TICKERS: MPEL, 880.HK, CCL, NCLH
EVENTS
August 28: 10:00am: PENN - Meeting with Management at Plainridge Park
COMPANY NEWS
MPEL - Studio City International Holdings Ltd, a joint venture in which Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd owns a 60 percent interest, said on Tuesday it is preparing a “contingency plan” ahead of any gaming table allocation decision by the Macau government for its Studio City casino resort. “Because of the possibility that the table allocation for Studio City’s gaming area may be lower than anticipated, Studio City International Holdings Ltd has engaged Kirkland and Ellis LLP as its counsel and Moelis and Co LLC as its investment banker to assist it with contingency planning ahead of any table allocation decision for Studio City,” the Melco Crown majority-owned unit said in its Tuesday press release.
Takeaway: It's pretty clear Studio City will not get 400 tables - 150-200 is more likely.
1680.HK - Construction of casino operator Macau Legend Development Ltd’s Legendale Hotel in Macau Fisherman’s Wharf may be hindered by controversy over the height of the building, according to company executive vice-president Frederick Yip Wing Fat. “We may possibly see a delay. But definitely we’re building it,” Mr Yip told reporters.
CCL - Seabourn has revealed design renderings of the luxurious all-suite, all-veranda accommodations on Seabourn Encore, the line's newest ship set to launch late 2016. Seabourn Encore will feature 300 spacious, well-appointed suites, all of which include a private veranda. The majority of the ship's suites range from nearly 300 square feet for the standard veranda suite, plus a veranda that is up to 74 square feet, to upwards of 1,300 square feet for the Wintergarden suites, which also feature verandas of nearly 200 square feet.
NCHL - Port of Seattle and NCLH sign 15 year deal. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings will continue operating out of Pier 66 until at least 2030 and split with the Port of Seattle an estimated $30 million in facility upgrades.
INDUSTRY NEWS
Japan Gaming- Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party has given up efforts to push through a bill to legalize casinos in the current extended session of the parliament, the Shingetsu News Agency reports. Passage of the integrated resort bill in the current session had been looking increasingly unlikely in recent weeks, as the political power of some of the main backers of legalizing casinos in Japan waned, including that of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Shanghai Cruise Port - Shanghai, the destination of this year’s 10th China Cruise Shipping event, plans to expand its Shanghai Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal (SWICT) to accommodate increasing demand. It is building another two berths, which will mean fourth berths total. Two spaces will be for Oasis-class vessels, while the remaining two berths can handle megaships up to 150,000 tons, according to the port.
River Cruises - A stranded cargo vessel has added further itinerary changes and cancellations to the list of delays and cancellations caused by low water levels on the Danube in recent weeks.
Takeaway: It has been a tough summer for River Cruise operators.
Nepal Gaming - The development of Nepal’s casino gaming industry potentially offers investors access to gaming assets that are not dependent on Chinese players, says a new report from Union Gaming Securities Asia Ltd.
- The institution added that the key target market for Nepal’s casinos is middle class Indians – many of whom are already familiar with a number of forms of gambling, and are significantly under served domestically in terms of casino venues. Union Gaming estimates India today generates as much as US$10 billion per year in gross gaming revenue (GGR). This includes legal and non-legal types of gambling, and casino and non-casino gambling, it added.
- “We would highlight that there are more than 300 million persons living in the three Indian states immediately adjacent to Nepal and approximately 400 million when including the state of West Bengal…Granted, like most of India the majority are too poor to be considered target customers, but this still leaves many millions of individuals who are, indeed, potential casino customers,” stated the Union Gaming analyst.
Regional Gaming Revenues
Iowa - July GGR (SSS): +1.7% YoY
Detroit - July GGR (SSS): +3.1% YoY
MACRO
China - PBoC followed up on yesterday's 1.9% yuan devaluation with a 1.6% devaluation today.
