The listed arm of Suncity owns 34% of central Vietnam beachfront resort Hoiana. (Photo provided by Hoiana)
Once dominant in Macau’s junket business, Suncity has fallen on hard times. Founder Alvin Chau’s late November arrest toppled its junket business and nearly that entire segment of the Macau gaming economy. Last week, the non-junket listed arm of Suncity reported a US$83 million loss in 2021, casting “significant doubt on the group’s ability to continue as a going concern.”
Amid the devastation, Vietnam beachfront casino resort Hoiana should prove Suncity’s lasting positive legacy. The listed side of Suncity owns 34% of Hoiana, a US$4 billion project soft opened in June 2020, 15 minutes drive from Hoi An, a UNESCO World Heritage site. As travel restrictions ease across Asia, Hoiana appears poised for success, whatever happens with Suncity.
With high rollers increasingly scarce, Las Vegas Sands subsidiary Sands China is betting that fake London, alongside fake Venice and Paris, will bring in crowds . (Photo provided by Sands China)
Mainland high rollers can still gamble millions in Macau. Without junkets, though, they’ll have to find their own means to skirt China’s currency controls. And they’ll know exactly how Beijing feels about their activities.
Suncity’s Hong Kong listed arm, which excludes its junket business but holds stakes in casino properties Hoiana in Vietnam and Tigre di Crystal in Russia plus a casino hotel under development in Manila’s Entertainment City, says Chau plans to resign as its chairman and CEO.
My ICE365 article on Genting’s licensing in Nevada while discounting its Philippines business highlights how regulators around the world have perfected the art of diminishing, if not disregarding, inconvenient facts. In Macau, at least for now, the authorities have lost their blinders when it comes to Suncity. This story has barely begun to unfold.
Totally globalized native New Yorker and former broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is a blogger for Forbes, editor at large for Inside Asian Gaming 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.
Totally globalized native New Yorker and former broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is a blogger for Forbes, editor at large for Inside Asian Gaming 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.
Totally globalized native New Yorker and former broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is a blogger for Forbes, editor at large for Inside Asian Gaming 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.
Totally globalized native New Yorker and former broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is a blogger for Forbes, editor at large for Inside Asian Gaming 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.
With high rollers leading the way, Macau casino revenue rose 18% in March, way ahead of forecasts. Despite the VIP spike, government and casino operators insist the new Macau is all about mass market tourism.
Totally globalized native New Yorker and former broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is a blogger for Forbes, editor at large for Inside Asian Gaming 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.
The tiny casino in a shopping mall on US Pacific island Saipan reports more high roller betting than Venetian Macao, using Macau tools and connections. But casino owner Imperial Pacific International is struggling to raise money to complete its beachfront hotel with a full-fledged casino.
Totally globalized native New Yorker and former broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is a blogger for Forbes, editor at large for Inside Asian Gaming 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.
Aided by Chinese New Year crowds, February was Macau casinos’ best month in two years. Despite the much-discussed pivot toward mass tourism, VIP play is again leading revenue growth, though some doubt the trend’s sustainability.
Totally globalized native New Yorker and former broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is a blogger for Forbes, editor at large for Inside Asian Gaming 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.
, 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 
Muhammad Cohen 