Macau’s Latest VIP Slot Parlor Struggles To Gain Traction

Macau’s Jimei casino recently decided to experiment with a new form of VIP gaming by opening out a VIP slot club in an effort to attract VIP gamblers back to Macau. The new VIP slot club is having a sluggish start in its very first month. According to news reports, the club has already decided to reduce its membership charges in an attempt to attract players and build a VIP base of customers who are interested in slots.

Jimei Casino which is a part of SJM Holdings decided to launch a VIP slot parlor earlier this year in a bid to cater to revive the high roller market in Macau. Jimei just like other casinos in Macau has been rapidly losing VIP gaming revenue as a result of the stringent anti-corruption campaign in China.

Macau as a rule attracted VIP gamblers who always preferred to play high-stakes table games, especially baccarat. Jimei would have never flirted with the idea of introducing a high stakes VIP slots club if it wasn’t for the anti-corruption crackdown and its impact on the VIP market segment. Jimei believes that there is a segment of high roller gamblers who would be interested in high-stakes slot games.

Jimei wanted to test the concept of offering slot games exclusively to VIP gamblers in its new club, the Grand Prize VIP Club. The casino has tied-up with junket operators to bring in these VIP gamblers who will be able to play at the 130 slot machines on offer at the club.

Analyst Grant Govertsen of Union Gaming Securities Asia Ltd had stated at the time of launch of the VIP slots club that it would be difficult to attract and retain VIP players exclusively on the basis of slot machines. Based on the club’s first month performance it appears that Govertsen’s prediction is pretty accurate.

According to news reports, the room is already agreed to waive or reduce the membership fee of HK$100,000 (US$12,854) to bring in VIP customers. There were also reports that these slot machines were now permitting players to make bets as low as HK$1.

The slow start could also be attributed to the fact that the Jimei casino is not one of the well-known or highly rated casinos in Macau. Junket operators have also been under heavy pressure due to bad debts, increased regulations and a continued slump in VIP revenue which have impact their operations significantly.

The operator of the slot parlor, Zhang Zheng remains confident that the VIP room will do well. In a statement, Zhang Zheng said,

Operating a traditional baccarat VIP room can barely make profit these days. I am confident the VIP slots room can perform well because it faces less competition.

Adrian Sterne

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