Golden Closes another VIP Room
But Jimei makes good in Australia, Cambodia
Golden Resorts Group has closed its two-story VIP room at the Hotel Lisboa in Macau. It joins more than 60 other junket rooms that have closed in Macau since mid-2013, according to the Macau Business Daily.
Today, there are fewer than 180 junkets registered in the city, and only 148 of those are still in business, the president of the junkets’ trade association, Kwok Chi Chung, told the Daily earlier this month.
Macau’s predominant industry is in the second year of an historic decline. Citigroup has cut its August GGR forecast to MOP18.5 billion, for a year-on-year decrease of 36 percent. Analysts have forecast a 30 percent drop for the year, and a slight rebound in 2016.
But another junket operator has seen profits skyrocket outside Macau. Jimei International Entertainment has seen profits soar to HK$53.26 million (US$6.8 million) during the first half of 2015, compared to a loss of HK$9.28 million during the same period in 2014, according to the Macau Business Daily.
In February, Jimei signed an agreement to operate in Crown Perth casino in Australia, and in May signed another contract with NagaCorp to operate in the NagaWorld casino located in Cambodia.
“With the accomplishments made in the first half of 2015, the group is committed to further expanding into the gaming industry in the fast growing gaming markets, particularly in Asia, to bring new momentum and income source,” the company said in a report.
Back in Macau, the city’s Labor Affairs Bureau says it has counseled 61 former employees of VIP gaming rooms since December, and 17 have already found work.
“The reemployment for these laid-off staff is not difficult, with most of them later hired in a related industry of gaming,” said Bureau Deputy Director Lau Wai Meng.
