At the centre of Avenida de Amizade in downtown Macau a new glitzy gaming venue has opened. StarWorld Hotel & Casino, aptly named for a company called Galaxy Entertainment, has two main gaming halls and a high limit gaming salon, adding another 290 tables and 300 slot machines to the Macau gambling estate. Galaxy’s 5th Macau casino, at present the tallest building in Asia’s answer to Las Vegas, is considered by most analysts to be a worthy competitor in the market. As a Chinese gaming company listed in Hong Kong, Galaxy Entertainment Group Limited will be catering for a mainly Chinese public.

StarWorld was designed by Rocco Design, which was architect to Hong Kong’s tallest building, and a shimmering façade graces the unique profile of the building. The interior of the US$385 million 34-storey hotel casino was given an entirely modern look by LRF Designers and includes a stunning silver lobby. Original monopoly holder in the Macau gaming market, Stanley Ho’s Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM), is presently outbuilding StarWorld with a 44-storey tower at the Grand Lisboa.

Whether SJM can outgrow Galaxy in the gambling arena is another matter. With gaming, dining and entertainment all under one roof, and around the clock, StarWorld Hotel and Casino is claiming to be the complete leisure destination of downtown Macau. Galaxy holds around 20% of the Macau gaming market at the moment and vows to increase that to 25% by year end. SJM is already facing new competition from the Galaxy Grand Waldo Casino and Wynn Macau, both opened last month. Up until now the SJM flagship Lisboa Casino has dominated the market.

Construction has already commenced on Galaxy Mega Resort on the Cotai Strip, slated to become Galaxy’s entertainment flagship and due to open in 2008. A huge themed casino and deluxe 1,500-room hotel will have added family attractions including a water park and theatre. There will also be multi-purpose convention and exhibition facilities. Galaxy seems determined to be at the forefront of Macau’s development into a top Asian resort destination - it plans to invest US$1.02 billion over the next two years.

To compound its woes, SJM is now facing another hurdle in its quest for a Hong Kong listing that would offer 25% of its stock for around US$1.9 billion. The Macau Court of Final Appeal has ruled for a further investigation into the company’s shareholding details. SJM is 80% owned by Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau (STDM) and its original shareholder registry was replaced by a reconstructed one after it went missing. Stanley Ho’s sister is arguing that the reconstructed registry is flawed and that a shareholders meeting approval of the listing cannot be legally valid.

Recently longer than anticipated stays in Macau, considered to be a mainly day trippers' market, have raised expectations that revenue will see good continued growth. Wynn Macau has been doing well since opening, with excellent high-end action. In the past Ho has criticized competitors and blamed them for pushing around one-third of SJM’s 150 VIP gaming venues to the edge of bankruptcy. It’s hardly surprising that after a 40-year monopoly on gambling trade, competition is hard to take. (E-10.20.06)

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