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Gaming mogul Steve Wynn is worried about the licence renewal process. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Exclusive | Wynn bets big on major Macau opening but licence renewal uncertain

Gaming tycoon Steve Wynn tells Post that uncertainty reigns amid slump in casino revenue and government’s desire to diversify economy

Macau

Gaming tycoon Steve Wynn says he and his fellow Macau casino operators are in the dark and ­unable to plan for the future as the clock ticks on the city’s first ­gaming licence renewal since market liberalisation in 2001.

Days before the opening of the American’s luxury US$4.2 billion hotel-casino resort, Wynn Palace on the Cotai Strip, the 74-year-old mogul outlined his concerns as the world’s richest gaming destination finds itself at a crossroads after two years of slumping revenues and pressure to diversify the economy.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Wynn said despite “extensive” discussions with the Macau government, he was still in the dark and “certainly not able to plan ahead’’.

“You can ask me what the process of concession renewal will look like but neither me nor, as far as I am aware, any of the other concession holders, are in a position to answer you because we don’t know,” he said.

“I have talked extensively with the Macau government on the issue but find myself in the ­position where planning ahead is difficult.’’

Hong Kong-listed Wynn Macau holds one of the three main gaming concessions, with Asia’s best-known casino mogul and former monopoly operator­ ­Stanley Ho Hung-sun’s SJM and Galaxy, led by Hong Kong ­tycoon Lui Chee-woo holding the other two.

Wynn, whose second casino-resort property in Macau opens on Monday, also told the Post that despite the turbulence of recent times, he remained bullish on the Asian minnow which grabbed global gaming’s crown from Las Vegas.

A slump resulting from the combined effects of a slowing mainland economy, Beijing’s crackdown on corruption and the complications of transforming Macau from a hardcore haven for high-rolling gamblers to a mass-market tourism destination has taken none of the fizz out of Wynn’s belief in the city.

He labelled his move into China as “the greatest single event’’ in his commercial career.

Wynn also brushed off concerns about the recent allocation of fewer gaming tables for his new property, saying experience gained in the rough, tough world of 1970s gaming in Atlantic City would take care of the situation.

The tycoon described the transformation of Macau over the past decade and the casino revenues that brought as “over the moon, extraordinary, weird and unexpected’’, adding that such seismic change was bound to have “political consequences”.

“Listen, the greatest thing that ever happened to me in my life was being allowed to do business in Macau, and in China. I love it here. It has been the greatest single event in my commercial ­career. Period,” he said.

“That’s not a self-serving ­remark, that is the flat-out truth. Look at the numbers, look at the history. I have benefited from being here, my family has benefited from being here, my company has benefited.

“We have nothing but gratitude for the opportunity we have had here, and any other response would be ridiculous, irresponsible and a lie. It is that simple. I owe China, China doesn’t owe me.”

Last week shares in Wynn Macau fell more than 6 per cent after the Hong Kong-­listed company revealed it had secured fewer table licences than expected for its new resort.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: CHIPS ARE DOWN FOR u.S. Casino magnate
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