Original article: https://www.finet.hk/newscenter/news_content/5c878253bde0b3135ea4469c 3月11日，滙彩控股(01180-HK)大漲17.98%。這個陌生又熟悉的名字，再一次進入了公眾的視線。很多人不禁會問，這不是假期，港股也不算普漲，為何這根陽線，來的讓人如此意外和驚喜。看看他的成交額，仿佛已經有很多人淡忘了這個股票。但其實，細細梳理他的公司2018年的業務，一切都變得並不意外。 滙彩控股(01180-HK)有限公司，1996年12月3日于百慕達註冊成立，其股份自1997年1月20日起在聯交所主板上市(股票代碼: 1180.HK)。滙彩控股(01180-HK)的主要業務為提供娛樂場管理服務以及開發、銷售及租賃電子博彩設備及系統。 正所謂“一條龍”，也不過如此。從上游研發生產到下游賭場管理等，完整的產業鏈條，滙彩控股(01180-HK)可所謂坐擁：澳門團隊，澳門產品，澳門老闆，澳門展覽等, 以及作為澳門本地博彩的機器品牌等，讓滙彩控股(01180-HK)能“躲在家裡不求人，自己自足樂開懷”。滙彩控股(01180-HK)自己給自己提供了一條路，這條路看似舉步維艱，實則給自己的未來鋪出了一條康莊大道。 交通便利，大橋效應繼續顯現 澳門博彩業歷史悠久，跨越3個世紀，被冠以“東方蒙地卡羅”及“亞洲拉斯維加斯”之美譽，是澳門現時最重要的經濟支柱。近年，澳門的博彩毛收入更曾超越了美國拉斯維加斯金光大道，成為全球第一大賭城。2013年後，受內地反腐和經濟放緩影響，行業進入下降通道，2014/2015年收入分別下滑2.6%、34.3%。2016年8月在經歷26個月下滑後行業收入首現正增長（+1.1%），且回暖跡象還在延續和擴大，2016年9-11月，行業收入增幅分別達到7.4%、8.8%、14.4%。截止2018年，大部分月度同比增長在10%以上，1月份最高高達36.4%。 隨著港珠澳大橋的開通，澳門交通環境得到顯著改善：第一，港珠澳大橋開通後，從香港到澳門的車程縮短至30分鐘，從深圳到澳門的車程縮短至45分鐘，同時港珠澳大橋將與香港國際機場相連（香港國際機場客容量達到6800萬人次/年），遊客可從香港下飛機後直接前往澳門；其二，新澳門國際機場完工，承載量將從目前的每年600萬人次增加至每年900萬至1000萬人次，未來增量客流將主要來自於更遠距離的內陸地區。 消費升級是基礎，交通、政策利好提客流收入提高、消費升級是博彩娛樂需求的根本動力。從全球範圍來看，各國博彩收入與人均GDP均存在較強的正相關性。以拉斯維加斯為例，在美國居民人均GDP（現價）從6,000美元提升至2萬美元的過程中，拉斯維加斯博彩業收入年複合增速為13%，持續快速增長。根據相關資料顯示，2016年中國內地人均GDP達5.4萬元，約合7,800美元。而按照目前中國內地經濟發展速度，預計2025年-2028年中國內地人均GDP有望達到2萬美元。 據澳門特區政府旅遊局2019年2月11日公佈的資料顯示，得益於港珠澳大橋開通等因素，春節假期七天（農曆除夕至大年初六）澳門入境旅客超過121萬人次，按年同比上升26.6%。春節行情也讓澳門博彩業重新點燃了希望。 政策刺激，滙彩2018年坐收漁利 2017年12月，澳門博彩監察協調局發佈了《直播式電子賭枱遊戲技術標準（第1.0版）》，並於2018年1月1日生效，規定現有全部的直播式電子賭枱遊戲機需於2019年12月31日或之前更新，加快澳門現有直播式電子賭枱遊戲機的更新換代週期。滙彩控股(01180-HK)作為直播式電子賭枱遊戲機的發明者、專利擁有者及於澳門的獨家供應商，集團在技術層面上占盡優勢，定能受惠於新的技術標準。 大家去賭場可能光顧玩樂，都不去注意機器的生產商或者銷售商。要知道，現時全澳門各大娛樂場均有安裝直播式混合遊戲機，共4700多台，全部均由滙彩控股(01180-HK)製造。新標準等於為匯彩加速收益，滙彩控股(01180-HK)作為直播式電子賭枱遊戲機的發明人、專利擁有人及唯一供應商，擁有充足技術，並足以隨時向已裝有直播式電子賭枱遊戲機的娛樂場提供服務，因為各大博企必須要找匯彩來更新其直播式混合遊戲機，這也為滙彩控股(01180-HK)在2018年帶來龐大的商機和業務量。除了旗艦產品直播混合遊戲機，及其他全新概念博彩器材，跑馬機、智慧牌靴、自動百家樂機器人等，或有望受惠於政策，在銷量上有所提升，加強匯彩控股產品的滲透率。分析人士認為，對滙彩控股(01180-HK)擁有的直播混合遊戲機的前景感到樂觀，並預期未來直播混合遊戲機的銷量會逐步上升，同時為匯彩貢獻更多盈利。 中場客增多，角子機市場更添火熱 在澳門2019年財政年度施政報告中，提及會持續推動博彩業有序發展，加強支援澳門製造品牌，繼續支援博彩企業優先採購澳門中小企的產品及服務。另外，由於港珠澳大橋的通車帶來的便利交通，很多遊客選擇當天往返澳門，例如，早上抵達澳門開始遊玩，晚上不用過夜就去往其他地方。這種樣態造就了澳門賭場，中場客人數的增多，帶動澳門賭業的中場業務。因此，賭場近些年一直在增加角子機數目，資料顯示，2018年首三季澳門賭場角子機總數已較2017年全年增加1596台，預期去年第四季將保持增長。2018年12月澳門賭收按年增長16.6%，連升29個月，進一步助推動角子機銷售。 更新換代快，使用週期短，是角子機的特點。而角子機在前期大量投放研發後，在中後期只需要更換圖片就可以推出適合市場口味的新遊戲。這也使得滙彩控股(01180-HK)，在前期大量的投入研發之後，現在開始收穫利益。角子機，是滙彩控股(01180-HK)之前從未涉足的市場，而這一領域也成為滙彩控股(01180-HK)2018年的亮點所在。加上東南亞新興娛樂場愈來愈多，特別是柬埔寨及越南等地，有強烈的博彩設備需求，因而滙彩控股(01180-HK)在東南亞市場的銷量和業績亦有望得到提升。

The 2015 (20th) Macau Jockey Club “Charity Day” has witnessed a series of exciting race events. Waldo’s sponsorship of one race meeting for “Charity Day” was successfully held on March 28 and the “Waldo Charity Trophy” claimed by the horse “Ratnaraj”. After the race, Mr Jay Chun presented the charity funds cheque of HK$150,000 to Dr Rui Jose da Cunha, Director & Secretary General of Macau Jockey Club, and awarded the trophies to the winning owner, trainer and jockey. As a member of casino gaming industry in Macau, Waldo Casino grows and achieves success and should reciprocate in turn to the community. In addition to commitment to innovation and economic development in tourist industry, Waldo Casino is also keen on charitable activities and devoted to philanthropy. Macau Jockey Club will act on behalf to donate the funds raised on the events to a number of charitable organizations in Macau as disaster relief and assistance for needy communities. Group photo at the prize presentation ceremony of the “Waldo Charity Trophy” Mr Jay Chun, Chairman of Paradise Entertainment Limited, presents the charity fund cheque Mr Jay Chun, Chairman of Paradise Entertainment Limited, presents “Waldo Charity Trophy” to the winner

Mr. Jay Chun, Chairman and Managing Director of Paradise Entertainment Limited, attended 2014/2015 opening ceremony of the Macao Polytechnic Institute and academic scholarship presentation ceremony on 22nd August, 2014, and presented the "LT Game Limited Scholarship" to awarded students.

Casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp acted as matchmaker in the strategic partnership announced on Thursday between Macau-based electronic table games specialist LT Game Ltd and U.S.-based slot machine maker International Game Technology (IGT). Jay Chun (pictured left), chairman of LT Game, told GGRAsia on the sidelines of the partnership signing ceremony in Hong Kong, that the initial meeting was brokered by senior executives of Las Vegas Sands during the International Casino Exhibition – known as ICE – held in London in February. “We were introduced by very senior management of Las Vegas Sands from Las Vegas during the ICE show in London,” said Mr Chun. “They said ‘You can have some strategy to work together. You [LT Game] are very good on the tables games, and you [IGT] are very good on the slot machines’.” Under the three-year agreement, IGT will distribute LT Game’s live and electronic table game products on an exclusive basis in the U.S. and Canada. LT Game will serve as distributor for IGT’s slot machines in Macau. IGT is additionally granted right of first refusal for distribution of LT Game products in Europe, the Caribbean, Mexico, South America and other parts of Central America. Mr Chun’s Live Multi-Game product – using a live dealer but electronic betting and bet settlement – is a category that has gained popularity in Macau partly because of the local government’s cap on the number of traditional live dealer tables. It is also a product area that IGT has largely left alone so far. In North American markets table numbers are not necessarily an issue, and labour costs for trained dealers – as opposed to electronic game attendants – can actually be cheaper than in Macau. According to Macau government data, traditional casino dealers in Macau earned on average MOP16,710 (US$2,093) per month – equal to US$25,000 per year – by the end of last year. In the U.S., the national average base pay for a traditional casino dealer is US$14,700 a year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but that figure does not include company benefits and tips. However, the use of electronic bet settlement can push up the number of hands per hour, and the multiples bet, creating an attractive business model for casino operators, say investment analysts. Robert Amerine (pictured right), IGT’s director, corporate strategy, had earlier told Thursday’s press conference: “Las Vegas Sands was very interested in taking the [LT Game] product to the U.S. markets. And in moving to the U.S., you’ve got a distributed market with a lot of different properties, where LT Game will benefit strategically from the infrastructure that IGT already has in place from a service and sales standpoint.” He added: “I think Las Vegas Sands recognised there was an opportunity for us strategically in combination to work together. So they arranged some of the early meetings.” The deal – negotiated over more than six months according to Mr Chun – could quickly, possibly by the end of this year, start to reap rewards for both partners. “I think toward the end of the year you will see big changes,” Mr Chun told us. IGT licensing It potentially opens up the North American market to LT Game – a unit of Hong Kong-listed Paradise Entertainment Ltd – via IGT’s several hundred jurisdictional licences there, he added. The firm announced in July it had been licensed to sell its products in Nevada following a successful field trial at Las Vegas Sands’ Palazzo Casino. Robert Amerine told GGRAsia on the sidelines of Thursday’s event: “If you count the gaming licences in the tribal gaming jurisdictions, the number of [IGT sales] licences is probably in the couple of hundred range.” He added: “How quickly LT Game could benefit from the IGT licensing would depend very heavily on the specific jurisdictions. Some jurisdictions follow GLI [Gaming Laboratories International] standards for example. So to the extent that you go through the product regulatory process to ultimately approve within GLI [standards] that may open up some jurisdictions immediately.” Asked if there were any plans for IGT to take any equity stake in LT Game, Mr Amerine told us: “At this point we’re focused on making the commercial relationship work, so there is no minority investment. It’s not something we’ve contemplated at this point, so we’re going to stay focused on making this strategic alliance work.” Asked whether the deal had to be approved by lottery company GTech SpA – which in mid-July said it was acquiring IGT in a US$6.4 billion leveraged deal – Mr Amerine told us: “We’ve been working in consultation with GTech to make sure they’re fully up to speed with it and fully supportive. GTech is very excited about this relationship going forward.” Commenting on LT Game working as IGT’s sales agent in Macau, Mr Amerine indicated that there could also be collaboration on game content in the slot segment, as well as improved relationships at government level. He said: “We feel with a local partner the ability to have better access [in Macau]; [to have local] market research and the local relationships that go along with regulatory approvals, that [the partnership] will help us navigate [deals] faster and in higher quantities.” Mr Chun told GGRAsia that because IGT’s partnership with LT Game in Macau was focused on slot product and not electronic table game product, it would not be affected by ongoing litigation over patent rights in the Macau market between LT Game and SHFL entertainment Inc. (Source: http://www.ggrasia.com/lvs-the-matchmaker-in-igt-lt-game-teaming-jay-chun/)

Forward With a Vision Not content with dominating the electronic table gaming market in Macau,LT Game showed off a varied assortment of innovative new products at G2E Asia During the last G2E Asia, LT Game had the honour to received from Inside Asian Gaming the IAG 2014 Supplier Award for “Best Multi-Terminal Product” for LT’s Live Table Multi-Game System. The Live Multi-Game System is perfect for our customer because it gives them the opportunity to gambling simultaneously in one terminal on different tables and games without leave their chair. Also for the casinos, the Live Multi-Game System has many benefits.  The number of the players who can bet for each table is higher than the amount of a traditional table. The casino needs less dealers and the games go faster than in the traditional tables. All these benefits give to the Casino operators the opportunity to increase their profit. Mr. Jay Chun, chairman of LT Game collected the award in our magnificent installation we had in the show G2E Asia from IAG’s Editor James Rutherford. LT Game sincerely appreciates IAG for this award. This recognition of our efforts gives us a sense of security and confidence in our daily job  We will redouble our efforts to keep growing and improve our level to support our costumer. Lt Game is going on working hard with new ideas and products and we will expect earn this award again the next year. Download

Some Find Profits in Asia’s Low Rollers;ABare-Bones Establishment Emerges as a Big Winner BY KATE O’KEEFFE High-rollers who bet millions without batting an eye have turned Macau into the world’s gambling capital. But a bare-bones casino where gamblers pay for their own drinks has emerged as an unlikely winner in the Chinese territory by trumpeting its HK$20($2.58) minimum bets. Jay Chun says his Kam Pek casino,housed in a downtown office building across the street from the glamorous Wynn Macau, caters to the gamblers that other Macau casinos don’t want. By embracing technology to tame the city’s high costs, he says, Kam Pek achieves some ofthe highest profit margins in the city. Macau’s annual gambling revenueshot up from less than $3billion in 2002 to $45 billion, or seven times that of the Las Vegas Strip, last year. But in the race toserve the city’s high rollers within creasingly luxurious casino resorts,low-budget gamblers were left without many options. Over the past year alone, average minimum bets at mass market,or non-VIP, gambling tables in Macau have more than doubled to HK$1,000 ($129) from around HK$400 ($52), says analyst Aaron Fischer of brokerage CLSA. That compares with minimum bets of $7 to $50 at casinosin Las Vegas and most other casinos globally, the brokerage estimates. Lower-budget gamblers in Macau are “a huge market to tap,” says Lee Wee Keat, an analystat Singapore’s DBS Vickers Securities. Macau’s customer mix is “likea pyramid,” says Mr. Chun, chairmanof Paradise EntertainmentLtd., the publicly traded company that manages Kam Pek.“Everyone focuses on the top but we focus on the bottom.” Casinos spend lavishly ontheir best clients, many of whom hail from mainland China. For example, they offered private jets for all-expenses-paid trips to Las Vegas to ring in the Lunar New Year, which began Friday. At Kam Pek, top customers were offered the chance to redeem their loyalty points for popular dried-seafood products to celebrate the holiday, but they still had to pay for their own drinks. Gamblers can also use points to enter the “Fun Machine Cash Cube,” which gives them 30 seconds to grab crumbled bills blown around by a fan. If customers want to spend the night at Kam Pek, they are offered one of about 30 basic rooms the casino doles out to its better players for a quick rest,but “they can’t complain...it’s for free,” says Mr. Chun. “Most ofthe time they’re waiting for the border to open,” he adds, referring to Macau’s border with mainland China, which shut sovernight until 7 a.m. About half the casino’s patron sare from mainland China,30% are from Macau, and many of the rest come from Taiwan and Korea, Mr. Chun says. Kam Pek has also solved some of Macau’s most vexing problems:the high cost and low availability of labor. The city’s gamblers like table games, in particular baccarat, which require lots of dealers. That’s a problem because dealers can only be drawn from Macau’s 600,000 citizens, and just 1.8% ofthem are unemployed, which makes them expensive. The solution: live-video gaming that allows eight, rather than 100, dealers to handle 900 gamblers. The dealers sit alone at tables, continuously drawing cards for a video that’s broadcaston gamblers’ personal electronic stations. The gamblers,who can see only the dealers’ hands and the cards on their own screens, can bet on multiple tables from their seats. Each dealer “is basically like a robot,”says Mr. Chun. “It’s a pretty easy job.” On a recent Friday afternoon, the casino, which occupies 220,000 square feet across five floors, was crowded, smoky and raucous. Decor includes fish tanks, motorbikes and Portuguese-style tile floors, a nod to the city’s former colonial rulers. Mr. Chun operates Kam Pekunder the casino license of SJM Holdings Ltd., Macau’s largest Continued from the prior page casino operator. When he tookover the property at the end of 2007, it was generating HK$9 million in monthly revenue from fewer than 1,000 visitors a day.Now it brings in 13,000 gamblers a day who generate HK$100million in revenue a month. The casino’s labor costs are more than 30% below the rest of the market, he says. Kam Pek’s parent company,Paradise Entertainment, has also profited from another Macau government policy plaguing competitors: a cap on the numberof gambling tables in the territory. As each electronic gambling machine counts as only a fraction of a traditional table under government rules, more casinos have ordered Paradise’s machines to fill their floors. The company has international ambitions as well. In November,Paradise Entertainment launched machines at the Sands’ Palazzo casino in Las Vegas.Palazzo has erected a sign celebrating its $5 minimum betsas the lowest in town. “We think their product is uniquely positioned to accommodate customers with potentially lower gaming budgets, a segment which has largely been abandonedin North America due tothe cost of labor," says Ron Reese, a Las Vegas Sands Corp.spokesman.   (Source: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303743604579352783979643194)

匯彩老虎機瞄準澳博 【本報訊】有份經營金碧匯彩娛樂場的匯彩控股（1180）打算開拓老虎機業務，計劃在農曆新年前將有首批「自家製」的150部老虎機進駐澳博（880）旗下的新葡京賭場，會把經營直播式電子賭枱的經驗放在老虎機業務上。 盼海外收入佔逾三成 匯彩主席陳捷接受訪問時表示，公司目前主營真人派牌的直播式電子賭枱，亦有意擴展至生產及營運老虎機。他指出，雖然老虎機平均收入較直播式電子賭枱低四成，加上市場競爭非常激烈，惟加入老虎機業務有助集團為賭場提供整體解決方案（total solution）。直播式電子賭枱方面，陳捷料明年將可銷售超過3,000部直播式電子賭枱，可帶來約4.7億元的收入。他又透露，下周將有首批24部的直播式電子賭枱進駐拉斯維加斯，並會繼續拓展美國及澳洲等市場，冀海外市場佔總收入比例可由現時的兩成增加至三成以上。匯彩月初曾向美國基金公司配股集資7,730萬元，預計於今日完成。陳捷指出集團現金流情況良好，暫未有新一輪的「抽水」計劃。 (Source: http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/financeestate/art/20131115/18508804)

Paradise Entertainment Ltd. (1180), the supplier of gambling equipment in Macau, forecast a rise of at least 35 percent in sales next year and said it aims to expand overseas to sell its electronic table games outside the city. Sales may rise by at least 35 percent next year as Macau casinos order more electronic table games, Chairman and Managing Director Jay Chun said in an interview in Macau yesterday. The company gets almost all its revenue from the world’s largest gambling hub. The supplier to casino companies such as Sands China Ltd. (1928),SJM Holdings Ltd. (880) and Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (MPEL), has benefited from Macau’s transformation into the world’s largest gambling hub with six times the revenue of Las Vegas. Paradise Entertainment aims to expand into the U.S., Australia, Singapore, Cambodia and Vietnam, Chun said. “There are about one million gaming machines in the U.S. right now, whereas Macau only has 16,000,” the executive said. “The U.S. market will definitely be our priority.” The company plans to accelerate expansion into the country next year, he said. The stock climbed 5.2 percent to HK$3.64 in Hong Kong, the highest close since August 2009. The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 1.7 percent. Paradise Entertainment also manages the Kam Pek Paradise casino under the license of SJM, Asia’s largest operator, in the only city in China where casinos are legal. It aims to operate two more casinos in the Chinese city, Chun said, without disclosing details. The company’s revenue rose 27 percent to HK$405 million in the first six months of the year.   Market Share The company currently accounts for 20 percent of the slot machine market in Macau and 60 percent of the electronic live table games market, Chun said. The Hong Kong-listed company expects sales for its slot machines to rise above 40 percent next year, he said. Paradise Entertainment’s first-half profit dropped about 15 percent to HK$40.2 million because of aone-off disposal gain recorded in the same period a year earlier. Sands China, Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd. (27) and Melco Crown have been expanding on Cotai, a piece of reclaimed land that is Macau’s equivalent to the Las Vegas Strip. Smaller rivalsWynn Macau Ltd. (1128) and MGM China Holdings Ltd. (2282) are building their first resorts there. The expansion is boosting the demand for gambling equipment such as Paradise Entertainment’smulti-games live table machines, which allow gamblers to play multiple games such as jackpot and baccarat at a terminal-based table with real-life dealers concurrently.   Overseas Expansion Located next to SJM’s oldest Lisboa casino in Macau’s peninsula, Kam Pek Paradise casino has 37 gaming tables, more than 900 live multi-game machines and over 300 slot machines, according to the company’s website. Paradise Entertainment announced on Nov. 5 that it had raised about HK$77.6 million by issuing 33.7 million new shares at HK$2.3 each to two U.S.-based investment funds, according to a statementto Hong Kong stock exchange. The proceeds will be used as working capital, it said. Gambling revenue in Macau increased 18 percent to 297.1 billion patacas in the first 10 months of this year, close to the $38 billion revenue raked in last year, as improved rail connection, added entertainment shows and hotel rooms drew more gamblers to the Chinese city. To contact the reporter on this story: Vinicy Chan in Hong Kong at vchan91@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephanie Wong at swong139@bloomberg.net   (Source:http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-14/paradise-entertainment-sees-35-sales-growth-on-casino-boom.html)

The Secretary for Economy and Finance Francis Tam Pak Yuen said on Friday that the limit of 5500 gaming tables until 2013 has almost been reached, and “the average yearly increase in the next 10 years cannot exceed three percent.” This would mean around 2,000 new tables for the gaming operators during the next decade. The government will evaluate the distribution of the number of gaming tables requested by the remaining five casino projects, namely Wynn, MGM, Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM) and Galaxy at Cotai, as well as the upcoming Studio City project, which presented its request for a casino opening before 2008. It’s the first time Tam has confirmed that Studio City is among the operators who are eligible to apply for a new casino. He only mentioned SJM, MGM, Galaxy and Wynn in the past. The main evaluation criteria for the distribution of tables will be the “scale and proportion between the elements related and the ones not related to gaming.” As to Studio City, Mr Tam added the information that “they were given the land already in 2003. The question is whether or not this land can have casinos or not”, he stated. “At the time of the first request they did not include any projects for casinos. It must be evaluated.” According to the Secretary, “this can’t be done fast.” Also, the requested 400 gaming tables for the recently-opened Sheraton Hotel in Sands Cotai Central will probably be approved “only next year”. The government had originally agreed to this number of tables and 200 were approved already. The Secretary also referred to Sands’ “little Paris” project saying, “This is no new project, as it had already been integrated into the Venetian and Four Seasons projects. It’s only the construction works that are divided into different phases.”   (Source:http://www.macaudailytimes.com.mo/macau/38774-francis-tam-reaffirms-no-more-than-3-increase-in-gaming-tables-during-next-10-years.html)

acau, China, 20 Sept - Secretary for Economy and Finance Francis Tam Pak Yuen said Monday that any gaming operators filing new applications for a casino licence would still be subjected to a cap on the city’s total number of gaming tables which is set to a maximum of three percent growth each year, The Macau Post Daily reports today. Tam made the comment on the sidelines of a trade promotion event between provinces and regions under the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA).  “Based on the direction of the government’s policies, the number of gaming tables in Macau will grow at a maximum rate of three percent annually in the decade after 2013, because the current agreements between the government and the [six] gaming operators will expire between 2020 and 2022,” Tam said. The government set the cap on the number of gaming tables at 5,500 until 2013 after the number had increased four to five percent on average since 2007. At the end of June, the number of gaming tables stood at 5,237. At the end of 2007, the number amounted to 4,375. There is no official cap on the number of slot machines, which stood at 15,098 at the end of June. At the end of 2007, there were 13,267 slot machines.  “Any gaming operator that wishes to open a casino at any new resort must file a separate application to the government to obtain a licence to operate the casino,” Tam said, without going into further details as to whether Wynn Macau or Macau Studio City had applied for additional casino operating licences.(MacauNews/Gaming) (Source:http://www.macaunews.com.mo/content/view/1467/13/lang,english/)

Drug producer seals deal to supply betting machines to Greek Mythology LifeTec Group, a Hong Kong-listed drugmaker, expects its new gambling-related business to account for 90 per cent of the company's earnings in five years. The company made the forecast after reaching an agreement with Macau's New Century Hotel Greek Mythology Casino, which operates under the Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM) licence, to provide up to 300 live baccarat betting system terminals to the casino over five years. LifeTec, which posted a net loss of $24 million last year, expects the project to generate at least $200 million in revenue each year. It also plans to expand its gambling-related business to other casinos. Under the agreement, LifeTec will take up to 24 per cent of the profit of Greek Mythology's baccarat betting segment, the Macau government 40 per cent, SJM 29 per cent and Greek Mythology the remaining 7 per cent. In return, LifeTec will be responsible for installing and maintaining the machines and for staff costs. It costs $100,000 to install a machine, according to Philip Poon, senior vice-president and company secretary. Mr Poon said the company had invested more than $5 million in research and development of the machines, which enable 30 people to bet simultaneously at a baccarat table via an intranet. At present, a Macau baccarat table, which generates net profit of between $30,000 and $50,000 a day, can only accommodate nine customers at a time. While SJM wants to use the baccarat betting system exclusively, LifeTec plans to sell the system to other licensed casinos. Under the agreement, SJM will take 2 per cent of the profit from every LifeTec baccarat betting machine incorporated in casinos under other licences, according to LifeTec chairman Jay Chun. Mr Chun said the company would need to raise funds to meet its target of installing 1,000 machines in Macau in two years. While LifeTec would rely heavily on its gambling-related business, Mr Chun said there were no plans to phase out its drug segment. He said the company was developing a drug for treating liver cancer. Reporter Andy Cheng (Source:http://www.scmp.com/article/551827/lifetec-sees-big-payout-gaming)

Pharmaceuticals firm LifeTec Group announced yesterday it had signed a five-year contract with Macau gaming boss Stanley Ho Hung-sun's Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM) to install proprietary semi-automated baccarat gaming systems in all 16 casinos run under the SJM umbrella. In a revenue-sharing deal similar to the subcontracting agreements SJM has with VIP room operators, LifeTec will receive 31 per cent of the winnings from the baccarat tables it manages. The new gaming system features a human dealer, but unlike traditional baccarat where players sit 14 to a table, LifeTec's version has 20 singleplayer video terminals with touch-screen betting and a computerised payout program. The company installed its first 20 terminals inside the Greek Mythology casino, which has a revenue-sharing agreement with A-Max Holdings, and plans double the number to 40 by the end of the month. LifeTec will install another 20 terminals in the Jai Alai casino by early next month and hopes to have 300 terminals across Macau by the end of the year. 'We are offering a service in between the traditional mass-market tables and the VIP rooms,' said company secretary Philip Poon Yick-pang. 'This live baccarat system is a combination of [traditional] baccarat and the slot-machine styles of gaming and we feel the potential is enormous,' Mr Poon said. LifeTec shares surged 25 per cent to close at 13 cents in trading onThursday even though a press release announcing the deal was notdistributed until after the market closed. The firm announced the deal to the stock exchange yesterday morning and after a brief midday rise the counter slid 5.38 per cent to end the week at 12.3 cents. LifeTec is controlled by chairman and managing director Jay Chun, who holds 14.46 per cent of its shares. Gaming is a new business for the lossmaking firm, which has focused mainly on selling biopharmaceutical products. Mr Chun was founding chairman of the Chamber of Hong Kong Listed Companies, currently chaired by Mr Ho's son, Lawrence. Lawrence Ho is the chairman of rival gaming firm Melco InternationalDevelopment, which operates slot machine gaming parlours in Macau. Melco's technology-focused subsidiary Elixir Group makes and supplies the video terminals used in LifeTec's baccarat system. The video terminals cost LifeTec less than $100,000 per unit, according to Mr Chun. In addition to providing the terminals, the SJM deal also calls for LifeTec to cover the costs of maintenance and technical support, pay rent to the hotel proprietor, and pay the salaries of SJM staff who operate the baccarat tables. Mr Chun said these expenses would take more than half of his firm's revenue from the gaming operation, but did not provide a more detailed earnings projection. Reporter Neil Gough (Source:http://www.scmp.com/article/548581/lifetec-bets-baccarat-gambling-goes-electric)