Management at Macau casino operator MGM China Holdings Ltd. said they were “very confident” in ultimately maintaining their casino licenses. That’s what MGM China president Bill Hornbuckle said Wednesday. But he added that he wasn’t sure the process to renew the city’s six casino licenses will be in place by June next year when their current licenses expire.
“Macao remains an important part of our business,” Mr. Hornbuckle said on an investor conference call after MGM Resorts International, the parent company of MGM China, reported third-quarter earnings.
“We will continue to work with the government, and we are very confident about ultimately renewing our license,” he said. “Continued discussions with the government give us greater confidence in our belief that the process will be wise and fair.”
Mr. Hornbuckle is also the chief executive and president of MGM Resorts International.
Macau’s government had previously said there would be a new open bidding process in 2022 related to the expiration of the current license before Macau’s gaming laws are amended. Until a new open bid, Macau’s current gaming laws could extend the existing license from the original 20 years to up to five years.
“We don’t know yet whether all of this will be completed in time for June,” Hornbuckle said in a conference call. “There are still some steps (Macao authorities) have to go through publicly with the legislature.”
As part of the revision process for the Gaming Act, the Macau government held a public consultation process to gather opinions from business operators and the general public on the subject. The public consultation period was from Sept. 15 to Oct. 29. In a conference call, Hon. Buckle confirmed that MGM China submitted a written document to the government “as did all concessionaries.”
Mr. Hornbuckle also briefly discussed the operational performance of MGM China’s two properties in Macau, MGM China and MGM Kotai. “The business improved following the easing of COVID-19 related travel restrictions in the second half of October,” he said. “We went from losing money to making some money again.”
Mr Hornbuckle said: “As various forms of travel restrictions restrict local visits, the market continues to operate at well below pre-pandemic levels. The obvious catalyst for Macau’s recovery is the continued resumption of frictionless travel between Macau, Hong Kong and mainland China, which relies heavily on higher vaccination rates that will take some time.”
Talking about MGM Resorts’ plans for Japan, Mr. Hornbuckle noted that the city and prefecture of Osaka declared a consortium led by MGM Resorts and Orixa as winners in September during a request for proposals regarding the Met’s tilt at the casino resort.
BY: 릴게임