Macau welcomes another new casino resort

Parisian Macao Hotel Resort became the latest Sands China casino to be operating in Macau when it officially opened on Tuesday.

As has been commonplace with casino openings in Macau, other forms of entertainment accompanied the opening, including pyrotechnics and a lightshow at the integrated resort’s recreation of the Eiffel Tower. Belgian singer Lara Fabian and Hong Kong actress and pop star Karen Mok performed at the ceremony.

Opening a new casino in the special administrative region brings with it some risk at what has been a difficult time for the market, which finally ended its run of consecutive months of year-on-year casino gross revenue declines on 26 with August’s result of 18.84bn patacas (£1.79bn), up 1%.

Sands China’s net revenues from Macau properties went down 17% year-on-year to $1.44bn for the second quarter of 2016, and by 12% to $3.05bn for the six months ended 30 June.

The Sands China division of Las Vegas Sands (LVS) now operates five casinos, with Venetian Macao, Sands Cotai Central, Four Seasons Hotel Macao and Plaza and Sands Macao being the other four.

On the opening of the Parisian Macao, LVS Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson said: “Before our very eyes, Macao is making a similar transition to the one it took Las Vegas decades to make, evolving from a destination only suited for gaming customers, to an environment which still provides a safe and reputable gaming experience, but also offers a wide variety of activities, attractions and amenities for people of all backgrounds, income levels and interests.”

Despite the problems the market has encountered, it has still seen a number of grand openings for integrated resort openings in the past year. The opening of the Parisian Macao follows the official launch of Wynn Palace in August and Melco Crown Entertainment’s Studio City casino resort last November.

According to the Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, there were 36 casinos operating in Macau in the second quarter and the number has not declined, despite the market’s recent troubles.