Casino mogul Steve Wynn a new rival for Packer-backed Melco Crown

James Packer has fresh competition for gaming dollars in struggling Macau, with Steve Wynn’s new mega-resort.

A guest photographs the sound, water and light show outside the Wynn Palace. Pic: AFP

US tycoon Steve Wynn has opened a $US4 billion mega-resort in Macau — complete with giant lake, musical fountains and cable cars — as the Chinese casino enclave battles to turn around its fortunes.

The opening is set to intensify competition in the struggling gambling hub, where the James Packer-backed Studio City is already battling a slump in demand following its opening last year.

At a ceremony attended by 1000 guests, Mr Wynn launched the Wynn Palace: 560,000 square metres of entertainment with a central casino, more than 50 shops, 13 restaurants and 1700 hotel rooms starting at under $US300.

The Wynn Palace’s carousel floral sculpture.

The fanfare included dancing fountains, and a carousel and ferris wheel made from flowers.

Also on display was a rare quartet of Qing dynasty vases, which a company statement said had been installed in the resort “as part of Steve Wynn’s efforts to bring Chinese artwork home”.

“The only other such quartet is in Buckingham Palace in London,” the statement added.

Mr Wynn is gambling on Macau even as it faces a downturn following a corruption crackdown by China’s President Xi Jinping and a slowdown in the Chinese economy.

The clampdown has driven away many high-rollers from the mainland who propped up VIP tables in Macau, the only part of China where it is legal to gamble. Mass market tourism is now touted as the enclave’s potential saviour.

With authorities under pressure from Beijing to diversify from gambling — and a three per cent cap on annual gaming table growth across Macau — the semi-autonomous Chinese territory is suffering a third year of declining gaming revenues.

Mr Packer has been among those feeling the pinch in Macau. Crown Resorts (CWN), in which he holds a 53 per cent interest, recently cut its stake in Macau-focused Melco Crown from 34 per cent to 27.4 per cent.

That selldown was followed by Crown Resorts’ announcement that it plans to demerge its Australian assets from its international operations. Investor reaction to the slowdown in Macau was said to be one of the factors driving the demerger plan.

While a potential recovery is tipped for Macau, analysts have warned increasing competition from rivals will dent any uplift for Melco Crown.

Melco Crown head Lawrence Ho warned in June that increasing competition in the mass market in Macau was “a bit worrying” in the short term.

Speaking to reporters last week Mr Wynn, 74, was bullish about his own project, insisting that gambling is no longer the main focus.

“My reality is the experience people get in this building — when that is perfect, the money takes care of itself,” he said.

Steve Wynn talks to reporters in Macau.

Recent resort openings by Galaxy and Melco Crown’s Studio City have upped the non-casino element, including everything from river rapids to a figure of eight ferris wheel.

In October Las Vegas Sands is due to open another mega-resort, La Parisian, in Macau, featuring a half-scale Eiffel Tower.

Analysts remain cautious over whether the mass appeal of the new mega resorts can really make up for the high-rollers.

Macau overtook Las Vegas as the world’s casino capital in terms of revenue after the sector was opened to foreign competition in 2002, and still leads its US counterpart despite the downturn.

Mr Wynn believes the new formula works. “We’ve got something for everybody here,” he said.

With AFP