Mar 31, 2020 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck  
Leading Macau junket business Suncity Group has confirmed to GGRAsia that its senior managers are to have their pay cut as the brand addresses the financial impact of the novel coronavirus emergency on its VIP gambling business.
The pay cuts – a voluntary initiative which covers a two-month period – applies to Suncity Group’s Macau-based VIP operations’ management personnel at “assistant director and above”, a Suncity Group spokesperson confirmed to GGRAsia in an email. The scale of such cuts was not specified, not the precise time frame.
The junket firm also told us that employees within its Macau-based VIP operations will need to take some unpaid leave. For any 30-day period off they elect to take during April and May, they will only be paid for half of it.
The news comes against the background of the Macau government’s firm stance in asking the casino sector to avoid where possible redundancies during the coronavirus-influenced downturn. The local authorities have previously urged the city’s six gaming licensees to fulfil their “social responsibilities” by not imposing lay-offs or forcing pay cuts since the onset of an unprecedented 15-day shutdown of casinos in early February.
In recent commentary to GGRAsia, Kwok Chi Chung, the president of the Macau Association of Gaming And Entertainment Promoters – a trade body for the junket sector – said its members had been trying “their best” to answer the Macau government’s call.
But Mr Kwok highlighted the mounting operational challenges that the Macau junket sector had been encountering, as visitor numbers to the VIP gaming rooms had been greatly reduced amid the ongoing virus alert. He also highlighted the possibility of a scaling down in the number of VIP gaming rooms amongst bigger local junket operators, while small scale VIP gaming operators in the city might close their business.
May 10, 2023
May 02, 2023
Jun 01, 2023
Jun 01, 2023
Jun 01, 2023
Casino equipment maker Sega Sammy Creation Inc is tweaking its market approach in the land-based segment, in terms of manufacturing and sales, says Naoki Kameda (pictured, left), the firm’s...Jun 01, 2023
Casino equipment maker Sega Sammy Creation Inc is tweaking...Jun 01, 2023
The iGaming segment in Asia “has grown rapidly” since...May 31, 2023
Showing slot machine players – via animations on the...May 31, 2023
Macau stocks in likelihood “have been punished too much...May 31, 2023
There are foreign companies still interested in investing...May 31, 2023
Thailand could pass the necessary enabling legislation for...May 30, 2023
China will remain a key market for Asian gaming...May 30, 2023
Alejandro Tengco (pictured in a file photo), chairman and...May 30, 2023
There are “plenty of reasons” for the global gaming...May 30, 2023
Gaming equipment provider International Game Technology Plc...May 30, 2023
The Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2023 Special Edition:...May 29, 2023
Austria-based gaming equipment maker and operator Novomatic...May 25, 2023
Sports betting and online casino operating platform...May 24, 2023
The business performance in Asia of gaming content and...May 18, 2023
The organisers of Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2023...May 17, 2023
Gaming content and equipment supplier Light & Wonder...May 16, 2023
Casino equipment maker Sega Sammy Creation Inc is to...May 09, 2023
Casino slot machine and digital gaming content provider...May 05, 2023
The Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia event in Singapore is the...May 04, 2023
An adviser to a Thailand parliamentary committee mulling...(Click here for more)
”We’re interested [in entering Thailand], we’re looking… but it’s early days”
Robert Goldstein
Chairman and chief executive of casino operator Las Vegas Sands