GGRAsia – MGM Cotai to complement downtown venue: CEO

MGM Cotai to complement downtown venue: CEO

Aug 30, 2016 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck

Macau casino operator MGM China Holdings Ltd says it will continue to offer VIP gaming at its MGM Macau property on the peninsula, while its new Cotai project will help the company diversify further its offering.

“Rather than being separate properties, we actually look at it as a whole business,” said on Monday the chief executive of MGM China, Grant Bowie, as quoted by the Portuguese-language channel of Radio Macau.

MGM China currently operates only one property, the MGM Macau casino hotel (pictured) on Macau peninsula. The firm is building a US$3.1-billion casino resort in Macau’s Cotai district, a property which is scheduled to open in the second quarter of 2017.

Mr Bowie had said earlier this month that the Cotai property was likely to open “only with mass tables”.

On Monday, Mr Bowie said that the mass-market focus on Cotai is part of a strategy defined by the casino operator to diversify the group’s appeal to customers.

“From MGM [China’s] perspective, at this early stage, we are looking to keep our VIP business at our Macau property and continue to develop and diversify through our Cotai property,” the firm’s CEO said as quoted by Radio Macau.

He added: “We currently have VIP tables at our Macau property … we have very strong relationships with junket operators and we continue to develop that. What we must focus on is making sure we don’t … dilute the business but keep it strong and healthy.”

MGM Cotai has been developed to accommodate up to 500 gaming tables but it is not guaranteed that it will open with that many tables. “In terms of the number of tables, we all understand that the process is determined very close to [the] opening. We will continue to work with the government,” Mr Bowie told reporters.

MGM China is a subsidiary of U.S.-based MGM Resorts International. The parent company announced on August 16 that it would increase its stake in MGM China to approximately 56 percent.