Wynn Macau Resort and Casino, China

Wynn Resorts was one of two foreign operators given a casino licence in Macau as part of the opening of the market in 2002, after the Ho family monopoly, which had lasted for 40 years, was broken. Macau consists of a peninsula and two islands off the south eastern coast of China and is the only place in China that allows legal licensed casino gambling. Steve Wynn immediately set about the construction of a new casino resort and hotel – the 20 storey five-star Wynn Macau opened in September 2006 on a 16 acre site near Macau's inner harbour.

The hotel is one of the new generation of glittering Western-style casino/hotels in this former frontier-style resort of Asia. The hotel, operated by Wynn Resorts, required an estimated investment of $1.2bn (€930m) to construct. The investment is based on the experience of The Sands, which opened in 2004 and was the first Western-style casino in Macau, cost US$500m to build and paid for itself in less than a year. The new Wynn Resort should get its investment back and be in profit within a couple of years.

In October 2007, revenue had increased by 55% according to the preliminary gaming revenue but this was less than the expected 75%, meaning that Wynn's shares dropped in value by $16 to $149.40.

Wynn has adhered to a certain design style common to many of his projects; the Wynn Macau has the same shiny copper exterior as the Wynn Las Vegas and an upward sweeping roof with a 'sky casino'. The casino and hotel employs over 5,000 personnel.

FACILITIES

The Wynn Resort Macau has 600 luxurious rooms and suites – the luxury two-bedroom suites cost up to US$2,500 a night. The rooms feature air conditioning, hair dryers, alarm clocks, plasma screen televisions, wake-up calls, luxury marble baths and ironing boards. Hotel amenities include childcare, a business centre, concierge desk, currency exchange, express check-out, bellhop, 24-hour room service, laundry service, ATM, bar, casino, computers, hair salon and underground valet parking.

The casino is open 24-hours a day and features an area over two floors of 110,000ft² with 200 table games and 350 slot machines. The hotel will also feature Las Vegas style entertainment for guests, including shows and other entertainment. There are seven gourmet restaurants to offer a wide array of dining options for the evening meal and also a number of different cafes and smaller restaurants for other meals. The hotel also features one of the best equipped and largest health clubs in Macau, along with a large outdoor pool and a spa.

The hotel additionally has 28,000ft² of retail space, offering a number of luxury and high-end shops (Bulgari, Chanel, Fendi, Prada and Giorgio Armani) with duty-free prices for guests. The hotel is also located adjacent to the beach. The reception area at the Wynn Macau features two original French impressionist paintings: Henri Matisse's 'The Persian Robe' and Pierre-Auguste Renoir's 'Among the Roses'. There is also a giant dragon made from 80,000 pieces of crystal on display as part of the hotel's art portfolio.

FINANCE AND LEASE

The Wynn Macau has leased the 16 acre site of the hotel from the Macau government for an initial term of 25 years, with rights to extend that deal indefinitely. The company will make an initial payment of US$40m (paid in 10 six-monthly instalments), plus another $17m to the Nam Van Development Co in exchange for that company’s rights to a portion of the site. Wynn Resorts has financed the project in part through a US$397m agreement with Deutsche Bank AG and Societe Generale Asia Ltd.

PHASE TWO EXPANSION

In February 2007, the casino added more table games and slots to bring their inventory to 256 table games and 477 slot machines in the 110,000ft² casino. The 'expansion' was planned to coincide with the Chinese New Year celebration.

Plans for Phase II of the Wynn Macau were announced long before it opened in 2005. This current expansion will add another 123,000ft² of casino space, enough for 150 more table games, 500 extra slot machines, a 9,800ft² VIP casino, a sports book/betting shop, a theatre showroom, two restaurants, a coffee shop, additional retail offerings and a huge water feature at the front of the property consisting of a man-made lake with water jets that shoot up as music plays. Phase II is expected to be open by the end of 2007.

WYNN DIAMOND SUITES

The Wynn Diamond Suites will be a further expansion of Wynn Macau and was first announced in November 2006. The new hotel tower and casino will be an almost independent resort with its own casino, restaurants, luxury villas and suites, retail and entertainment facilities.

The investment for the resort is still being sought and it is estimated that it will cost $1.25bn to construct (so far $877.1m has been raised in finance). The design of the new resort is being finalised but it is widely expected to form a symmetrical ‘twin’ to the original tower.

The opening of the new Wynn Diamond Suite is scheduled for 2010. Meanwhile Steve Wynn has also applied to the Government of Macau for a concession on a new 54 acre plot on the Cotai Strip, so a further resort may be on the cards in the future.

CONTRACTORS

The hotel design and construction project was a joint venture between Leighton Contractors Ltd of Australia and China State Construction Ltd and China Construction Engineering (Macau) Company Ltd. Any foreign contractor wanting to build a project in China needs a Chinese partner. China State Construction Ltd is responsible for the second phase of the project.