Philippine hit, Macau miss in 2015 predictions

Last January, my prediction of a Macau recovery in 2015 was well off the mark, but I made better calls on the Philippines, Australia and Japan.

Totally globalized native New Yorker and former broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is a blogger for Forbes and author of Hong Kong On Air, a novel set in his adopted hometown during the 1997 handover about television news, love, betrayal, high finance, and cheap lingerie. See his bio, online archive and more at www.muhammadcohen.com; follow him on Facebook and Twitter @MuhammadCohen.

Vietnam’s biggest casino ups its resort game

New management at Vietnam’s first integrated resort destination, the Ho Tram Strip announces more hotel rooms, villas and condos plus added resort amenities, even if the most of the new visitors can’t play in its foreigners-only casino. Hotels, restaurants and golf have better margins than casinos, especially in Asia’s cut-throat high roller market.

Totally globalized native New Yorker and former broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is a blogger for Forbes and author of Hong Kong On Air, a novel set in his adopted hometown during the 1997 handover about television news, love, betrayal, high finance, and cheap lingerie. See his bio, online archive and more at www.muhammadcohen.com; follow him on Facebook and Twitter @MuhammadCohen.

Falcone resignation ‘positive’ for Vietnam casino

Vietnam casino resort developer Asian Coast Development Ltd (ACDL) says that Philip Falcone’s resignation from Wall Street’s Harbinger Group is a “positive development” for its Ho Tram Strip resort cluster, two hours south of Ho Chi Minh City, the former Saigon. Falcone’s independent Harbinger Capital Partners is the majority investor in ACDL. With a new Greg Norman golf course and new executive leadership, Ho Tram Strip envisions beachfront condominiums to double the size of its first casino resort. The revamped casino team has booked record revenue in October and November, while hoping that Vietnamese will be allowed to try their luck at the tables in the year ahead.

Totally globalized native New Yorker and former broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is a blogger for Forbes and author of Hong Kong On Air, a novel set in his adopted hometown during the 1997 handover about television news, love, betrayal, high finance, and cheap lingerie. See his bio, online archive and more at www.muhammadcohen.com; follow him on Facebook and Twitter @MuhammadCohen.