Harrah's eyes Macau stake, bids for Singapore casino

Harrah's eyes Macau stake, bids for Singapore casino

Agence France-Presse, Singapore

Harrah's Entertainment, the newly crowned world's biggest
gaming firm, said on Monday it had its sights on a stake in
booming Macau even as it competes for two casino licenses in
Singapore.

Harrah's senior vice president for business development,
Richard Mirman, told reporters here the company intended to use
Singapore as a base to expand throughout Asia with Macau one of
the most enticing prospects in the region.

"Macau is one of the largest gaming markets in the world. It's
hard for a company like ours... not to consider an opportunity
(in Macau)," Mirman said on the sidelines of the Asian Casinos
Expo.

"That being said, we're more interested right now in Singapore
as the jumping off point in Asia.

"But it's really hard to ignore the opportunity in Macau. It's
just a tremendous gaming market and one that continues to grow
year over year."

Macau, the former Portuguese enclave that reverted to Chinese
rule in 1999, has become the world's hottest gambling den after
authorities lifted a decades-old gambling monopoly in 2002.

Three licenses were awarded -- one to former monopoly holder
Stanley Ho while U.S. giants MGM Mirage and Las Vegas Sands won
the rights to be the first foreign competitors.

Macau has since been transformed from a seedy, gambling
backwater into Asia's Las Vegas, with the industry expected to be
worth S$7.5 billion this year.

Mirman said the restriction of three licenses was the major
obstacle for Harrah's, which last week acquired U.S. rival
Caesars for US$6.8 billion to form the biggest gaming company in
the world.

"We now have the leading brand in the world under Caesars and
we think the Caesar's brand would fit into Macau very nicely," he
said.

"(But) there are no licenses to bid on... there are sub
concessions, but it is a very tricky problem to solve."

Asked if Harrah's was holding discussions with authorities in
Macau on how to enter the market, Mirman replied: "I don't have
any comment on that... but we are always interested in Macau."

On Singapore, where 12 international and global firms are
competing to build the city-state's first two casinos, Mirman
said Harrah's was still bidding for both licenses and he expected
smaller rivals to soon drop out of the race.

"When you are talking about two billion dollars (to develop a
casino resort), that actually cuts out many people... there are
only a few players who have access to that kind of capital," he
said.

Among the 12 players bidding for the casinos, which are due to
be built by around 2009, are Las Vegas Sands, MGM Mirage, Wynn
Resorts, Australia's Tabcorp and Malaysia's Genting
International.

Mirman said Harrah's was also keenly anticipating other
countries in the region to follow the lead of Singapore and allow
casinos.

"I think that once people see what they (Singapore) are doing
and the level of interest and the kind of investment and the
driving of tourism and jobs, I'd be hard pressed to believe that
other countries in the region are not going to open up," he said.