to the top of the mountain. There his eyes nearly popped out of his head.
The mountain was covered with gold.
There were nuggets everywhere. In the stream running across the top of Rich Hill. In the boulders strewn across the mountain top. Some of the nuggets were as large as potatoes and that part of the mountain gained the nickname the 'Potato Patch.'
Within a short period of time when gold was selling for about $10 an ounce, the Weaver party extracted more than $100,000 in gold. The gold was so abundant they didn't even have to do much digging, removing most of it with shovels and knives.
The gold discovery occurred nearly 160 years ago. Since that date, an estimated $900 million in gold has been taken from the Rich Hill area. And the truly amazing part of the story is that, according to the prospectors who are working the area, the mother lode has not yet been discovered.
Joe Wilcox was a gold prospector who divided his time between Phoenix and his home in Sedona, AZ. where he and his family operated an Indian trading post. I met him in the early 1980s when I worked as a reporter for the Phoenix Gazette.
Joe was helping a friend promote a service station by setting up a sluice box and letting motorists pan for gold, using ore that Wilcox had transported in a pickup truck from Rich Hill. I stopped my car to fill it with gas and tried my luck at panning. I found a tiny gold nugget in my gold pan and became hooked.
The prospector and I became fast friends and he agreed to take me to Rich Hill the following Saturday. We made the 60-mile drive from Phoenix in Joe's pickup and spent the day panning for gold after a two-hour trek up a mountain trail that took us to the top of the mountain.
'Here is what is so amazing and mysterious about Rich Hill,' Wilcox said. 'Even after all the prospecting and mining over the past 160 years, the mountain is still loaded with gold. After a heavy rainstorm, it just pops out of the ground. Nobody can explain it. This is a phenomenon of nature.'
That day thanks to Joe's tutoring, I found a gold nugget big enough to make into a ring. Joe cracked open a boulder in the middle of the stream and discovered 13 tiny gold nuggets concealed in the clay inside the boulder.
Today there are a number of gold prospecting clubs that have staked claims on Rich Hill. There are 'No Trespassing' signs scattered across the mountain and gold seekers equipped with shovels, picks, crowbars, gold pans and sluice boxes can be spotted in the area seven days a week.
Joe was a poker player as were several of the prospectors I met in the Wickenburg area. They played in home games as well as at the American Legion Posts in Phoenix and Wickenburg.
One of the prospectors I met in the area was a retiree in his 70s. He lived in a camper that he parked near the foot of the mountain. He and Joe were old friends. Once he was convinced I was okay, he showed me some of his treasures. They contained two solid gold bars that he had melted down from the gold he had found in the stream at the foot of the mountain and on Rich Hill.
'This is part of my retirement package,' he joked. 'I just like to look at the gold and realize that I found it on my own with no help from the government.'
Another person I met on Rich Hill was a professor from Arizona State University. Along with his passion for prospecting for gold, he collected rattlesnake venom that the university used in an ongoing program to find a cure for cancer. His nickname was Rattlesnake Pete, he wore a beard and carried a machete, and he brewed a mean cup of cowboy coffee.
One prospector told me candidly that the story of the Lost Dutchman Gold Mine could not compare to the mystery of Rich Hill.
'A lot of men have searched for the Lost Dutchman in the Superstition Mountains,' he said. 'All most of them have found is sunstroke, mosquito bites and fool's gold. Rich Hill is literally a mountain of gold and the mother lode is still out there waiting for somebody to discover it.'
At the Arrowhead Bar, a watering lounge located a few miles from Wickenburg, a grizzled prospector sipped his beer while he recounted his experiences looking for gold in the area.
'There's an old saying that a gold mine is a hole in the ground owned by a liar,' he said. 'While that's probably true, the people who have discovered gold on Rich Hill aren't liars. This is real gold country and they'll be finding gold on this mountain a hundred years from now.' He winked and finished his beer.
I have been to the top of Rich Hill half a dozen times over the past two decades. From the top of the mountain you can see for 75 miles in all directions. There are parts of old wheelbarrows on the mountain top and piles of rocks and boulders that have been moved over the years in the relentless search for gold. You can feel the history. It's alive.
On one of my trips to Rich Hill, an actor friend named Dick Alexander accompanied me. Dick was a friend of Nick Nolte, Wilford Brimley and Michael Landon, the star of 'Bonanza' and producer of the 'Little House On The Prairie' television series. Dick had played a recurring role as a Catholic Priest in the series.
As we stood on top of the mountain, Dick was impressed by the grandeur of the place.
'This is real Arizona,' he said. 'You can almost feel the presence of the pioneers who discovered the gold here. The place gives me the shivers.'
I agreed. The mystery of Rich Hill will do that to you.
An aggregate of 95 percent of the show space has already been sold for the 2018 edition of Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia, a casino industry trade show and conference due to be held in Macau in May, said the organisers.
Reed Exhibitions, which co-organises the event with the casino industry trade body the American Gaming Association, promised in a Monday release new content compared to past editions, and an event layout said to be 30 percent bigger than the 2017 edition.
G2E Asia 2018 is likely to welcome an aggregate of 15,000 local and international visitors, said the promoters.
“Over the past decade, G2E Asia has improved and expanded with each successive edition, and 2018 will be no exception,” said Josephine Lee, chief operating officer of Reed Exhibitions Greater China, in a prepared statement contained in Monday’s press release.
This year, for the first time, an event called Asia Lottery Expo and Forum will be held concurrently to the main G2E Asia exhibition and conference. The organisers say it will offer a unique opportunity for gaming industry professionals to meet key people from Asia-Pacific’s fast-growing lottery industry.
Other novelties at G2E Asia 2018 include a Integrated Resort Technology and Business Solutions segment. It will focus on new products, technologies and services said to be capable of expanding non-gaming revenue in so-called integrated resorts: the new generation of large-scale, capital expenditure-heavy casino and entertainment complexes in the region.
The Digital Content and Technology segment will combine digital game developers and technology providers, and is to include a full-day forum dedicated exclusively to digital content technology.
The Parts and Components Pavilion, said to be Asia’s only trade platform dedicated to the showcase of parts and components of the electronic gaming machine manufacturing industry, is aimed at attracting research and development engineers, product designers, buyers and technical designers across all aspects of game manufacturing, including slots and electronic table games, the event organisers said.
All the content will be supported by what the organisers call “segmented e-newsletters,” social media promotion campaign and online matchmaking services for businesses and service providers.
International online gambling operator GAN announced plans to open an online casino for Ocean Resort Casino, the former Revel, in the first half of 2018.
The post GAN Announces Plans For New Ocean Resort Casino NJ Gambling Site In 2018 appeared first on NJ Gambling Sites.
Our regular readers and fellow LCB'ers already know that the annual ICE Totally Gaming conference and exhibition will be held from February 6th to 8th in London – we've covered this bit of info in previous news. What we have to share with you today is that the world-famous developer BetSoft Gaming Limited will be making their appearance at the event, at stand, S3-312.
There, BetSoft, who is renowned for delivering high-quality content to the most popular online casinos around the world, will be debuting some of their latest innovations and inventive solutions. Some of the content that will be making its official debut include the Egyptian-themed, Legend of the Nile video slot, utilizing the cutting-edge Shift platform as well as the Sugar Pop sequel.
Legend of the Nile promises unparalleled graphics, as the developer has been cited commenting that it will come with, “beautifully rendered scenery.” We can also expect to see “revolutionary game mechanics, a great example of how form and function work hand in hand.” What this means exactly, remains to be seen, but we're impatient to find out. What we can also expect to see for the first time is the new trail system that lets players “collect Gods during play,” in order to gain special awards.
Sugar Pop video slot will receive its long-awaited sequel – Sugar Pop 2: Double Dipped. It will boast new features such as the Candy Bomb event, Sweet Hammer and Jelly Bean Cannon.
Another thing that could make its debut during the London event is the announced “evolutionary gaming technology that will open the industry up to entirely new demographics.”
Prior to BetSoft’s spot at this year’s ICE event, the company's Chief Technology Officer Dan Cooper said: “BetSoft [Gaming Limited] believes in a game’s flow; the way the mathematics function, the sounds and animations, the speed in which things happen and the order in which things happen. All of these various elements play a synergistic part in the creation of a game. The closer to perfection each element becomes, the better the resulting game performance can be.”
Source:
“BetSoft Gaming Limited coming to ICE Totally Gaming”, Morgan Adam, worldcasinodirectory.com, January 28, 2018.
Nearly 2,000 people participated in a Monday gaming labour protest march in Macau, according to organiser local activist group Professional for Gaming of New Macau. The police estimated about 730 took part.
Those at the rally were demanding from local casino operator MGM China Holdings Ltd a bonus payment for non-management staff equivalent to two-months’ salary. The march passed outside MGM Cotai, the firm’s new casino resort, which is likely to open in February.
The gaming labour activist group held a gathering outside MGM Macau – MGM China’s Macau peninsula property – on Sunday afternoon, complaining about the same issue. The Sunday action concluded with the group handing in a petition to a company representative, according to Lei Man Chao, deputy director of Professional for Gaming of New Macau.
On Monday, representatives from the gaming labour activist group said it would consider new action against MGM China if the company did not meet its demands by the time MGM Cotai opens. The group also planned to meet with the Macau government’s Labour Affairs Bureau on February 6 to discuss its demands.
“From January 24 to 26, we received around 1,600 signatures from [MGM China] staff to support this cause… they are mainly working in the gaming department, or some entry positions in security, in maintenance or in food and beverage,” Mr Lei told GGRAsia ahead of Monday’s march.
In 2016 and 2017 respectively, eligible non-management employees of MGM China received a “discretionary bonus” equivalent to one month’s salary.
But Mr Lei said the MGM China casino employees that his group got in touch with would like to see a “bigger” bonus, equivalent to two months of salary.
“The other complaints that we got is that some [MGM China] gaming workers said they have been in the same post for a few years,” without any promotion and related salary increase, Mr Lei added, noting that these complaints were mainly received from supervisors and pit managers.
“MGM China values its team members and as such, accepts that individuals have the right to express their views,” a company spokesperson told GGRAsia in a written reply on Monday. “Consistent with our desire to provide a safe and positive working environment, we continue to be actively engaged in communicating directly with all our team members,” the spokesperson added.
Rival Macau casino operator Sands China Ltd announced on Friday a salary increase and discretionary bonus for eligible staff. Eligible employees that had completed at least one full year of service would receive a discretionary bonus equivalent to “at least one month’s salary” on February 13, the release stated.
Macau operator Wynn Macau Ltd said on January 10 that it was awarding what it termed a “winter bonus” – equal to one month’s gross salary – to all eligible employees, excluding senior management. Another Macau-based casino operator, SJM Holdings Ltd, has also awarded its employees a bonus – referred by the firm as a “living subsidy” – for 2018, the firm’s executive director Angela Leong On Kei told local media on January 2.
Australian casino operator Crown Resorts Ltd said in a Monday filing that its majority-owned subsidiary Alon Las Vegas Resort LLC had completed the sale of its interest in a 34.6-acre (14-hectare) vacant site (pictured) on Las Vegas Boulevard to a subsidiary of casino firm Wynn Resorts Ltd, for US$300 million.
Crown Resorts said its share of the proceeds from the disposal – a deal announced in December – was, after taking into account minority interests, approximately US$264 million.
In June 2017, Crown Resorts wrote down the carrying value of its investment in Alon to US$200 million; or US$176 million net of minority interests.
In May 2017, brokerage CBRE Group said in a press release it had been hired by Crown Resorts to sell the plot – that had been earmarked for a casino and hotel project named “Alon” – for as much as US$400 million.
The land is on the western side of Las Vegas Boulevard, opposite Wynn Las Vegas and Wynn Encore.
When the Alon project was first announced in 2014, it had been due to be led by current Crown Resorts board member James Packer, and former Wynn Resorts executive Andrew Pascal.
Since then Crown Resorts – which had made a capital commitment to the project – has undergone a significant restructuring of its finances and business model, including a scaling down of its Chinese VIP gambling business following the detention in mainland China in October 2016 of several company representatives – and the subsequent conviction and jailing of some last year – on allegations of gambling-related crimes, understood to be a reference to marketing within mainland China of casino services.
U.S.-based casino operator Wynn Resorts Ltd is to investigate the allegations of sexual misconduct made against its founder and chairman-cum-chief executive Steve Wynn (pictured in a file photo).
The firm said on Friday it would form a special committee consisting solely of independent directors to investigate the claims against Mr Wynn. It will be chaired by Patricia Mulroy, a member of the board’s corporate governance and compliance committees and a former member of the Nevada Gaming Commission, Wynn Resorts said in a statement emailed to Reuters.
The announcement of the enquiry followed an article by the Wall Street Journal detailing allegations of sexual misconduct made against Mr Wynn by former Wynn Resorts employees.
Wynn Resorts is the parent company of Macau-based casino operator Wynn Macau Ltd. Mr Wynn is also chairman and chief executive of Wynn Macau Ltd.
The Wall Street Journal article included allegations by a manicurist that allegedly received a US$7.5-million settlement from Mr Wynn after complaining he ordered her to have sex with him in 2005.
In a statement sent to media outlets in the U.S., Mr Wynn denied the allegations featured in the article.
“The idea that I ever assaulted any woman is preposterous,” Mr Wynn reportedly said. “We find ourselves in a world where people can make allegations, regardless of the truth, and a person is left with the choice of weathering insulting publicity or engaging in multi-year lawsuits. It is deplorable for anyone to find themselves in this situation.”
The sexual misconduct claims against Mr Wynn had an immediate negative impact on the stock price of Wynn Resorts. The company’s stock dropped by more than 10 percent on Friday once the story was made public.
“Despite the reaction in shares, the majority of [the] news is not new,” Deutsche Bank Securities Inc analysts Carlo Santarelli and Danny Valoy wrote on a note on Friday. “Reports of the settlement were present for some time, including as recently as the end of December when a Bloomberg article was published regarding it. We believe some of the reaction in shares… stems from the significant level of detail provided in the Wall Street Journal article, which in and of itself has likely created a somewhat emotional market response.”
They added: “We believe a substantial portion of the contents of the Wall Street Journal article were known at the company/board well in advance of [Friday]. That being said, we would not be surprised to see further follow up, and potential further revelations, as has been the case in other similar circumstances.”
Regulatory investigations underway
Both the Massachusetts Gaming Commission and Nevada Gaming Control Board have announced that they would independently investigate the allegations raised in the Wall Street Journal article, according to media reports. Wynn Resorts is developing a casino property in Boston, in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, and has gaming operations in Las Vegas, in the U.S state of Nevada.
Mr Wynn meanwhile resigned as finance chair of the Republican Party in the United States over the weekend.
In related events, investment bank Morgan Stanley and brokerage Union Gaming Securities Asia Ltd both downgraded the stock of Wynn Macau Ltd respectively to “equal weight” and “hold”.
Morgan Stanley analysts Praveen Choudhary, Jeremy An and Thomas Allen wrote in a Sunday note: “The share price [of Wynn Macau Ltd] has more than tripled since [Cotai casino resort] Wynn Palace opened its doors in August 2016. The stock and earnings could continue to rise thanks to an upcycle, and consensus remains bullish – but we expect peers to perform better from here for several reasons, including rich valuation.”
While not referring directly to the sexual misconduct claims against Mr Wynn, they added: “Management continuity is important: Wynn Macau Ltd has received a premium for its stable management and corporate structure, but could face derating if this were to change for any reason.”
Grant Govertsen from Union Gaming said in a Monday note the brokerage was downgrading the shares of Wynn Macau Ltd driven by a confluence of factors, including “uncertainty” surrounding the sexual misconduct allegations against Mr Wynn and subsequent Wynn Resorts’ board investigation announcement, and potential for a review of the Macau gaming regulator on the heels of already-announced regulatory reviews in the United States.
Brokerage Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd said in a Monday note that while it maintained “a long-term positive fundamental view” on Wynn Macau Ltd, “the dynamics surrounding the allegations, the uncertainty surrounding the outcome, and the negative news commentary that these events will continue to generate are likely to be a headwind on the stock.”
Analysts Vitaly Umansky, Zhen Gong and Cathy Huang added: “Wynn Macau Ltd stock is likely to face a significant headwind and a short-term trade off and funds may rotate out of Wynn Macau Ltd into other competitors in the near term (in particular Sands China Ltd due to U.S. investor sentiment and Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd which is perceived to operate in a similar high-end market segment).”
The world of cryptocurrencies just got another huge boost within the online gambling industry. Bitcoin.com, the number one info portal for all things Bitcoin, has had their own casino gaming platform called Bitcoin Games for a while now – it was launched in September 2017. Now, it's been significantly enhanced and broadened in that it also has a gaming portal that uses Bitcoin Cash (BCH). The sheer lightweight nature of BCH which makes transactions way faster and less expensive will make many players happy to hear this news.
BCH Games – much like its parent domain - requires no registration (so you can play anonymously if you prefer), has an expected RTP of 99%, provably fair games and instant payouts! Look forward to choosing between a hefty selection of games, too, as players are faced with a gaming catalogue containing video poker, Blackjack, Craps, Keno, Roulette, Dice and, of course, a slice of slot games for your spinning pleasure. Each game can yield instant high-stake jackpots, so it's not just fun and using revolutionary monetary technology – it can also get pretty fruitful.
Explaining the provability of their games, the portal states as follows: “The reason that we can guarantee provably fair gaming is that your web browser supplies a random number that we must incorporate into the random number generator in a provably consistent way (…) Our server first shuffles the deck, and your computer then gives us a random number that we must use to repeatedly cut the deck. Since our servers do not know what random number your computer will send, we have no way of knowing how the shuffle will look in the end.”
The games are open for players all around the world, “except for the US and few other destinations,” due to regulation restrictions. However, the portal goes on to explain that, “US residents can still play the games with test credit.”
Bitcoin Games, launched in fall of 2017, was envisioned as an, “ultimate destination for playing classic casino games with Bitcoin,” that harks back to the days of old and classic game consoles, which is somewhat stated with the very elemental looks of the website. You can easily switch between Bitcoin Games and BCH Games platforms with a clearly visible dropdown menu at the top-left side of the page.
What do you think of the new platform? Will you be using it or are you just glad that further recognition has been given throughout the gambling industry mechanisms? Shout it out in the comments below...
Source:
“Bitcoin Cash Games Arrives – Play Your Favorites Faster With BCH”, bitcoin.com, January 25, 2018.
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One of the leading exchange platforms for digital money in Japan, bitFlyer, has propelled on the old continent after receiving a license to work within the European Union. The trade presently supports BTC/EUR transactions, with an arrangement to include several different digital currencies by the end of the year. Earlier in November 2017, when Bitcoin skyrocketed to $6900+ for the first time, bitFlyer was among the busiest exchanges in the country.
Acquiring a permit to operate in the European Union has made the platform highly flexible, as it now successfully works on three different continents. The organization will be headquartered in Luxembourg as a daughter company, under the name of Bitflyer Europe S.A. Member state of the Benelux Union has issued a Payment Institution permit to the establishment via Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF).
The country’s Minister of Finance has proudly welcomed one of the Japan’s most successful startups, whose first transactions in the EU will not include any trading fees. The offer is valid throughout February and it is primarily targeted at high-volume traders.
Further development of the platform is scheduled later this year, when other cryptocurrencies such as Litecoin, Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash will be integrated. Yuzo Kano, bitFlyer’s CEO and founder, said that the regulatory status of all digital assets is fundamental for future transactions and the industry.
As part of the most efficient and profitable exchanges in Japan, the organization currently counts over 1 million users and holds the Japanese Financial Services Agency license. Its operations are widely spread in the United States too, after obtaining permits from 41 states, along with New York. Additionally, BTC transactions via this platform are also available in Illinois, Louisiana, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Nevada, and others.
Source:
“Bitflyer Launches in Europe – Now Licensed on Three Continents”, Helms Kevin, bitcoin.com, January 23, 2018.
The complete history of $2.4 billion Revel Casino in New Jersey, which was supposed to revolutionize gambling in Atlantic City, but went belly up.
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The aggregate number of Macau licensed gaming promoters, also known as junkets, is not likely to change very much this year, following a period of mergers and shutdowns, several representatives of the sector have told GGRAsia.
Data published on Wednesday by Macau’s casino regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, showed there were currently 109 licensed junkets in the market, a 13.5-percent fall from the 126 present in January 2017. The year-on-year shrinkage in the sector marks the fifth consecutive year this has happened. In January 2013, Macau had a total of 235 licensed junkets, according to official data.
In 2017 some smaller-scale junkets did not have their respective licences renewed as they had not been able to continue operations after failing to meet minimum VIP gambling turnover requirements imposed by casino operators, said Kwok Chi Chung, president of Macau’s Association of Gaming and Entertainment Promoters.
“As the gaming industry has undergone more than two years of an adjustment phase, a large reduction has been seen in the number of individual junkets,” Mr Kwok told GGRAsia.
The term “adjustment phase” has been used by the Macau government to describe a period centring on the years 2015 and 2016, when Macau gross gaming revenue contracted year-on-year, largely driven by a decline in VIP gambling. Investment analysts covering the sector have attributed most of that downward correction to an anti-graft campaign pursued in mainland China under the leadership of President Xi Jinping.
“Some of the junkets are simply not fitting the [licence] renewal conditions; while some others just give up [renewing licences],” Mr Kwok stated. He added: “While the major junket operators here have been expanding their operation venues, those smaller ones that have not been able to meet the turnover requirement were just naturally kicked out from the market.”
The trade body representative explained why he believed that the city’s total number of licensed junket operators was unlikely to undergo a “big change” in the coming year.
“Even if we are seeing a further decrease [in licensed junkets], it will not be to a great extent. The consolidation amongst the junkets here has already largely stabilised,” said Mr Kwok.
Andrew Lo Kai Bong, chief investment officer of the privately-held junket investor Suncity Group, shared a similar view.
He told GGRAsia: “After undergoing a seven- to eight-year cycle of consolidation in the local market, this [VIP gaming] industry has already grown to such a large scale that it is not easy for any new start-ups to enter it.”
The Macau government plans this year to update the regulatory framework that covers the operation of the city’s junket operators, via an amendment bill, said in December Paulo Martins Chan, the director of the gaming bureau.
According to Mr Chan, the Macau government is proposing a higher capital deposit for any licensed casino junkets newly registered in Macau. The junkets’ shareholder structure, suitability and financial strength are also areas that the government would look into with the amendment bill.
“This amendment is a positive news for the [VIP gaming] sector. That means those [junket operators] who are not financially strong or weak in management would be out,” said Mr Lo. He cited as an example of what can go wrong, “the Dore incident which has largely affected the industry’s reputation”.
In September 2015, Macau junket operator Dore Entertainment Co Ltd – which operated a number of tables at Wynn Macau on the city’s peninsula – admitted it had been a victim of internal fraud by a former employee. The junket operator however did not confirm the amount of money involved, although it was widely reported at the time that the theft involved the equivalent of many millions of U.S. dollars.
Players are in for a big suprise at Slotastic this month, as the renowned, full-featured gaming platform gets ready to launch Fu Chi video slot from Realtime Gaming. To celebrate the Chinese New Year, the operator is giving away 50 free spins on the new Asian-themed game, but only to real money depositors. The promo runs until February 4th, as well as the additional bonus.
The national holiday is otherwise called the Lunar New Year, and it represents the largest festivity in the country. Since it announces the next season, it is also known as the Spring Festival. Starting on February 16th, and accompanied by the Lantern Festival, 2018 will be the Year of the Dog. It is believed that people who are born in this year will be honest and loyal.
Fu Chi comes with five reels and amazingly beautiful symbols such as lotus blossoms, money bags and ancient calendars. As one might guess, the Lucky Dog represents the Wild. All winning combinations are doubled when this icon kicks in. Correspondingly, scatters trigger an avalanche of 50 free spins and wins are tripled if no wilds land on the reels during this period. There are also two jackpots available; a minor capped at $250 and a major offering a whopping $1,000 USD as a prize.
New year casino promos are available between January 24th and February 4th, so if you want to grab the bonus, use code, SLOTMANIA, and win up to $555 USD in reload cash. To get fifty free spins on the new title from RTG, place a $25 deposit and use FUCHI50 right afterwards.
Nobody said it would be easy, so prepare yourself for an additional challenge as moderate wagering requirements are mandatory. The good side of it all is that there are no limits on cashouts!
Two more Asian-themed slots from the same supplier will be introduced in February, so stay tuned when new promos for Shanghai Nights and Fantasy Mission Force go live.
Macau casino operator Sands China Ltd announced on Friday a salary increase and a discretionary bonus for eligible staff. The firm was the first among Macau casino operators to publicly announce a pay rise this year.
The company said in a press release it would increase salaries of employees “of eligible grades” by an average of 2.5 percent to 5 percent, with effect from March 1.
Eligible full-time employees earning up to MOP12,000 (US$1,500) per month will receive a pay increase of MOP600 per month, it stated. The casino operator said the award represented an increase of at least 5 percent for workers in that wage bracket.
The firm’s eligible employees earning more than MOP12,000 per month will receive on average an increment of 2.5 percent, Sands China said.
Sands China said the salary increase would benefit approximately 99 percent of the company’s staff. The firm currently has about 28,000 employees.
The company additionally stated that among its eligible employees, the ones that had completed at least one full year of service would receive a discretionary bonus equivalent to “at least one month’s salary” on February 13.
“Sands China is again pleased to announce a salary increase and discretionary bonus for its valued team members in appreciation of their contributions,” said Wilfred Wong Ying Wai, president of Sands China, in a statement included in the firm’s press release.
Parent Las Vegas Sands Corp announced on Wednesday that total net revenues for Sands China increased by 15.7 percent year-on-year to US$7.74 billion in full-year 2017. Net income for the Macau unit increased 31.1 percent to US$1.60 billion in 2017, compared to US$1.22 billion in 2016.
The parent company has pledged a US$1.1 billion investment for the revamp of Cotai facilities including a rebranding of Sands Cotai Central as the Londoner Macao. The changes to create the Londoner Macao would take until 2020 to complete, according to Las Vegas Sands.
In Friday’s release, Sands China’s Mr Wong said: “With the Londoner project in the pipeline, the future looks promising for us and I am confident that with the continued dedication of our team members, 2018 will be a year of success and fulfilment.”
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Macau-based gaming operator MGM China Holdings Ltd has delayed the opening of casino resort MGM Cotai (pictured) to February. The firm had previously said the property was scheduled to open on January 29.
“We put out an announcement today indicating that we will not open the doors of MGM Cotai on January 29th,” the company said in a press release on Thursday. “While still undergoing government approval process, we are now focusing on our grand opening within the month of February,” it added.
The company had said previously that the “grand opening” would take place on February 13, although the date was not confirmed in the latest release.
In a separate filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, MGM China said the overall budget of the Cotai project is expected to remain unchanged at approximately HKD27 billion (US$3.45 billion), excluding land and capitalised interest.
“We are working closely with the Macau government to bring to our community and to the public a long-awaited world class resort that takes diversified consumer experiences to a new height and that thousands of our employees feel deeply proud of,” the casino operator said in Thursday’s release.
Macau’s Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lionel Leong Vai Tac, said on Wednesday that MGM China would get 100 new-to-market live gaming tables for the opening of its MGM Cotai. The government official added that the company would be granted an additional 25 new-to-market tables on January 1, 2019.
The tables were granted only for the mass-market segment, the city’s gaming regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, confirmed to GGRAsia in an emailed statement. The regulator also approved more than 900 slot machines for operation at MGM Cotai.
MGM China has also been authorised to transfer 77 gaming tables from MGM Macau, in the city’s traditional downtown casino district, to the Cotai venue.
Market expectations
The gaming table grant for MGM Cotai is below market expectation, several analysts noted. The aggregate number of tables granted to MGM Cotai is lower than the 150 gaming tables allocated to, respectively, the Parisian Macao, developed by Sands China Ltd, and Wynn Palace, operated by Wynn Macau Ltd, two properties launched in 2016.
“We believe consensus were expecting 150 tables over the next two years and may be disappointed to get total of 125 tables,” said banking group Morgan Stanley in a Thursday note.
“One of the key reasons could be the licence expiry for SJM/MGM in March 2020. We believe once the licence extension is sorted, it is possible to see MGM China receiving more tables for this [Cotai] project,” added the institution.
The concessions of the six current Macau operators expire on various dates in either 2020 or 2022, with the respective licences of SJM Holdings Ltd and MGM China set to expire in 2020.
Commenting on the table allocation for MGM Cotai, Japanese brokerage Nomura said: “We believe limited growth in tables is positive (for both MGM and the overall market), as the supply of tables is relatively static, so there becomes a scarcity value attached to them, which should benefit those operators with the best properties, including MGM.”
The analysts noted that the lower-than-expected table allocation for MGM Cotai might not result in lower earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) estimates in 2018 and 2019.
“In regard to MGM Cotai, we believe that excess table capacity harvested from MGM Macau on the peninsula, in addition to the new tables being allocated by the government, will be enough to achieve current revenue and cash flow forecasts for the company,” said Union Gaming Securities Asia Ltd’s analyst Grant Govertsen.
Table policy
The Macau government operates a table cap policy, effective since 2013, designed to limit compound annual growth in the number of new live-dealer tables in the city’s casinos to 3 percent until the end of 2022, from a base of 5,485 tables recorded at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012.
The Macau market had 6,419 live-dealer tables as of the end of the fourth quarter – 30 fewer than at the end of the third quarter – stated the regulator in quarterly data updated on January 16.
“The government is expected to see number of tables growing at 3 percent per annum since 2012 implying 2018 table quota of 193 tables … considering MGM received only 100 tables, this is positive news for other casino/hotel openings in 2018,” Morgan Stanley noted in its Thursday memo.
Union Gaming estimates that there will still be 657 new-to-market tables to be allocated under the Macau government table cap.
“Under the assumption that SJM also gets an initial batch of 100 tables for Grand Lisboa Palace in 2019, and that the government allocates ‘catch-up’ tables to MGM and SJM after the licence situation is finalised, this would leave 482 tables in the government’s inventory,” said Union Gaming in its Wednesday note.
(Updated at 2.45pm, Jan 25)
As the five-year anniversary nears, we look back at the successes for NJ's online gambling bill after it was signed into law by then-Gov. Chris Christie.
The post Five Years Later, NJ Online Gambling Bill Signed By Chris Christie Is Considered A Success appeared first on NJ Gambling Sites.
Asian casino operator Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd announced on Wednesday changes to several key executive positions, including the departure of Macau casino industry veteran Gabriel Hunterton. Mr Hunterton had been appointed property president of casino resort City of Dreams Macau in January last year.
The firm said additionally that David Sisk – most recently president of Melco Resorts’ 60 percent-owned Macau property Studio City on Cotai – would be replacing Mr Hunterton as president of City of Dreams Macau. Mr Sisk had been appointed property president of Studio City in 2016.
The company did not disclose in Wednesday’s press release when the changes would take effect.
Commenting on Melco Resorts’ management changes, brokerage Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd said: “While Hunterton was in the role for only a year, under his leadership, the property [City of Dreams Macau] had undergone considerable operational and marketing issues in mass (premium mass in particular). Hold rate in mass has been a considerable issue partly due to operating changes introduced by Hunterton.”
The City of Dreams Macau property is undergoing a major revamp. The Crown Towers hotel tower at the property was renamed Nüwa with effect from this month.
Another accommodation facility at City of Dreams Macau – previously branded the Hard Rock Hotel – is currently operating under the name ‘The Countdown’ until March 31, and will get a new branding after that time.
A new hotel tower for City of Dreams Macau – the US$1-billion Morpheus – is due to open in the first half of 2018. The new hotel will feature approximately 780 hotel rooms, suites and villas.
Melco Resorts flagged on Wednesday several other management changes.
Geoffry Philip Andres – currently president of City of Dreams Manila in the Philippines, a venue managed by Melco Resorts – will assume the role of Studio City property president, filling Mr Sisk’s previous role. As part of the rejig, Kevin Benning has been promoted to senior vice president and chief operating officer of the Manila property, said Melco Resorts.
Commenting on the management changes, Melco Resorts chairman and chief executive Lawrence Ho Yau Lung said: “The redeployment of our senior operating management across our integrated resorts is aimed at optimising our operating excellence. We are leveraging on key individuals who all have demonstrated their expertise in managing and delivering strong growth.”
In Wednesday’s note, the Sanford Bernstein team said Melco Resorts’ management changes deserved the “benefit of the doubt”. “But we would need to see improvement at City of Dreams in 2018,” said analysts Vitaly Umansky, Zhen Gong and Cathy Huang.
They added: “City of Dreams is now a turnaround story in our view (with a catalyst coming from Morpheus) as fourth quarter will confirm considerable problems, which in our view accelerated these management changes. City of Dreams has underperformed other Melco Resorts properties since Hunterton took over in January 2017, especially in mass gross gaming revenue and mass hold rate.”
Melco Resorts reported in November net revenue of approximately US$1.38 billion for the third quarter of 2017, up nearly 19.5 percent year-on-year. The company said at the time that the improved performance “was primarily attributable to higher rolling chip revenues at City of Dreams [Macau] and the commencement of rolling chip operations at Studio City in November 2016”.
The company said in a November filing that the rolling chip win rate at City of Dreams Macau was 3.5 percent in the third quarter of 2017 versus 2.6 percent in the comparable period in 2016. The mass-market table games hold percentage was 32.3 percent in the three months to September 30 last year, compared to 34.5 percent in the prior-year period.
Management at the Jeju Shinhwa World resort say they want a “50-50” balance of gaming to non-gaming revenue. Currently the recently-launched project doesn’t have a working casino, but hopes to have one soon, subject to approval from the authorities in Jeju, the semi-autonomous South Korean island that plays host to the scheme.
“Our goal is to have a balanced revenue for the gaming and non-gaming segment…we aim to have a 50-50 contribution from these two segments for the overall project,” said David Hoon, senior vice president of the project’s promoter Hong Kong-listed Landing International Development Ltd.
The estimated investment cost for the whole Jeju Shinhwa World project is US$2.4 billion, according to Mr Hoon.
Another executive from the group had already flagged that the property did not expect to be dependent on mainland Chinese customers.
Mr Hoon stated in his remarks, referring to a Singapore casino resort run by Genting Singapore Plc: “If you look at Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore, their EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation] margin for a year is about 40 percent… our goal is to be able to achieve the same level as in Singapore, i.e., 30 to 40 percent [of EBITDA margin]. But frankly…it will have to take two to three years for the business to stabilise.”
Investment analysts covering the casino gaming business have indicated that typically, the margin on VIP gambling is smaller than that on the mass-market sort, due to issues including player general reinvestment costs, rolling chip programmes, and in many cases commissions for junkets; while margins on some non-gaming activities offered by casino resorts are in turn superior to those available on many gambling activities.
In full-year 2016, the EBITDA margin for Resorts World Sentosa was 35.9 percent, according to GGRAsia calculations based on publicly-disclosed company data.
The 627-room Jeju Shinhwa World Marriott Resort at Jeju Shinhwa World received its first guests on December 22 and is the planned venue for the casino. Landing International’s management hopes that by the end of February the hotel will have an operating gaming facility. It will be accessible only to non-Korean customers, and is likely to offer 160 gaming tables and 240 slots and electronic table games. The launch of such a facility is conditional on the local government agreeing to shift gaming rights from Landing’s existing Jeju casino hotel property, the Hyatt Regency Jeju.
Notwithstanding management comments on seeking a balance between gaming and non-gaming revenue, the scale of the foreigner-only Jeju Shinhwa World casino is unprecedented in that local market, according to Albert Lim, senior vice president of resort operations at Landing Jeju Development Co Ltd, a unit of the group.
“Each of the casinos here has about 30 to 50 gaming tables…currently there are eight operating casinos on the island,” he stated, referring to existing foreigner-only venues on the island.
Landing International is looking to open another hotel, the 538-room Shinhwa Resort Jeju Shinhwa World, and a water park at the resort complex in summer this year. The resort project promoter is also planning to launch a Four Seasons Resort and Spa by the end of 2019, which will bring the overall hotel room inventory of Jeju Shinhwa World to more than 2,000 units, according to Mr Lim.
The Four Seasons Resort and Spa, along with an outdoor theme park called Lionsgate Movie World, are for a second phase of Jeju Shinhwa World. Lionsgate Movie World is slated to be completed in 2019.
Commenting on the capital investment for the whole project, Mr Hoon stated: “We as Landing International, the Hong Kong company, have injected US$1.5 billion. So this project is substantially funded by way of shareholders’ equity. And then we also have taken some bank borrowings.”
At the briefing, Mr Hoon noted that his firm was not likely to seek a further share placement exercise for the second phase of Jeju Shinhwa World, but would instead pay for it via bank borrowings, property sales at the site and operating cash flow from phase one.
A group of 10 NJ lawmakers sent a letter to the DOJ asking the department to uphold their 2011 Wire Act decision that legalized online gambling sites.
The post New Jersey Lawmakers Double Down On Sports Betting With DOJ Letter appeared first on NJ Gambling Sites.
Emergency and other Macau government workers joined a simulation drill overnight on Monday at the Galaxy Macau casino resort operated by Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd. The government said the drill (pictured) had been designed to test the ability of public-sector departments and the local casino industry to coordinate and handle a response to major incidents. It added it was satisfied with the outcome.
Nine government departments participated in the drill, including the Unitary Police Service, the Judiciary Police, the Public Security Police Force and the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, Macau’s gaming regulator which is also known by the acronym DICJ.
The Unitary Police Service and the gaming bureau described the simulation exercise as a success in separate press releases on Tuesday.
The police press release confirmed that the two-hour-long exercise, code-named “Wolf Hunting”, took place at Galaxy Macau. The property is across the road from the main Macau barracks of the Chinese military, the People’s Liberation Army.
The exercise simulated an armed robbery in a public area, with four ‘criminals’ attacking a ‘passer-by’ before escaped into a crowded hotel lobby. Scenes of multiple injuries, a bomb threat, people being held hostage and standoffs between the police and the ‘criminals’ were involved, said the Unitary Police Service release.
During the simulation exercise, the gaming bureau also tested the “Major Incidents Emergency Communication Mechanism”, which was established last year following the deadly attack on June 2 at the Resorts World Manila casino complex in the Philippine capital.
The gaming regulator said in its Tuesday press release that the test achieved the expected results.
Macau’s Secretary for Security, Wong Sio Chak, had noted to local media in November that the government planned in the first half of 2018 to launch a “large-scale, joint contingency drill” involving local casinos and their surroundings.
The Monday drill came only days after the theft of casino chips with a face value of nearly HKD47.9 million (US$6.1 million) from the Wynn Macau casino property on the city’s peninsula operated by Wynn Macau Ltd.
The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement released the state's 2017 online gambling revenue numbers and, once again, they surpassed the previous year's.
The post NJ Online Gambling Hits Four Consecutive Years of Growth As Revenue Nears $250M appeared first on NJ Gambling Sites.
Landing International Development Ltd, the promoter of the Jeju Shinhwa World resort on South Korea’s Jeju Island, is working to attract independent travellers from North and Southeast Asia via targeted promotion campaigns, rather than relying on visitors from mainland China, says one of its executives. The management hopes that by the end of next month the property will have an operating casino available for non-Korean customers, offering 160 gaming tables and 240 slots and electronic table games. It will be at Jeju Shinhwa World Marriott Resort (pictured), one of the hotels at the new complex.
Commentary on the target market was given in comments to Chinese-language media by Albert Lim, senior vice president of resort operations at Landing Jeju Development Co Ltd, a subsidiary of the resort’s Hong Kong-listed promoter. The topic arose when he was asked about a reported Chinese ban – which has never been confirmed by officials in that country – on package tours to South Korea for mainland Chinese.
“Our strategy is to largely focus on individual travellers… our focus has also shifted to other visitor sources – Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and Southeast Asia. We are also targeting at Japan, which is a very important source market,” Mr Lim told media. He added that his firm had been working on joint promotion campaigns to that effect with the tourism authority in Jeju – a semi-autonomous region of South Korea – as well as similar campaigns with airlines and travel agents in the target markets.
Media in South Korea had previously reported that Chinese authorities had either banned Chinese tourist travel to South Korea or reduced the volume of such trade, with effect from autumn 2016 – including to Jeju, which has a number of foreigner-only casino venues. Such action was said to be in retaliation for a South Korean decision to install the U.S.-supplied Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system close to Chinese territory as a counter to North Korean missile tests.
In late December, China reportedly brought back a ban on group tours to South Korea, following reports of a partial easing of the ban at the end of November.
A purported ban on group tours from China has had “no effect” on VIP gambling at Landing’s existing Jeju casino hotel property, the Hyatt Regency Jeju, said Chris Block, executive vice president, casino, at Landing Entertainment Korea; but “on the mass side, yes,” he added.
Mr Block had previously told GGRAsia that the firm expects to have all the necessary local government approvals to relocate its existing casino in Hyatt Regency Jeju to Jeju Shinhwa World in late February.
“The groups [business] would be beneficial when it resumes,” he noted in comments specifically to GGRAsia.
David Hoon, senior vice president of Landing International, additionally told us: “As an integrated resort, yes we do target customers who love gaming; but at the same time we are also targeting customers who do not necessarily love gaming but want to spend time at the resort on non-gaming activities.”
Currently-operating facilities at Jeju Shinhwa World include: the luxury hotels Jeju Shinhwa World Landing Resort, Jeju Shinhwa World Marriott Resort and Somerset Jeju Shinhwa World; Landing Convention Centre; a K-pop themed zone called “YG Republique”; Shinhwa Theme Park, which opened at the end of September; and a shopping area branded as “Shinhwa Shoppes”.
As far as credit card conglomerates go, there is none bigger and more significant on the planet than Visa. As an institution reliant chiefly on traditional transactions and fiat currencies, it doesn't come as a big surprise that, historically, their view of Bitcoin was not in favor of cryptocurrency. Even so, Visa's representatives rarely shifted their focus to the digital currency in public and refrained from making any further comments. Until this Wednesday, when, during an interview on CNBC, Visa's chairman, Alfred Kelly, further cemented Visa's stance on Bitcoin by calling it “a speculative commodity” and saying that “it is not payment system player.”
Kelly's remarks coincide with the US Treasury's statement that cryptocurrencies are an “evolving threat,” made connections with Bitcoin and terrorism (!), soon after its value nosedived dramatically.
Visa's CEO was quite a bit more elaborate than that, it has to be said. In fact, one should admit he made some very good points. After being pressed for his angle on the cryptocurrency during a New York conference, he said: “I don’t view it as payment system player. We at Visa won’t process transactions that are cryptocurrency-based. We will only process fiat currency-based transactions.”
He went on to add: “My take is that Bitcoin is much more today a commodity that somebody could invest in; and honestly, somewhat of a speculative commodity.”
While we may think Kelly's proclamations are a sign of the rising worries that the modern banking method may endanger Visa's hegemony, facts and figures tell otherwise. It is still far away from threatening Visa in any way. Prior to this statement, Wavecrest – a Visa subsidiary – has cut off debit card services to a certain number of crypto card companies from Europe, due to “continued non-compliance with our operating rules.” Many saw this as a campaign against cryptocurrencies – however, Bitcoin was quite un-spendable for daily purchases due to very high fees and, in general, the market of digital currencies is not yet ripe to challenge the supremacy of credit card and fiat money giants such as Visa. Also, as Bitcoin.com suggests, Wavecrest processes more than 100 billion transactions per year versus Bitcoin's 130 million – a huge mismatch.
Source:
“Visa CEO: Bitcoin is Not a Payment System”, Sedgwick Kai, January 18, 2018.