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China – Melco aiming to bring 50 gaming tables to Morpheus

By - 29 July 2017

Macau operator Melco Resorts & Entertainment has said that it hopes it will be able to operate a gaming floor at its soon-to-open hotel; Morpheus which will open as part of its City of Dreams complex.

Melco is planning on opening its new hotel Morpheus in the first half of 2018. It will have approximately 2,100 five-star and luxury hotel rooms, to complement the integrated resort’s already market-leading premium mass and direct VIP gaming amenities and other non-gaming offerings.

Lawrence Ho, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said: “We see Morpheus as a massive catalyst to launch City of Dreams 2.0. Within the property we can easily house 50 plus tables. City of Dreams, next year,is going to feel like a brand new property. There is dedicated gaming space within Morpheus at various levels. We are going to be 50 plus tables I don’t think any architecture in any building in Macau is remotely close to Morpheus. Based on the government track record rewarding operators for investments in terms of diversification and beautifying Macau, I think we check all of those boxes. Naturally it’s out of our control in terms of how many tables we get, but we are going to be submitting our relevant documentation to the government and we will see where it goes.”

Mr. Ho was talking as Melco posted a 21 per cent jump in second quarter revenues as its VIP business ramped up once again.

GGR came in just short of $1.3bn for the three months ending June 30 with operating income increasing by 76 per cent to $127.4m.

City of Dreams GGR was up to US$644.6m compared to US$629.9m in the second quarter of 2016, Altira Macau was up to US$107.6, compared to US$98.7m whilst Studio City was up US$332.1m compared to US$183.8m.

Mr. Ho added: “Macau continues on its strong growth trajectory, with all gaming segments delivering impressive year-over-year growth driven by improving tourism demographics, an ongoing improvement in player sentiment as well as an expansion of non-gaming amenities across Macau.

“As Macau evolves into a destination that offers a full breadth of gaming and non-gaming amenities to a wider range of customers from around the region, we are committed to ensuring our integrated resorts are well positioned to cater to these evolving trends.

“City of Dreams in Macau is undergoing its final development phase which, upon completion, will result in our flagship integrated resort once again setting new benchmarks of luxury and premium-focused entertainment and hospitality, reflecting a culmination of over a decade of experience in serving high-end and increasingly discerning customers in Macau.”

“Studio City, our second integrated resort in Cotai, provides an ideal complement to City of Dreams,” Mr. Ho added. “The integrated resort’s focus on more mainstream mass market customers allows us to broaden our customer reach. The property continues to ramp up its core mass market operations, while the newly opened rolling chip operations provide an incremental driver for revenue and earnings growth.”

The only property to see a decline in GGR was City of Dreams Manila in the Philippines which generated US$176.2mcompared to US$120.2m.

Mr. Ho said however: “In the Philippines, City of Dreams Manila continues to deliver record revenue and Property EBITDA, resulting in an impressive return on invested capital. Our decision to invest in this fast growing and attractive market is testament to our approach of identifying and investing in markets that drive long term value for our shareholders.

“While we remain committed to maximising profitability of our current operations, we are also heavily focused on identifying additional value-accretive expansion opportunities, with a particular focus on Japan. We believe that our high quality assets, market-leading social safeguard systems and commitment to being an ideal partner to local governments and communities alike, as we have shown in Macau and the Philippines, places us in a strong position to compete for a license in this exciting market.”

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