On Empty Thoughts: Macau Casino Dealers Walk Off Job in Continuing La...

REBLOG> On Empty Thoughts: Macau Casino Dealers Walk Off Job in Continuing Labor Unrest:
Guerrilla Gamblers' Original Blog

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Casino Dealers on Strike in Macau

At noon time of 1 Oct 2014, up to 300 dealers of led by the "Forefront of Macau Gaming" took sick leave collectively to demand higher wages and better benefits. The Forefront of Macau Gaming, headed by Leong Man Teng, is a labor union with members from six major casinos in Macau. "The vast majority of our team members have reported to work and are delivering their high level of service as usual," MGM China Holdings Ltd company said in a statement, the Voice of America reported.

Gambling Hub

As a pioneer in the legal casino business, Macau is a gambling hub for the Asian region. Mainland China constitute the 60% of the visitors. Gaming revenues account for nearly 90% of government revenues. From a fishing village Macau had transformed into the gambling captial of the world with 35 casinos and a population base of more than half a million living in an area of 31.3 km2. Macau is pushing to build eight new resorts in the next three years but will faces labor shortage problems due to the current rigid regulations that prohibit foreigners from working at gaming tables.

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My Comments

With all the extraordinary they are reaping, they can't give their staff a bit of relief. This is shamefully not very Chinese mentality running a casino.

China Corruption Blitz Hits Macau Junkets

Laundering Money

Rotten gamblers, especially the whale bettors, could be mistaken for money laundering. This may be the assumption of Chinese President, Xi Jinpin. His crackdown on corrupt officials and tycoons is starting to drain China. This almost 2 years blitz had caused the sale of luxury good to dwindle and the VIP rooms at Macau casinos to slow down. It had driven rotten gamblers to other gambling destinations. This is like sending away the goose that laid the golden egg to your fellow neighbors. The claim of coming by a windfall from the casino is not that easy to justify with the generous amount of surveillance camera covering the casino. Coming up with the bankroll to make the amass the extraordinary win would be a great question mark.

Macau's Casino Junket Squeeze

The prolonged crackdown is now starting to squeeze the junkets in Macau. As the Chinese economy dragged its feet, the whale gamblers shy away. In Macau, whale gamblers will punt HK$1 million without second thoughts. Junkets who lend them money and settle their debts are not longer as flexible as debt recovery is not as easy. Authorities are digging junkets for information on Junkets are had left the industry. Chinese officials suspected of corruption who may be laundering money through Macau. The pressure is too much that, "I can't sleep at night. There are just too many problems," said one 54-year-old junket operator who didn't want to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue. "I'm not optimistic for the future of the VIP junket industry here." Of Macau's 220 licensed junket firms, at least 15 have shut up shop in the big casinos this year the Reuters reported on 24 Sep 2014.

Pest in Midst: Laggard to the Casino Industry

REBLOG> Pest in Midst: Laggard to the Casino Industry:
XingCai's Original Blog

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Casino Industry in Asia

Singapore is considered a laggard to the casino industry in comparison to her neighbor, Malaysia. To make up for being half-a-century late Singapore decided to have two casinos. Other Asian countries - Vietnam, Korea, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Japan - are joining the bandwagon to intensify the fight for gamblers patronage. Like good foodies, gamblers will travel the extra mile for a wager.

The Singaporean Stunted Growth

Macquarie, a leading financial services provider in Australia, "think the Singapore gaming market cannot grow." They noted that the gross gaming revenue (GGR) for the nation had plateau around $6 billion a year since 2011. "After three big years, tourist arrivals in Singapore have started to decline (down 3 percent year-to-July) and most importantly, Chinese visitors who form more than 50 percent of Singapore VIP volume have fallen by 29 percent year-to-date," Macquarie said. VIP volumes make up around 80 percent of the city-state's total gaming volume, it said [CNBC 23 Sep 2014].

Singaporean Senseless Optimism

Carey Wong, an analyst at OCBC, is optimistic about the situation. He sees the drop in overseas visitors to be temporary as it is partly due to China's economic slowdown and corruption crackdown. He said, "Once things die down, we'll see the return of these high rollers," he said. "From an Asian perspective, Asians will gamble regardless of good times or bad. It's different from a Western perspective, where gaming is more for leisure." Wong does not seem to make much sense when he claimed that economic slowdown was the cause of decline in Chinese visitors yet advocating that bad times will not stop Asian gamblers. Singapore's strong currency and lack of tourist attraction in their tiny island is more likely the cause for their failure to attract foreigners.

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My Comments

Being a laggard is as good a business failure.