It has already created a replica Venice and copycat Eiffel Tower in Macau — now gaming giant Sands China Ltd (金沙中國) has announced it will bring London to the enclave.
The firm, run by billionaire Sheldon Adelson, is to invest more than US$1.1 billion in Macau over the next three years, most of which will be spent turning its current casino resort Sands Cotai Central into The Londoner.
The new concept will include “some of London’s most recognizable landmarks,” said a statement from Sands China, which is a 70 percent-owned unit of Las Vegas Sands Corp.
The Londoner would accommodate more overnight guests than the firm’s Venetian and Parisian resorts combined, Adelson said on an analysts call on the company’s third-quarter results.
“Having three iconic must-see European third destination resorts, with a broad range of amenities, will strengthen our marketing and customer-service capabilities, and position us to grow faster than the Macau market and every segment, of both the top line and the bottom line in the years ahead,” he said.
Sands China will also expand its Four Seasons Hotel on the Cotai strip, opening an additional 295 new suites.
The announcement comes as Macau undergoes a renaissance, with gaming revenues bouncing back after being hit hard by a Beijing corruption crackdown launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in 2012.
“While we have invested over US$13 billion in Macau since 2002 ... we see tremendous future opportunity in the Macau market as it continues to grow and evolve,” the statement said.
Macau has come under pressure from Chinese authorities to diversify away from gambling, and in response, major players have poured their resources into “integrated resorts” offering everything from fine dining to theme park rides as they looked to compensate for the decline in high rollers.
The appeal to mass market has helped stabilize revenues and some big spenders have also returned.
Monthly gaming revenue in Macau has been on the up for more than a year, rising 16 percent last month.
Sands China’s announcement came as part of its third-quarter results which charted year-on-year net profit of US$403 million, up 24.4 percent on the same period last year. Revenue climbed 12.2 per cent to US$1.93 billion.
The Parisian Macao, which opened in September last year, continued to be a chief driver of results, with increased gaming wins from casual gamblers and betting volume.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
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