Gamblers don’t really care about their surroundings. The tackiness of earlier Las Vegas developments and now Macau, where the lotus flower-inspired Grand Lisboa casino dominates the skyline, are testament to that. But the authorities, with an eye on diversifying revenues, do care. Macau has just approved a 2,000-room, resort-style development from the habitually elegant Wynn Resorts. This, however, assumes that a Vegas-style shift to all-round entertainment will naturally follow in Asia.
So far, so good, admittedly. Gaming income is up by a quarter this year from 2011. Casinos have squeezed more out of their clients too: that jump came from an 8 per cent rise in overnight visitors. New resort-style developments such as Sands’ Cotai Central have added capacity yet hotels are almost 90 per cent full.
Shares in Sands China and Wynn Macau – 72 per cent owed by its parent – have outperformed the Hang Seng by more than 100 per cent apiece over the past two years. SJM Holdings, owner of the Grand Lisboa, has outperformed both again by a further 100 percentage points. For Wynn, it is not just the growth but the returns: last year Wynn’s parent produced $1.72 for each dollar of Macanese assets (SJM: $1.4) compared with 36 cents in Vegas.