A Canadian report has recently discovered that Australia is the biggest nation for gambling in the world. The report showed that Aussies and New Zealanders spend an average of $435 online every month.
The report has obviously been seen by some as more ammunition for online gambling to be banned in the country as it allows punters to use credit. This is to come as sad news to many Australians as added to this there have been other reports that the government is anticipated to be the next to ban online poker rooms.
20,000 adults were surveyed for the study which was conducted by the University of Lethbridge professors Robert Wood and Robert Williams.
Professor Wood said, “Australian Internet gamblers do report high average monthly gambling spending than the overall average we observed among our sample. This would suggest that Australian Internet gambler do indeed spend more on gambling compared with Internet gamblers from most other countries.”
Australian gambler, Greg Tingle, said, “This report confirms my suspicions and my own findings. Online gambling is red hot in the land down under. I think this officially marks a gold rush for the promised land.” Those who believe these finding should bring about a ban on gambling include Gerard Byre, the Salvation Army’s problem-gambling service co-coordinator, who said, “We would encourage bans on any capacity to gamble on credit and believe the Federal Government should take a lead on this. People are certainly reporting more and more sage of online gaming. We’ve got a culture in NSW where gambling is the state past time.” (Credit: Gambling Online Magazine)
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Saturday, March 28, 2009
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Thursday, March 26, 2009
Australians Are The Biggest Gamblers In The World - Gambling911 - 26th March 2009
A report out of Canada paints Australians as the biggest gambling degenerates in the world. The report, obtained exclusively by The Sunday Telegraph, shows Australian and New Zealand gamblers spend an average of $435 online every month.
This is five times what punters put through poker machines and has prompted renewed calls for bans on online gambling, which allows people to bet using credit.
The study also found the prevalence of problem gambling was up to four times higher for Internet gamblers than those who used traditional means such as poker machines.
More than 20,000 adults from 105 countries were surveyed for the study, conducted by University of Lethbridge professors Robert Wood and Robert Williams.
"Australian Internet gamblers do report higher average monthly gambling spending than the overall average we observed among our sample," Prof Wood said.
"This would suggest that Australian Internet gamblers do indeed spend more on gambling compared with Internet gamblers from most other countries."
Australian Media Man for Gambling911.com, Greg Tingle, rejoiced at the news.
"Ahoy. This report confirms my suspicions and my own findings... online gambling is red hot in the land down under... Australia. I think this officially marks a gold rush for the promised land. Our phone hasn't stopped ringing, and there's a constant stream of overseas enquires.
"The Australian government's ACMA website blacklist doesn't appear to have slowed down those seeking to make a killing down under. We're seen a trend in more .net ventures taking off and online casinos are generally keeping the "play for free" or "play for money" option. Australian newsrooms are also starting to run more stories regarding the online gambling sector and most are surprisingly balanced stories. We're gladly assisting them on (some) of the inner workings of the online casino industry." (Credit" Gambling911)
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This is five times what punters put through poker machines and has prompted renewed calls for bans on online gambling, which allows people to bet using credit.
The study also found the prevalence of problem gambling was up to four times higher for Internet gamblers than those who used traditional means such as poker machines.
More than 20,000 adults from 105 countries were surveyed for the study, conducted by University of Lethbridge professors Robert Wood and Robert Williams.
"Australian Internet gamblers do report higher average monthly gambling spending than the overall average we observed among our sample," Prof Wood said.
"This would suggest that Australian Internet gamblers do indeed spend more on gambling compared with Internet gamblers from most other countries."
Australian Media Man for Gambling911.com, Greg Tingle, rejoiced at the news.
"Ahoy. This report confirms my suspicions and my own findings... online gambling is red hot in the land down under... Australia. I think this officially marks a gold rush for the promised land. Our phone hasn't stopped ringing, and there's a constant stream of overseas enquires.
"The Australian government's ACMA website blacklist doesn't appear to have slowed down those seeking to make a killing down under. We're seen a trend in more .net ventures taking off and online casinos are generally keeping the "play for free" or "play for money" option. Australian newsrooms are also starting to run more stories regarding the online gambling sector and most are surprisingly balanced stories. We're gladly assisting them on (some) of the inner workings of the online casino industry." (Credit" Gambling911)
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Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Asian Poker Tour Announces 12 Day Macau Poker Festival, by Dan Cypra - Poker News Daily - 23rd March 2009
On August 12th, the Asian Poker Tour's (APT) Macau event will kick off from the Galaxy StarWorld Hotel and Casino, tournament officials announced on Monday. Last year, the event ran for just five days. This year, the APT has been granted permission to hold it for more than twice that length of time.
In 2008, the APT Macau Main Event guaranteed $1.5 million, which it claimed was the largest guaranteed prize pool ever offered in Asia. When the smoke cleared, 20 year-old Yevgeniy Timoshenko, who is known as "atimos" in the online poker world, grabbed $500,000 for the win. He bested players from over 40 countries in the process, including Americans Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan, who are second all-time with ten World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets behind Ultimate Bet's Phil Hellmuth. In addition, reigning WSOP Europe Main Event winner John Juanda and National Heads-Up Poker Championship victor Huck Seed were also in attendance last year.
One year ago, the tournament series was acquired by AsianLogic, which is traded on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol "ALOG." At the time of writing, it was trading up ₤0.50 on the day to ₤15.00, a jump of 3.45%. Over the past 52 weeks, the company's stock has traded in a broad range of ₤8.00 to ₤89.75. The APT's ambassadors, known as the "Poker Pack," have helped build the tour's brand name and company's stock price. They consist of Nam Le, Quinn Do, J.C. Tran, Steve Sung, David “Chino” Rheem, and Kwang Soo Lee.
The buy-in for the 2009 APT Macau Main Event will be $4,300. The action gets underway on August 19th with the first of three starting days. The final table, which will be televised, kicks off on August 23rd. APT officials will once again fly Tournament Director Matt Savage in for the event. Savage serves as the officiate of high-profile poker tournaments around the world, including the recently-completed World Poker Tour (WPT) Bay 101 Shooting Star event in San Jose. Its champion, Steve Brecher, received over $1 million for his efforts and defeated popular poker pro Kathy Liebert heads-up.
APT officials are also expecting a wide variety of side tournaments and ring games. The high-stakes HK$1,000,000 (US$130,000) cash game is expected to return. However, a press release distributed on Monday claimed, "With the APT-sponsored poker room at the Starworld now witnessing six-figure pots in games on a daily basis, the stakes will be significantly raised." A schedule of events for APT Macau was not available at press time.
APT CEO Chris Parker commented on the upcoming Macau poker tournaments, “The Asian Poker Tour Macau Festival will feature a side event schedule never seen in Asia before, including several new formats that will stir the curiosity of poker enthusiasts at all levels. We believe Asia’s first festival of poker will establish Macau as an essential stop on the international poker circuit.” Last year's event began on August 27th and ran through the 31st. This year, APT Macau begins on August 12th and concludes on the 23rd.
In 2008, the APT made waves by publicly reaching out to U.S. Olympic swimmer and eight-time gold medalist Michael Phelps, inviting him to compete free of charge. The invitation came as a result of Phelps telling his hometown newspaper, the Baltimore Sun, that he wanted to compete in the WSOP. Although Phelps did not make the flight from Beijing, the site of the 2008 Olympics, a total of 257 players made their way to Macau.
In addition to the festivities in Macau, the APT also held tournaments in January in Manila. The Main Event was won by Neil Arce, a local poker player, who earned $185,000 for his efforts. A total of 262 players turned out for the $2,700 buy-in event, which was held at the Dusit Thani Manila Hotel in Makati City. Amazingly, South Korea's own Steve Yea finished as the runner up in both the Macau and Manila Main Events for a combined $350,000.
iPoker Network rooms, Full Tilt Poker, PKR, Everest Poker, PartyPoker, 888, and Microgaming's 32Red Poker are among those that are scheduled to offer online satellites to the 2009 APT Macau event. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
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In 2008, the APT Macau Main Event guaranteed $1.5 million, which it claimed was the largest guaranteed prize pool ever offered in Asia. When the smoke cleared, 20 year-old Yevgeniy Timoshenko, who is known as "atimos" in the online poker world, grabbed $500,000 for the win. He bested players from over 40 countries in the process, including Americans Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan, who are second all-time with ten World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets behind Ultimate Bet's Phil Hellmuth. In addition, reigning WSOP Europe Main Event winner John Juanda and National Heads-Up Poker Championship victor Huck Seed were also in attendance last year.
One year ago, the tournament series was acquired by AsianLogic, which is traded on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol "ALOG." At the time of writing, it was trading up ₤0.50 on the day to ₤15.00, a jump of 3.45%. Over the past 52 weeks, the company's stock has traded in a broad range of ₤8.00 to ₤89.75. The APT's ambassadors, known as the "Poker Pack," have helped build the tour's brand name and company's stock price. They consist of Nam Le, Quinn Do, J.C. Tran, Steve Sung, David “Chino” Rheem, and Kwang Soo Lee.
The buy-in for the 2009 APT Macau Main Event will be $4,300. The action gets underway on August 19th with the first of three starting days. The final table, which will be televised, kicks off on August 23rd. APT officials will once again fly Tournament Director Matt Savage in for the event. Savage serves as the officiate of high-profile poker tournaments around the world, including the recently-completed World Poker Tour (WPT) Bay 101 Shooting Star event in San Jose. Its champion, Steve Brecher, received over $1 million for his efforts and defeated popular poker pro Kathy Liebert heads-up.
APT officials are also expecting a wide variety of side tournaments and ring games. The high-stakes HK$1,000,000 (US$130,000) cash game is expected to return. However, a press release distributed on Monday claimed, "With the APT-sponsored poker room at the Starworld now witnessing six-figure pots in games on a daily basis, the stakes will be significantly raised." A schedule of events for APT Macau was not available at press time.
APT CEO Chris Parker commented on the upcoming Macau poker tournaments, “The Asian Poker Tour Macau Festival will feature a side event schedule never seen in Asia before, including several new formats that will stir the curiosity of poker enthusiasts at all levels. We believe Asia’s first festival of poker will establish Macau as an essential stop on the international poker circuit.” Last year's event began on August 27th and ran through the 31st. This year, APT Macau begins on August 12th and concludes on the 23rd.
In 2008, the APT made waves by publicly reaching out to U.S. Olympic swimmer and eight-time gold medalist Michael Phelps, inviting him to compete free of charge. The invitation came as a result of Phelps telling his hometown newspaper, the Baltimore Sun, that he wanted to compete in the WSOP. Although Phelps did not make the flight from Beijing, the site of the 2008 Olympics, a total of 257 players made their way to Macau.
In addition to the festivities in Macau, the APT also held tournaments in January in Manila. The Main Event was won by Neil Arce, a local poker player, who earned $185,000 for his efforts. A total of 262 players turned out for the $2,700 buy-in event, which was held at the Dusit Thani Manila Hotel in Makati City. Amazingly, South Korea's own Steve Yea finished as the runner up in both the Macau and Manila Main Events for a combined $350,000.
iPoker Network rooms, Full Tilt Poker, PKR, Everest Poker, PartyPoker, 888, and Microgaming's 32Red Poker are among those that are scheduled to offer online satellites to the 2009 APT Macau event. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
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Monday, March 23, 2009
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Macau still worth a gamble: analysts - AFP - 14th March 2009
MACAU (AFP) — Half-finished casinos and dropping revenues have fueled fears that Macau's staggering growth has faltered, but analysts insist the gaming haven remains a sure long-term bet.
The former Portuguese colony has transformed itself from a sleepy backwater to a dazzling entertainment centre in the last five years, with foreign and Chinese-owned casinos sprouting up across the territory.
The city of just 550,000 now takes in more gaming revenue than Las Vegas and Atlantic City combined, thanks to the voracious gambling of Chinese visitors who have poured in from the mainland.
But worries over corruption, problem-gambling and foreign companies grabbing the spoils from China's recent economic boom led Chinese authorities to stem the flow of visitors last summer.
The tougher visa restrictions caused a sharp drop in revenue growth sparking a slew of negative stories, plummeting casino stocks and a hiatus in the city's construction boom.
But some analysts are adamant fears about Macau's demise are premature.
"Macau has been used to more than 40-percent growth -- that cannot be sustainable and a slowdown is natural," said Zeng Zhonglu, a professor in gaming economies at Macau Polytechnic Institute.
"My impression is that the economy generally is healthy."
Jonathan Galaviz, an analyst with Las Vegas-based consultancy Globalysis, said any disruption to economic growth will be temporary with Macau's performance short-term expected to fluctuate along with the Asian economy.
While gaming revenues dipped sharply over the second half of 2008, the city still raked in a total of 13.5 billion US dollars for the year, a 31 percent increase year-on-year. Revenues rose 46 percent in 2007.
Meanwhile, employment held steady in the three months to January and retail sales rose 34 percent in 2008. Gaming is a central part of the economy.
During a recent visit, there were lengthy queues at the immigration counter and the city centre jewellery and watch stores were humming with shoppers.
The tables at the Grand Lisboa, the flagship casino of local tycoon Stanley Ho, were three deep with heavy-smoking Chinese gamblers playing their favourites game of Baccarat.
But it is in the hidden world of the VIP gaming rooms where the city has suffered.
VIP revenues have played a central role in the success of Macau's economy with top casinos tussling with each other to attract high-rollers.
But many of the heaviest gamblers were Chinese government officials and the heads of state-owned companies, whose frittering away of public cash in Macau's private rooms has become a national scandal.
Unsurprisingly, official figures are not collated, but Zeng has combed through mainland media reports to establish a clearer picture.
Of the 99 cases he uncovered, he said each official or businessman lost an average of 20 million yuan (2.9 million US) on the tables.
One official lost 100 million yuan in one day in 2007, while another had to be carried out of a Macau casino as he was too weak to walk after six days and nights of constant gambling.
"The central government is highly concerned that so much money is disappearing in Macau," Zeng said.
"It leads to bribes and the theft of public funds, all of which greatly damages the government's reputation."
Glenn McCartney, a tourism academic at Macau University and local businessman, said the city had to change its business focus from VIPs to a genuine mass-market entertainment, attracting visitors from across Asia.
"I am very confident about Macau. The market is not anywhere near maturity level yet," he said.
"But Macau is not Las Vegas. If I was sitting in the marketing department of a casino firm, I would be asking what changes we have to make so we can attract more people from the mainland."
US firm Las Vegas Sands in particular is hoping China will allow more visitors in.
The most aggressive foreign investor in the city, it opened the world's biggest casino, The Venetian, in 2008.
But worsening credit markets have stalled its ventures across the world, and last November it was forced to sack 11,000 workers and halt work on a huge complex of new hotels opposite the gargantuan Venetian.
Four months later, the quiet building site remains the most potent symbol both of Macau's risks for investors, and its potential.
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The former Portuguese colony has transformed itself from a sleepy backwater to a dazzling entertainment centre in the last five years, with foreign and Chinese-owned casinos sprouting up across the territory.
The city of just 550,000 now takes in more gaming revenue than Las Vegas and Atlantic City combined, thanks to the voracious gambling of Chinese visitors who have poured in from the mainland.
But worries over corruption, problem-gambling and foreign companies grabbing the spoils from China's recent economic boom led Chinese authorities to stem the flow of visitors last summer.
The tougher visa restrictions caused a sharp drop in revenue growth sparking a slew of negative stories, plummeting casino stocks and a hiatus in the city's construction boom.
But some analysts are adamant fears about Macau's demise are premature.
"Macau has been used to more than 40-percent growth -- that cannot be sustainable and a slowdown is natural," said Zeng Zhonglu, a professor in gaming economies at Macau Polytechnic Institute.
"My impression is that the economy generally is healthy."
Jonathan Galaviz, an analyst with Las Vegas-based consultancy Globalysis, said any disruption to economic growth will be temporary with Macau's performance short-term expected to fluctuate along with the Asian economy.
While gaming revenues dipped sharply over the second half of 2008, the city still raked in a total of 13.5 billion US dollars for the year, a 31 percent increase year-on-year. Revenues rose 46 percent in 2007.
Meanwhile, employment held steady in the three months to January and retail sales rose 34 percent in 2008. Gaming is a central part of the economy.
During a recent visit, there were lengthy queues at the immigration counter and the city centre jewellery and watch stores were humming with shoppers.
The tables at the Grand Lisboa, the flagship casino of local tycoon Stanley Ho, were three deep with heavy-smoking Chinese gamblers playing their favourites game of Baccarat.
But it is in the hidden world of the VIP gaming rooms where the city has suffered.
VIP revenues have played a central role in the success of Macau's economy with top casinos tussling with each other to attract high-rollers.
But many of the heaviest gamblers were Chinese government officials and the heads of state-owned companies, whose frittering away of public cash in Macau's private rooms has become a national scandal.
Unsurprisingly, official figures are not collated, but Zeng has combed through mainland media reports to establish a clearer picture.
Of the 99 cases he uncovered, he said each official or businessman lost an average of 20 million yuan (2.9 million US) on the tables.
One official lost 100 million yuan in one day in 2007, while another had to be carried out of a Macau casino as he was too weak to walk after six days and nights of constant gambling.
"The central government is highly concerned that so much money is disappearing in Macau," Zeng said.
"It leads to bribes and the theft of public funds, all of which greatly damages the government's reputation."
Glenn McCartney, a tourism academic at Macau University and local businessman, said the city had to change its business focus from VIPs to a genuine mass-market entertainment, attracting visitors from across Asia.
"I am very confident about Macau. The market is not anywhere near maturity level yet," he said.
"But Macau is not Las Vegas. If I was sitting in the marketing department of a casino firm, I would be asking what changes we have to make so we can attract more people from the mainland."
US firm Las Vegas Sands in particular is hoping China will allow more visitors in.
The most aggressive foreign investor in the city, it opened the world's biggest casino, The Venetian, in 2008.
But worsening credit markets have stalled its ventures across the world, and last November it was forced to sack 11,000 workers and halt work on a huge complex of new hotels opposite the gargantuan Venetian.
Four months later, the quiet building site remains the most potent symbol both of Macau's risks for investors, and its potential.
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Thursday, March 12, 2009
Macao’s casino jobs are no longer a safe bet, by Justine Lau - Financial Times - 12th March 2009
On a Saturday afternoon in early February, Ng Wai-lok felt very nervous when he could not find a parking space outside the Macau Tower, a convention and entertainment centre.
As well as worrying about what to do with his car, he also felt anxious about the large number of people all apparently going to the same event a recruitment fair hosted by Melco Crown Entertainment, one of Macao’s six casino operators.
When I saw so many cars, I knew that there would be lots of people, lots of competition for jobs, ” says Mr Ng, 22, who hopes to become a card dealer.
Mr Ng is one of the 9,000 people who attended the two-day job fair, which offered 5,000 positions at the City of Dreams, Melco Crown’s latest casino, scheduled to open in the first half of this year. The large number of attendees is a vivid reminder of the increasing difficulty of finding jobs in the enclave.
Just a few years ago, after Macao liberalised its gambling sector and allowed foreign gaming companies, including Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts, to set up casinos, the territory became a typical employee-driven job market.
Workers would leave to join another company for just a few hundred more Macanese patacas every month and the unemployment rate dropped from 6.3 per cent in 2002 to 2.8 per cent in the second quarter of 2008, although it rose to 3.3 per cent in the period from October to December.
Salaries in Macao jumped more than 50 per cent from a median of about 5,100 patacas ($640) in the third quarter of 2004 to 8,000 patacas in the third quarter of 2008, led by rises in the construction and gaming sectors.
Finding employees became the biggest headache for companies across all industries.
Whenever company executives got together, they talked about hiring, ” says Jennifer Liao, general manager at MacauHR, a recruitment agency.
But, companies began to lay off staff last year under the combined effects of the spreading global financial crisis and restrictions on the ease with which citizens in neighbouring Guangdong province could travel to Macao aimed at taming explosive growth in the gaming industry.
About 11,000 construction workers lost their jobs in November, after the Las Vegas Sands stopped work at some of its sites.
A month later, Melco Crown asked its 3,200 staff at Crown Macau, its casino hotel, to take two or three days unpaid leave each month and offered them an option to take sabbatical leave. Galaxy Entertainment, Melco Crown’s rival, announced pay cuts in January.
The financial tsunami is hitting every economy. Its influence on the Macao recruitment market is beginning to show,” says the labour affairs bureau.
We would not rule out the possibility that some companies may have to cut pay or jobs.”
The falling demand for staff is also affecting the 92,000 foreigners working in the former Portuguese colony.
Since growth in Macao speeded up in the past few years, Macao has become a prime destination for foreigners looking for jobs. More than half of its overseas workers are from China, who are mainly employed in the construction sector.
The Philippines and Hong Kong also provide more than 10,000 foreign workers each.
Their situation has been made difficult by growing pressure to protect jobs for local people. The government has made it clear that it will reduce the number of foreign casino workers by various measures, such as not renewing their work permits. Operators are also keen to hire more locals.
With deep roots in Macao, we are committed to having more than 50 per cent of core managerial positions in our group companies ... held by locals within the next three years,” says Akiko Takahashi, chief human resources officer at Melco Crown.
While this looks bad for job seekers, human resources consultants say that the slowdown could be good for Macao, because it gives the territory some breathing space.
Ms Liao says: “Previously, growth was too fast and the available workforce simply could not meet demand. This cooling-off period is a good opportunity for businesses and government to implement the necessary training schemes and legislation – and this looks to be happening.
Companies can start looking at their strategies for improving their infrastructures to support this growth.
The slowing of the gaming industry, meanwhile, is making it easier for employers in other sectors to hire staff.
China Construction Bank (Asia), the Hong Kong and Macao arm of one of the country’s largest lenders, plans to hire between 20 and 24 people when it opens two branches in Macao this year.
The bank, which has six outlets in the territory employing more than 100 staff, says it expects to have more candidates to select from, as a result of the the economic situation.
In the past, it was very difficult to hire people in particular frontline staff.
We expect more applications this year, says Charles Ma, president and chief executive at CCB (Asia). (Credit: Financial Times)
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As well as worrying about what to do with his car, he also felt anxious about the large number of people all apparently going to the same event a recruitment fair hosted by Melco Crown Entertainment, one of Macao’s six casino operators.
When I saw so many cars, I knew that there would be lots of people, lots of competition for jobs, ” says Mr Ng, 22, who hopes to become a card dealer.
Mr Ng is one of the 9,000 people who attended the two-day job fair, which offered 5,000 positions at the City of Dreams, Melco Crown’s latest casino, scheduled to open in the first half of this year. The large number of attendees is a vivid reminder of the increasing difficulty of finding jobs in the enclave.
Just a few years ago, after Macao liberalised its gambling sector and allowed foreign gaming companies, including Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts, to set up casinos, the territory became a typical employee-driven job market.
Workers would leave to join another company for just a few hundred more Macanese patacas every month and the unemployment rate dropped from 6.3 per cent in 2002 to 2.8 per cent in the second quarter of 2008, although it rose to 3.3 per cent in the period from October to December.
Salaries in Macao jumped more than 50 per cent from a median of about 5,100 patacas ($640) in the third quarter of 2004 to 8,000 patacas in the third quarter of 2008, led by rises in the construction and gaming sectors.
Finding employees became the biggest headache for companies across all industries.
Whenever company executives got together, they talked about hiring, ” says Jennifer Liao, general manager at MacauHR, a recruitment agency.
But, companies began to lay off staff last year under the combined effects of the spreading global financial crisis and restrictions on the ease with which citizens in neighbouring Guangdong province could travel to Macao aimed at taming explosive growth in the gaming industry.
About 11,000 construction workers lost their jobs in November, after the Las Vegas Sands stopped work at some of its sites.
A month later, Melco Crown asked its 3,200 staff at Crown Macau, its casino hotel, to take two or three days unpaid leave each month and offered them an option to take sabbatical leave. Galaxy Entertainment, Melco Crown’s rival, announced pay cuts in January.
The financial tsunami is hitting every economy. Its influence on the Macao recruitment market is beginning to show,” says the labour affairs bureau.
We would not rule out the possibility that some companies may have to cut pay or jobs.”
The falling demand for staff is also affecting the 92,000 foreigners working in the former Portuguese colony.
Since growth in Macao speeded up in the past few years, Macao has become a prime destination for foreigners looking for jobs. More than half of its overseas workers are from China, who are mainly employed in the construction sector.
The Philippines and Hong Kong also provide more than 10,000 foreign workers each.
Their situation has been made difficult by growing pressure to protect jobs for local people. The government has made it clear that it will reduce the number of foreign casino workers by various measures, such as not renewing their work permits. Operators are also keen to hire more locals.
With deep roots in Macao, we are committed to having more than 50 per cent of core managerial positions in our group companies ... held by locals within the next three years,” says Akiko Takahashi, chief human resources officer at Melco Crown.
While this looks bad for job seekers, human resources consultants say that the slowdown could be good for Macao, because it gives the territory some breathing space.
Ms Liao says: “Previously, growth was too fast and the available workforce simply could not meet demand. This cooling-off period is a good opportunity for businesses and government to implement the necessary training schemes and legislation – and this looks to be happening.
Companies can start looking at their strategies for improving their infrastructures to support this growth.
The slowing of the gaming industry, meanwhile, is making it easier for employers in other sectors to hire staff.
China Construction Bank (Asia), the Hong Kong and Macao arm of one of the country’s largest lenders, plans to hire between 20 and 24 people when it opens two branches in Macao this year.
The bank, which has six outlets in the territory employing more than 100 staff, says it expects to have more candidates to select from, as a result of the the economic situation.
In the past, it was very difficult to hire people in particular frontline staff.
We expect more applications this year, says Charles Ma, president and chief executive at CCB (Asia). (Credit: Financial Times)
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Monday, March 02, 2009
Freebies down 5 percent at Atlantic City casinos
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — The latest casualty of the economic meltdown: casino comps, the freebies handed out to gamblers to keep them happy and coming back for more at Atlantic City's 11 casinos.
Total comps fell by nearly 5 percent last year, to $1.55 billion.
Analysts say the decline in freebies was an unavoidable consequence of the sputtering economy. At the same time, stiff competition from slots parlors in Pennsylvania and New York have been attracting gamblers who once had little choice but to come to Atlantic City.
Casino analyst Joe Weinert expects the trend to last well into 2010 as casinos focus their promotional cash on bigger fish, leaving mom-and-pop gamblers with fewer freebies.
"It's a conscious decision to cut back," he said. "They have to target their cash very carefully and cut out the low-end customers. They're being very careful about how they're throwing those free dollars around."
It just doesn't make sense for a casino to send free buffet coupons or show tickets worth $25 or $30 to gamblers whose past level of play shows their likely loss at the casino would be about $50, Weinert said.
Spending at casinos — including how much is wagered and how much is won and lost — is closely tracked at each casino through loyalty cards, also referred to as player's club cards.
For all of 2008, revenues at the Atlantic City casinos fell 7.6 percent, to $4.55 billion.
The seaside gambling resort — America's second-largest after Las Vegas — is now in its third year of a revenue decline that started in early 2007 with the opening of slots parlors in the Philadelphia suburbs.
That was a market that had been Atlantic City's exclusive territory since casino gambling began here in 1978.
The comp situation continued to be disappointing for gamblers last month: January's promotional spending declined 3.2 percent, to $115.4 million, compared to the same period in 2008.
Comp spending was down at seven of the 11 Atlantic City casinos last month.
Nicholas Ribis, co-owner of Resorts Atlantic City, New Jersey's first casino and one that's trying to stave off foreclosure by its lender this month, says comps were part of what the casino had to cut back on in order to save money.
In testimony last month before the state Casino Control Commission, he said Resorts had been giving away "too much food, too much drink, too much everything."
This January, Resorts gave away $6.3 million in comps; last January, it handed out $7.8 million.
Other declines: Bally's Atlantic City went from $15 million in comps last January to $11.3 million this year; Caesars Atlantic City went from $12.4 million to $11.1 million this year; and the Showboat Casino Hotel went from $9 million to $8 million.
Trump Marina, which is in the process of being sold and wants to trim its expenses to make it as attractive as possible to new owners, went from $6.5 million last January to $5.6 million this year, and Trump Plaza Hotel Casino went from $7 million last January to $6.1 million this year.
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Total comps fell by nearly 5 percent last year, to $1.55 billion.
Analysts say the decline in freebies was an unavoidable consequence of the sputtering economy. At the same time, stiff competition from slots parlors in Pennsylvania and New York have been attracting gamblers who once had little choice but to come to Atlantic City.
Casino analyst Joe Weinert expects the trend to last well into 2010 as casinos focus their promotional cash on bigger fish, leaving mom-and-pop gamblers with fewer freebies.
"It's a conscious decision to cut back," he said. "They have to target their cash very carefully and cut out the low-end customers. They're being very careful about how they're throwing those free dollars around."
It just doesn't make sense for a casino to send free buffet coupons or show tickets worth $25 or $30 to gamblers whose past level of play shows their likely loss at the casino would be about $50, Weinert said.
Spending at casinos — including how much is wagered and how much is won and lost — is closely tracked at each casino through loyalty cards, also referred to as player's club cards.
For all of 2008, revenues at the Atlantic City casinos fell 7.6 percent, to $4.55 billion.
The seaside gambling resort — America's second-largest after Las Vegas — is now in its third year of a revenue decline that started in early 2007 with the opening of slots parlors in the Philadelphia suburbs.
That was a market that had been Atlantic City's exclusive territory since casino gambling began here in 1978.
The comp situation continued to be disappointing for gamblers last month: January's promotional spending declined 3.2 percent, to $115.4 million, compared to the same period in 2008.
Comp spending was down at seven of the 11 Atlantic City casinos last month.
Nicholas Ribis, co-owner of Resorts Atlantic City, New Jersey's first casino and one that's trying to stave off foreclosure by its lender this month, says comps were part of what the casino had to cut back on in order to save money.
In testimony last month before the state Casino Control Commission, he said Resorts had been giving away "too much food, too much drink, too much everything."
This January, Resorts gave away $6.3 million in comps; last January, it handed out $7.8 million.
Other declines: Bally's Atlantic City went from $15 million in comps last January to $11.3 million this year; Caesars Atlantic City went from $12.4 million to $11.1 million this year; and the Showboat Casino Hotel went from $9 million to $8 million.
Trump Marina, which is in the process of being sold and wants to trim its expenses to make it as attractive as possible to new owners, went from $6.5 million last January to $5.6 million this year, and Trump Plaza Hotel Casino went from $7 million last January to $6.1 million this year.
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Sunday, March 01, 2009
INSIDE GAMING: Casinos may have to profit or perish, by Howard Stutz - Las Vegas Review-Journal - 1st March 2009
Wall Street is suggesting the unthinkable. Strip casino operators might actually close under-performing resorts because it makes sense in the current economic environment.
JPMorgan gaming analyst Joe Greff posed the concept to Wynn Resorts Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Steve Wynn during a conference call when the company was explaining cost cuts of $75 million to $100 million. Greff wondered whether the competition might reduce capacity.
Wynn pondered the notion, but wouldn't speculate.
Macquarie Research gaming analyst Joel Simkins thoroughly addressed the idea in a Feb. 20 investors report. He said the casino industry could downsize operations in the way other consumer-service businesses have.
"The sector stands on the precipice of a shake-out and capacity rationalization," Simkins said. "It is reasonable to assume that 5 to 10 percent of the excess supply in the industry could be shuttered in one to three years."
Simkins focused speculation on older resorts hurt by recent development and new competition.
Last week, rumblings surfaced that Harrah's Entertainment might consider closing the Imperial Palace. The aging casino was purchased in 2005 for $370 million as a potential tear-down. That was before the down economy scrapped the company's east Strip redevelopment plans.
The transfer of the "Legends in Concert" show to Harrah's after 26 years at the Imperial Palace took away the casino's biggest draw and fueled conjecture.
Harrah's spokeswoman Jacqueline Peterson quashed the rumors, however, saying the Imperial Palace "is doing very, very well."
Simkins didn't name resorts; he just proposed the idea. Older casinos can't compete, he said, no matter how much money is invested in new games and equipment.
"The closure of casinos would be a negative short-term headline," Simkins said. "This cleansing of the system will ultimately benefit the remaining, stronger operators when the turnaround comes."
***
You might remember my brother Craig's business partner whom I dubbed "Uncle Steve." He's the $10,000 line of credit casino customer I profiled in January who is avoiding Las Vegas because the souring economy has shrunk his gambling budget.
The downturn has cost Las Vegas the business of thousands of Uncle Steves.
A family issue brought my Uncle Steve back to Las Vegas this week. But it wasn't the usual trip. Instead of his typical free room at the MGM Grand, Uncle Steve spent three nights at the Suncoast. Using a half-off special from Travelocity.com, the room cost only $32 a night. Gambling was not budgeted.
The times have changed. (Credit: Las Vegas Review-Journal)
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JPMorgan gaming analyst Joe Greff posed the concept to Wynn Resorts Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Steve Wynn during a conference call when the company was explaining cost cuts of $75 million to $100 million. Greff wondered whether the competition might reduce capacity.
Wynn pondered the notion, but wouldn't speculate.
Macquarie Research gaming analyst Joel Simkins thoroughly addressed the idea in a Feb. 20 investors report. He said the casino industry could downsize operations in the way other consumer-service businesses have.
"The sector stands on the precipice of a shake-out and capacity rationalization," Simkins said. "It is reasonable to assume that 5 to 10 percent of the excess supply in the industry could be shuttered in one to three years."
Simkins focused speculation on older resorts hurt by recent development and new competition.
Last week, rumblings surfaced that Harrah's Entertainment might consider closing the Imperial Palace. The aging casino was purchased in 2005 for $370 million as a potential tear-down. That was before the down economy scrapped the company's east Strip redevelopment plans.
The transfer of the "Legends in Concert" show to Harrah's after 26 years at the Imperial Palace took away the casino's biggest draw and fueled conjecture.
Harrah's spokeswoman Jacqueline Peterson quashed the rumors, however, saying the Imperial Palace "is doing very, very well."
Simkins didn't name resorts; he just proposed the idea. Older casinos can't compete, he said, no matter how much money is invested in new games and equipment.
"The closure of casinos would be a negative short-term headline," Simkins said. "This cleansing of the system will ultimately benefit the remaining, stronger operators when the turnaround comes."
***
You might remember my brother Craig's business partner whom I dubbed "Uncle Steve." He's the $10,000 line of credit casino customer I profiled in January who is avoiding Las Vegas because the souring economy has shrunk his gambling budget.
The downturn has cost Las Vegas the business of thousands of Uncle Steves.
A family issue brought my Uncle Steve back to Las Vegas this week. But it wasn't the usual trip. Instead of his typical free room at the MGM Grand, Uncle Steve spent three nights at the Suncoast. Using a half-off special from Travelocity.com, the room cost only $32 a night. Gambling was not budgeted.
The times have changed. (Credit: Las Vegas Review-Journal)
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