Monaco, Europe's tiny gambling paradise, is seeking to tap the huge Chinese appetite for games of chance in a new promotional drive -- one that targets the highest of the high-rollers.
The Societe des Bains de Mer (SBM), the principality's gaming monopoly, has launched a hunt for China's wealthiest punters and is even laying on complimentary all-inclusive travel and accommodation packages to get them to its famed casino.
"This is more haute couture than pret-a-porter," the head of the SBM, Bernard Lambert, said.
"We're not looking to attract the mass market. We have a selection of big-time gamblers who, right now, are going to Las Vegas and Macau," he said.
To get those rich and risk-loving Chinese jetting into Monaco, the Mediterranean mini-state has recently been sending agents into exclusive country clubs, golf clubs and cigar dens in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Beijing to identify likely "guests."
Specialized magazines have also been pored over, with the ideal targets being Chinese entrepreneurs who gamble a million or more at the felt-topped tables.
They will be the ones to benefit from the full red-carpet treatment. But, initially at least, Monaco is also prepared to lure smaller fish.
"We have an aggressive complimentary package treatment starting from [those who wager] 15,000 euros [US$19,000]," SBM marketing director Axel Hoppenot said.
By aiming at the exclusive end of the market, Monaco hopes to differentiate its campaign from other gambling destinations which are also hungrily wooing China's newly affluent gamblers.
But the competition is fierce. China's Macau region is investing heavily to remain the preferred destination for Chinese punters, Las Vegas has long been catering to Chinese gamblers and even Singapore in planning a US$3.6 billion casino complex to get in on the game.
Still, some experts believe the burgeoning wealth and travel options for Chinese mean there are plenty of gamblers to go around -- and that Monaco is uniquely suited to attracting the cream of the crop.
"Monaco has a worldwide reputation for gambling. It has always been about the mega-rich being seen in exclusive surroundings," said professor Mark Griffiths, a British expert on gambling at Nottingham Trent University.
"If anyone can get the ultra-rich Chinese high-rollers in, Monaco can," he said.
He added, though, that the little principality tucked into the southern coast of France near Italy could not count on loyalty.
"High-rollers don't restrict themselves to just one place," Griffiths said.
Monaco's appeal -- including security and five-star European luxury -- has already attracted some Chinese players, and authorities boasted they are visiting in increasing numbers.
There were 1,400 who checked into the ritzy hotels in the first half of last year, an 11 percent rise over the same period a year earlier, said Michel Bouquier, the head of the tourism office.
Most of the Chinese entering the casino -- nine out of 10, Lambert said -- play "punto banco," a form of the baccarat card game that involves only chance.
The principality is not putting all its money on just one spin of the roulette wheel, however.
The SBM head said it was also about to branch out into that other burgeoning economy -- India. Representatives were soon to be sent to Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.
A few things were already known about those potential new clients, namely that Indians prefer to wager in October, considered a month blessed by the gods and the stars, and that they have a penchant for three-card poker.
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
RSS