With Macau set to overtake Las Vegas in the gambling stakes this year, PBL Melco is planning to purchase land to develop a third casino resort. The company’s Crown Macau is due to open next year in Taipa and last month ground was broken on the City of Dreams project on the Cotai Strip. The latest project comes in the wake of the decision by the PBL Melco joint venture to acquire the last available casino subconcession , which it purchased from Wynn Resorts for US$900 million earlier this year.

The casino subconcession, valid until June 2022, makes it possible for PBL Melco to undertake as many casino projects in Macau as they consider viable. Crown Macau is being built to cater mainly for high rollers whilst the City of Dreams will aim to attract the increasing mass casino market. The new project is on land close to the famous Casino Lisboa and the traditional gaming centre of Macau. The sale of the land is contingent upon negotiations with the Macau government, as the land lease grant expired last October, but should go through in the first quarter of 2007.

So far there are no details of how PBL Melco intends to develop the site. The City of Dreams billion dollar project is on a much larger scale than the Crown Macau and the new site is 6,480 sq m, slightly bigger than Crown Macau. James Packer of PBL and Lawrence Ho of Melco seem determined to become major players in the Macau casino market, the joint venture is also opening additional slot machine halls under its Mocha brand. (E-05.19.06)

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