Macau casino concessionaire Melco Crown Entertainment still doesn’t have permission to build a casino at its latest project, according to a revised government land contract published last month in the city’s Official Gazette.
Studio City, as it’s called, with an area of 130,789 square meters, is earmarked for a five-star hotel, plus an array of movie-themed attractions, according to the contract, which says nothing about table games or slot machines.
CEO Lawrence Ho Yau Lung is reported to have accepted the contract terms, but it was unclear if the language is definitive or if the company is can still apply for permission to include gaming.
Melco Crown spent US$360 million last June for a 60 percent equity interest in the project, which had been dormant since its previous investment group disintegrated. That was before the casino portion of the project was approved. Part of the old group, New Cotai Holdings, an arm of U.S. investment firms Oaktree Capital Management and Silver Point Capital, still holds a 40 percent stake.
Melco Crown has stated repeatedly that it expects casino approval and plans to open Studio City with 400 table games.
Analysts say the absence of specific casino language in the contract does not imply a rejection. Land grants are the the purview of the Office of the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, which has no gaming regulatory authority, they point out—which is why many contracts for sites that currently host casinos do not include specific authorization. Instead, the gaming side comes under the authority of the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, which makes all decisions regarding the allocation of table games and slot machines.
Melco Crown has just entered the Manila gaming market, joining billionaire Henry Sy as the managing partner of the Belle Grande property. Melco will invest more than $500 million in PAGCOR’s Entertainment City project on the shores of Manila Bay. The property is expected to debut in 2014.
