Adelson worries Ho's words could hurt Venetian

Adelson worries Ho's words could hurt Venetian

The Las Vegas Sands Corp (LVS) chief is worried that an attempt by his Chinese rival to provoke anti-American sentiment could hurt his company's operations in Macau, according to yesterday's Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

In several addresses to business groups last month, gaming mogul and political figure Stanley Ho called on Macau people to "unite against" the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, the towering casino that LVS opened in August 2007 after the Sands Macao.

"We are Chinese. We should unite against foreign capital. We cannot keep silent. If not, the foreign capital will bully us," Ho said in a February 9 speech.

Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson says he believes his company's growing presence in the market has unnerved Mr. Ho, the WSJ reported.
Sands is depending on Macau to provide relief as U.S. consumers drastically cut spending at the company's Las Vegas properties, the report added.

But revised travel curbs to Macau imposed by the Chinese government restricted how often mainlanders from prosperous Guangdong province can visit the SAR and these restrictions have led to a decrease in gambling revenues.

Adelson says anti-American sentiment could lead to a backlash that would make things even worse for U.S. casino operators in Macau.
"You never know the effect his words could have," Adelson said in a phone interview to the WSJ.

Ho held a gambling monopoly in Macau until February 2002, when the Macau government liberalised the gaming market and granted three concession to Ho's Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM), Galaxy Casino, S.A. and Wynn Resorts (Macao) S.A.

In December 2002, the SAR government had made an alteration on the Galaxy's Concession Contract to allow the company to have a sub-concession relationship with the Venetian Macao S.A.

Following the issuance of the first sub-concession, SJM and Wynn Resorts Ltd. also signed a sub-concessions with MGM Grand Paradise, S.A. and Melco PBL Jogos (Macau), S.A. (now known as Melco Crown Entertainment) the first in April 2005 and the second in September 2006.

Since then, a battle for Asia's high rollers and mass-market business began in earnest among Ho and the U.S. operators, including Sands, Wynn, and MGM Mirage, which have all built large properties in Macau.

"If Mr. Ho is trying to stir up nationalist feelings to help steer business from his rivals, it is unclear how much support, if any, he has in higher political circles," the newspaper reported.

"While he is a member of a top mainland Chinese political consultative body, it was with Beijing's blessing that the Macau government broke his monopoly on gambling in Macau earlier this decade," the daily continued.

Meanwhile, LVS' action to purchase its own fleet of high-speed ferries – CotaiJet – to shuttle gamblers from Hong Kong to Macau has also challenged Ho's Shun Tak ferry business.

Sands has come under attack for delaying its Venetian Macao expansion on the Cotai Strip which aroused suspicions here that the company was going to concentrate on building Marina Bay Sands in Singapore instead amid the global credit crunch.

The project's suspension has led to the loss of more than 10,000 jobs held by both local and imported construction workers.

Tuesday, 10 March 2009
Macau Daily Times