Suncity closes Australia VIP rooms

Macau’s largest junket operator, Suncity Group, has closed all its Australian VIP rooms for commercial reasons.

The group told the media outlet that the decision was not linked to a recent investigative media report that made allegations of money laundering through Crown Resorts’ casinos.

“The VIP rooms of Suncity in Crown Melbourne and The Star Sydney have been discontinued, it is a commercial decision due to lack of demand and high operation costs in Australia. However, we still maintain a very close relationship with Crown and The Star,” the company said in an email.

Australia’s The Age newspaper cited Star Entertainment CEO Matt Bekier as saying that a decision to close a fixed-room in its Star Casino in Sydney had been made in the last ten days.

"The fixed room of Suncity will be discontinued here," Bekier said. "They had a small fixed room. That room is being closed."

Star on Friday reported VIP normalised EBITDA down 35.6 percent in the financial year to end-June, blaming market conditions. Unique VIP customers were up 10 percent to record levels, but had a lower spend per visit. 

VIP turnover was $42.4 billion, down 30.7 percent year-on-year, as high-stakes gamblers were unwilling to take big risks amid the U.S.-China trade dispute. 

 

Latest Intelligence

Latest issue

PATA CEO sees slow recovery, but optimism for future

AGB Podcasts