Jul

23

Interview: Pansy Ho comments on MGM Cotai

Filed Under Macau, Macao, Cotai, MGM & Pansy Ho, MGM Cotai | Leave a Comment

From Bloomberg:

Pansy Ho, daughter of gaming tycoon Stanley Ho and managing director of Shun Tak Holdings Ltd., talked with Bloomberg’s Bernard Lo in Macau on July 19 about Macau government measures to curb a gambling expansion in the city, the potential impact on the second casino venture with MGM Mirage, and SJM Holdings Ltd.’s trading debut in Hong Kong last week.

Click on link on right hand side of the Bloomberg page under “Related Videos and Graphs” for her interview.  Read more

Jun

19

MGM Mirage expands into China

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MGM Mirage put out a press release officially announcing a jbig oint venture project where the company will run an MGM Mirage hotel (no casino) in China.  This is part of the company’s new growth strategy. 

I imagine this will help introduce more Chinese to its brand, which should boost the awareness Read more

Mar

1

MGM Mirage background

Filed Under Macau, Macao, Wall Street, MGM & Pansy Ho | Leave a Comment

I’ve always thought it was good to give a little background information on the companys that are transforming Macau, especially for those Asian readers who may not be as familiar with some of the US based companies.

Here is a nice article that Forbes did on MGM-Mirage.  Its not really Macau specific, but its interesting to see how their strategy has changed over the years and compare Read more

Dec

21

MGM Grand Cotai

Filed Under Macau, Cotai, MGM & Pansy Ho, MGM Cotai | 2 Comments

The incredible MGM Grand Macau has only been open for a few days and I’m already looking ahead to the opening of MGM’s Cotai resort. Since that project hasnt even been approved by the government yet, I am obviously jumping the gun a bit. But I can’t help myself, so here’s what MGM has said over the past few days about Cotai:

“In Macau, the MGM Grand Paradise partnership is in the process of negotiating with the government on a second site in Cotai. Separately, DW (Dubai World) owns land in Macau … which may present a location of a third Read more

Dec

20

MGM Grand Macau Opens

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mgm macaumgm-grand-macao.jpg

From MGM press release…

Located on a prime site on the Macau peninsula, MGM Grand Macau is a stylish icon at the center of the Macau gaming industry. The new resort features 600 rooms, suites and villas; a grand casino offering approximately 375 table games, 900 slot machines and 16 private gaming salons for preferred customers; and the signature Grande Praca showcasing Portuguese-inspired architecture, dramatic landscapes and a glass ceiling rising 25 meters (82 feet) above the floor of the resort.

The 35-story resort also includes convertible convention space, world- class spa and swimming pool facilities, and a variety of restaurants that continue in the MGM Grand Read more

Dec

16

MGM Macau ready to open, issues warning, & plans expansion

Filed Under Macau, Macao, MGM & Pansy Ho, MGM Grand Macau | 2 Comments

MGM Macau

All in the same week! As the MGM Grand Macao plans to open this week, the casino is already warning its neighbors to watch out and has also announced that it has secured financing for its future Cotai Strip expansion.

Pansy Ho told press earlier this week, “There’s no end of creative ideas at MGM Grand Macau. I would urge our neighbours to watch out.” Those sound like fighting words.

The 35-storey MGM Macau located by Macau’s waterside will have 600 luxury rooms with 385 gambling tables, 888 poker machines and 16 private gambling salons. The property will also featur Read more

Nov

19

Date of MGM’s first Macao casino is set

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MGM Grand Macao casino

Mark it off on your calendar - December 18th. This is the date that the JV between MGM Mirage and Pansy Ho will open its first Macau casino, the MGM Grand Macau. The US$1.25 billion 600 room hotel casino will include 375 gambling tables and one really, really, cool looking exterior.

The MGM JV is also in the planning stages for a new casino project near Las Vegas Sands’ Cotai Strip® in Cotai. MGM hasnt given out details yet since they are still working with the Macao government, but Read more

Jun

6

Summary of Cotai casino companies

Filed Under Macao, Cotai, Las Vegas Sands, Melco PBL, Wall Street, COMPANIES, Wynn, Galaxy, SJM, MGM & Pansy Ho | Leave a Comment

Stumbled across this blog entry that I thought you guys could find useful.  A nice analysis of the companies involved in developing the Cotai casinos.

Here it is:  CNAnalyst.com

May

22

MGM in play

Filed Under Macau, Macao, Cotai, Wall Street, MGM & Pansy Ho, MGM Cotai | Leave a Comment

What about Macau and Cotai?

Kirk Kerkorian’ Tracinda announed its intention to buy MGM’s Bellagio and City Center and also seek strategic alternatives for some or all of its MGM stock (he is the majority shareholder with approximately 55% ownership). So it would seem like MGM Mirage now appears to be in play.

MGM is Pansy Ho’s joint venture partner in Macau, with one hotel casino opening soon on the Macau Peninsula and plans to open a second hotel casino on their Cotai land sometime in the future.

Its too early to tell, but based on Tracinda’s announcement, it looks like one real outcome is that MGM Mirage goes through a leveraged buy-out (LBO), with either Tracinda or Kerkorian taking the company private or with a group of private equity firms taking the company private (with or without Bellagio and City Center) in a similar fashion to Harrah’s LBO.

For those not familiar with LBO’s, the acquisition is paid for by raising alot of debt on the target company’s balance sheet to pay for the acquisition. The new owners are usually interested in stable cash flows, and in many cases the new company is so burdened with paying interest that not alot of flexibility is left to reinvest in the company. So the newly LBO’s company could sell off higher risk, capital intensive projects that could garner a very high price and use the proceeds to repay some of the LBO debt. (*more below*)

MGM’s Macau and Cotai joint venture interest fits this high risk, capital intensive profile, so the question of whether or not MGM eventually sells its interest in Macau should be asked.

Who could be the buyer if MGM Macau is up for sale? Remember Richard Branson showed a real interest in Macau. Would the Donald want to be in Macau despite his twice bankrupt casino company’s history. Or could it be one of the newly minted billionaires emerging from China.

Another interesting question is whether or not one of the other Macau companyies, such as PBL, makes a run at trying to buy MGM Mirage since PBL has shown interest in being in Las Vegas. Also ask yourself why in the world is Las Vegas Sands public? Adelson own the vast majority of the stock and with the big casinos like Harrah’s, Station, and now maybe MGM, it is becoming clear you no longer need to be a public company in the gaming industry.

Leave your thoughts below.

Mar

25

Pansy Ho gets official approval from Nevada regulators

Filed Under Macau, Macao, Cotai, Wall Street, MGM & Pansy Ho | Leave a Comment

Finally, Pansy is A OK. 

This Businessweek aritcle discusses Nevada regulators official approval of MGM’s joint venture partner in Macau, Pansy Ho.  Recall that MGM Grand Paradise (the name of the joint venture) is building a casino resort in Macau that is scheduled to open in 2007 and has also said that they plan to build a big casino resort in Cotai as well.

On Friday, Pansy Ho got the official stamp of approval from Nevada regulators that allows MGM and Pansy to move forward with their Macao casino joint venture.  After two years of digging into Pansy and her sister Daisy’s background, Nevada Commissioner Arthur Marshall summed it up:

“I don’t see anything that would bring discredit to the state of Nevada”

Relieved that the approval may now allow her to be free of her father’s questionable past dealings, Pansy said:  (**more below the ads**)

“(the ruling) allows Macau to have a clean slate and really start fresh”

This ruling comes about a month after the unofficial approval I wrote about last month. 

The joint venture is still waiting on approval from New Jersey regulators since MGM owns 50% of the Borgata in Atlantic City.  The New Jersey approval is not as big an issue as Nevada however, since MGM could always sell its joint venture interest in the Borgata back to Boyd Gaming.  Since MGM is a Vegas centric company, failing to gain Nevada approval would have obviously been a huge problem and would have probably killed MGM’s Macau dreams.

To learn more about Pansy Ho, I stronlgy recommend reading this interview MacauBusiness did with Pansy.

Feb

28

Pansy passes Nevada regulators

Filed Under Macao, Cotai, MGM & Pansy Ho, MGM Cotai | Leave a Comment

One more hurdle in Nevada, then on to A.C.

After two years of research, Nevada regulators found Stanley Ho’s daughter, Pansy, as a suitable partner for MGM-Mirage.

Pansy: “For almost all of the 40-some years of my life, I have been trying to find an open forum to find and to express that I believe I have the capabilities to be an independent person and also to obtain independent success. I think the MGM opportunity will give me the chance to prove that further.” (*more below*)

And its a good thing Stanley was not the one in front of regulators.

Nevada Gaming Board Member: “There are volumes of controversy surrounding Dr. Stanley Ho, both historic and present. From my perspective, he operates in an environment that is less transparent than I am comfortable with.”

The decision must still be confirmed by the Nevada Gaming Commission, however, which is expected to meet in a month.

Pansy Ho and MGM are building a casino resort in Macau that should open in 2007 and are also in the planning stages of a Cotai casino.

Feb

14

MGM announces Cotai project

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But Pansy still hasn’t passed muster with US regulators.

MGM Mirage announced it’s 50/50 joint venture with Stanley Ho’s daughter, Pansey Ho, will begin planning its second resort casino in Macau. The new casino will be located in a “prime identified spot in Cotai”. Plans for the new Cotai casino could be submitted by the end of the year. MGM’s first Macau casino project, the USD $1.1 billion MGM Grand Macau casino, should open in the fourth quarter of 2007. (**more below the ads**)

This is all fine and dandy for MGM, but their partnership with Pansy Ho has still not been approved by US regulators. If Nevada regulators are concerned that Pansy’s father (who has been accused at times of ties with organized crime) could be involved in the partnership, then MGM’s Macau aspirations could be in jeopardy. MGM would be forced to choose between Vegas or Macau, and since this is a Vegas centric company, the company would probably sell of its Macau joint venture interest. The silver lining for MGM in a scenario like this is the value they could receive from the casino and its concession license. Let’s not forget Wynn sold only a concession license for US $900 million last year. On the other hand, if a jurisdiction like New Jersey has problems with Pansy, then MGM could always just sell of its interest in the Borgata and move forward in Macau.