Studio City mass focus dependent on table allocation

Sunday 9th of August 2015

Melco Crown CEO Lawrence Ho said the casino operator’s mass market strategy for Studio City is dependent upon the number of gaming tables granted by the government.

The government’s wish to move Macau into a more family friendly tourism location is dependant on operators catering to the mass market, which for Studio City, ultimately depends on their table allocation. The company is requesting 400 tables for the new resort slated to open on 27 October.

“We're appealing to government but naturally we're extremely concerned...if we get the low end of table allocations and I think it would have a drastic impact on our financial modeling,” Ho said in an earnings call.

“The ultimate number -- we have a very flexible gaming floor, it is designed in a way that it's been improved from even City of Dreams whereby we have that flexibility of having high limit areas, signature club areas or even VIP areas. So, again the ultimate table grant number would determine what we're going to do, but again if we are on the low end of it, there is always a chance that we would just focus on that and premium mass...”

Deutsche Bank analysts put Studio City’s table allocation at 150, a number that will now “serve as the baseline for expectations” for future openings in Cotai.

Bricks & Mortar Mass Tables DB