A guest (R) takes a photo of where the light, water and sound show is put on at Performance Lake in front of the Wynn Palace casino in Macau on August 22, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / ISAAC LAWRENCE
MACAU: US tycoon Steve Wynn Monday opened a US$4bil (RM16bil) mega-resort in Macau -- complete with giant lake, musical fountains and cable cars -- as the Chinese casino enclave battles to turn around its fortunes.
At a ceremony attended by 1,000 guests, he launched the Wynn Palace: six million sq ft (560,000 sq metres) of entertainment with a central casino, more than 50 shops, 13 restaurants and 1,700 hotel rooms starting at under US$300.
The fanfare included dancing fountains, and a carousel and Ferris wheel made from flowers.
Also on display was a rare quartet of Qing dynasty vases, which a company statement said had been installed in the resort “as part of Steve Wynn’s efforts to bring Chinese artwork home”.
”The only other such quartet is in Buckingham Palace in London,” the statement added.
Wynn is gambling on Macau even as it faces a downturn following a corruption crackdown by China’s President Xi Jinping and a slowdown in the Chinese economy.
The clampdown has driven away many high-rollers from the mainland who propped up VIP tables in Macau, the only part of China where it is legal to gamble. Mass market tourism is now touted as the enclave’s potential saviour.
With authorities under pressure from Beijing to diversify from gambling -- and a 3% cap on annual gaming table growth across Macau -- the semi-autonomous Chinese territory is suffering a third year of declining gaming revenues.
But speaking to reporters last week Wynn, 74, was bullish about the project, insisting that gambling is no longer the main focus.
”My reality is the experience people get in this building -- when that is perfect, the money takes care of itself,” he said.
Recent resort openings by Galaxy and Studio City have upped the non-casino element, including everything from river rapids to a figure of eight ferris wheel.
In October Las Vegas Sands is due to open another mega-resort, La Parisian, in Macau, featuring a half-scale Eiffel Tower.
Analysts remain cautious over whether the mass appeal of the new mega resorts can really make up for the high-rollers.
Macau overtook Las Vegas as the world’s casino capital in terms of revenue after the sector was opened to foreign competition in 2002, and still leads its US counterpart despite the downturn.
Wynn believes the new formula works. “We’ve got something for everybody here,” he said. - AFP
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