GGRAsia – Macau’s Ponte 16 to revamp VIP gaming zone: exec

Macau’s Ponte 16 to revamp VIP gaming zone: exec

Jun 09, 2017 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck

Macau casino investor Success Universe Group Ltd is revamping its gaming zones for VIP play and “high-limit” play at the casino hotel Ponte 16 (pictured), the company’s executive director and co-chairman Hoffman Ma Ho Man told GGRAsia.

Success Universe is a joint venture partner – alongside a unit of gaming operator SJM Holdings Ltd – in Ponte 16, located in the Inner Harbour district on the Macau peninsula.

“We’re drawing the plans for the revamp [of the VIP gaming and high-limit gaming zones], and along with this upgrade we are also submitting the plan for installing new smoking rooms,” Mr Ma said, noting that the completion for such revamp would take “two to three months”.

Currently, at Ponte 16, the firm has one VIP room with six gaming tables operated under an outsourced VIP gaming promoter, and a self-operated high-limit gaming zone with nine gaming tables, according to the Success Universe co-chairman.

“What we are doing is that of these nine gaming tables [in the high-limit zone], we are now allocating some of them a more luxurious environment…we are placing some of these tables in a separate room,” Mr Ma said.

When asked if any adjustments would be introduced to the minimum bet amount for its high-limit play following the completion of the revamp works, Mr Ma said the firm would consider it “in accordance to market conditions by then”. Currently, the minimum bet amount for the high-limit gaming zone at Ponte 16 stands at HKD1,000 (US$128.30) and up, he noted.

“We always aim to grow our gaming business with the market – either in line with the market or outperform it,” Mr Ma said, commenting on the prospect for his company’s gaming business for this year. The Success Universe executive expects the market-wide year-on-year expansion of gross gaming revenue (GGR) for Macau to exceed 10 percent in 2017.

Success Universe saw its share of profit relating to Ponte 16 fall by 40.3 percent year-on-year in 2016, to about HKD17.5 million. The property’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation fell by 8.7 percent year-on-year to HKD277.4 million.

Following an annual general meeting of the company held on Thursday, Mr Ma noted to Hong Kong media that the company had recently completed a two-year renovation programme for the rooms at Ponte 16′s Sofitel Macau hotel. The firm had also invested around HKD10 million to create more non-gaming facilities at the casino hotel, in order to attract a greater number of family visitors.

“The revamp of the hotel rooms does not really have a direct tie to our gaming business, but it is mainly to keep up with our high-standard [hotel] brand image,” Mr Ma told GGRAsia. The Success Universe executive had noted to Hong Kong media on Thursday that the renovation at the 400-plus room Sofitel Macau has cost no more than HKD100,000 per room.