Macau casino and hotel giant SJM Holdings? net profit for the first half of the year fell more than 50?percent as the enclave’s gambling revenues haemorrhage.
SJM, owned by Hong Kong tycoon Stanley Ho, is trying to lure back visitors with the sprawling new Lisboa Palace complex due to open in 2017, a bid to diversify from gambling and attract more mass-market tourists, Agence France-Presse reported.
Macau last week reported a 34.5 percent drop in gross gaming revenue to 18.62 billion Macau patacas (US$2.33 billion) for?July – the 14th straight month of decline.
The slowdown has mostly been attributed to the high-profile corruption crackdown spearheaded by Chinese President Xi Jinping and an economic slowdown in the mainland.
The Lisboa Palace resort on the burgeoning Cotai Strip will boast 2,000 rooms and feature three five-star hotels, including one designed by German fashion legend Karl Lagerfeld.
Beijing has made it clear it wants the former Portuguese colony to move away from gambling, so casino-hotels are opening a series of mass market complexes, mostly on the Cotai Strip.
The resorts offer everything from fine dining and malls to theme park rides and shows, alongside gaming.
Melco Crown’s Studio City, due to open later this year, boasts Asia’s highest Ferris wheel while the recently opened Galaxy Phase 2 has a rooftop water park complete with river rapids.