No satellite casino in Taipa anymore
Grand Dragon Casino in Taipa, one of the city’s current’s 10 “satellite casinos”, will close for good after midnight today, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) has announced.
The bureau made the announcement in a statement on Friday.
The government announced in June that in compliance with the three-year transition period stipulated by the new legislation amending the gaming law, all of the city’s then 11 satellite casinos had decided to close for good by December 31 this year. Grandview Casino in Taipa, which closed for good in late July, was the first of them to cease operations.
Consequently, Grand Dragon Casino will be the second to cease operations.
After tonight’s closure of Grand Dragon Casino, there will still be nine satellite casinos in Macau.
The so-called satellite casinos in Macau are formally owned by gaming concessionaires but are actually run and managed by third parties as they are housed on premises that are not owned by the respective gaming concessionaires.
The satellite casinos are currently operated under partnership models where the respective gaming concessionaires and third parties share the revenues.
According to the gaming law’s newly amended version, all casinos must be housed in premises that are owned by their respective gaming concessionaires.
The new legislation amending the gaming law stipulates a three-year transition period, which started on January 1, 2023, during which existing satellite casinos can continue operating under their current partnership models.
After the three-year transition period, which is scheduled to end on December 31 this year, a satellite casino, which is housed on premises not owned by the respective gaming concessionaire, will have to be run by a “management company” to be hired by the gaming concessionaire. The management company will no longer be allowed to share the casino’s revenues with the respective gaming concessionaire, which, instead, can only pay the former a management fee.
According to June’s government announcements, the three respective gaming concessionaires, SJM, Galaxy, and Melco, decided to terminate the operations of all 11 satellite casinos before the expiration of the transition period based on their respective commercial decisions, comprising Grandview, Legend Palace, Fortuna, Landmark, Ponte 16, Le Royal Arc, Emperor Palace, Kam Pek Paradise, and Casa Real owned by SJM, Waldo owned by Galaxy, and Grand Dragon owned by Melco.
Friday’s DICJ statement announced that after business negotiations, Grand Dragon Casino’s third-party operator and Melco decided to terminate the operations of the casino after 11:59 p.m. today, i.e., no operations from tomorrow.
After Grand Dragon Casino’s closure tonight, there will be no satellite casino in Taipa anymore.
After tonight, the nine satellite casinos still in operation comprise five in Zape, namely Fortuna, Landmark, Kam Pek Paradise, Casa Real, and Waldo, two in Nape, namely Legend Palace and Le Royal Arc, as well as Emperor Palace in Nam Van district and Ponte 16 in the Inner Harbour district.
Friday’s statement underlined that the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau will strictly monitor Grand Dragon Casino’s process to cease its operations with the aim of ensuring that it will be carried out in a stable and orderly manner and in full compliance with all official requirements.
The statement said that at the time of Grand Dragon Casino’s closure, DICJ inspectors will conduct on-site oversight of the closure process, ensuring that Melco will terminate the operations of the casino in compliance with its plan submitted to the government. The statement said that DICJ inspectors will ensure that Melco will properly handle the cash and gaming chips in the casino cage, as well as the exchange of gaming chips and unredeemed cash vouchers.
The statement also said that the current 176 employees working at Grand Dragon Casino are all directly employed by Melco.
The statement pledged that the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, in collaboration with the Labour Affairs Bureau, will ensure that Melco will fulfil its promise to continue employing all 176 employees, adding that Melco will be required to ensure that their current employment conditions such as salaries, benefits and other working conditions will be protected.
Meanwhile, Friday’s DICJ statement also announced that Melco will close the Kuong Fat slot-machine parlour in Zape for good after Wednesday night, i.e., terminate its operations after 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday.
A car is driven past Grand Dragon Hotel on Saturday where the Grand Dragon Casino is located. – Photo: Tony Wong
