GGRAsia – Grand Emperor Hotel Macau Ends Satellite Casino Operations June 26

Grand Emperor Hotel Macau Ending Satellite Casino Operations June 26


The Grand Emperor Hotel (pictured), a so-called “satellite” hotel-casino in downtown Macau, is due to cease gambling on June 26. It “retains” the hotel business, said its developer, the Hong Kong-listed Emperor Entertainment Hotel. Ltd, in a Friday night filing.

The casino is operated under a service agreement with Macau casino operator SJM Holdings Ltd, and the current agreement is due to expire on this date.

The Grand Emperor Hotel was launched as a hotel-casino in 2006 and was started by Albert Yeung Sau Shing, founder of Emperor International Holdings Ltd, and longtime associate of former Macau gambling monopolist Stanley Ho Hung Sun, founder of SJM Holdings. .

The decision has now been taken to cease operating the casino at the Grand Emperor Hotel “given the bleak outlook for the high-end gaming segment”, and also due to “the difficult business environment resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic”. 19 in the past two years. years, resulting in group segment losses for the year ended March 31, 2021 and the six months ended September 30, 2021”.

The company – which also runs the Inn Hotel Macau, a gambling-free establishment in Macau’s Taipa district – posted a loss of HKD 84.0 million ($10.7 million) in the six months to on September 30, according to its interim results filed in December. 10. This interim loss has nevertheless been reduced from HKD 141.8 million for the interim period in 2020.

As of September 30, 2021, the Grand Emperor Hotel had 311 rooms and casino facilities with 67 consumer gaming tables, 180 slot machines and a self-managed VIP room with 10 tables.

Gaming business up in 1 hour

During this period, mass table revenue had actually increased by 191.9% year-on-year, to HKD 108.6 million, and accounted for 72.5% of total gaming revenue.

VIP room revenue increased by 426.7% to HKD 31.6 million. Slot machine revenue increased 20.3% year-on-year to HKD 9.5 million.

The group – which also has non-gaming operations in Hong Kong – had a total of 869 employees as of September 30.

The company said it made the decision to cease gaming operations in Macau in the best interests of the company and shareholders, but nevertheless maintained a “strong and stable” financial position, with HKD 940 million. bank and cash balances, as of September 30. .

“Given the strategic position of Hong Kong and Macau within the [Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau] Greater Bay Area, the board is positive about the long-term outlook for the hospitality industry following the relaxation of anti-pandemic measures,” the company said.

Late last month, Chinese-language outlet Macau Daily News reported, citing sources it did not identify, that at least seven Macau satellite casinos – nearly 40 percent of those properties currently active in the local market – could exit the sector by the middle of the year.

Macau satellites are sites controlled by independent investors, but must rely on an existing casino licensee’s gaming license.

the new regulatory requirements Macau’s satellite casino operators – as mentioned in the city’s Gaming Law Amendment Bill – claim that satellites will still be allowed to operate in the local market. But they will each be given a three-year grace period to tie ownership of their gambling premises to one of six licensees who will be licensed to serve the Macau market over the next decade.

The bill is currently under consideration, with the final version expected to be passed by the Legislative Assembly in June.

Macau’s VIP gambling business has seen a decline in business in recent years. The trend accelerated in the part of the segment managed by the junket rather than the house, with the November detention of Alvin Chau Cheok Wa, suspected of promoting overseas cross-border gambling to customers in mainland China, and the cessation of operations of his junket brand Suncity Group.

In January this year, VIP trading saw the arrest of Levo Chan Weng Linboss of junket brand Tak Chun, suspected of being a triad leader.



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