SJM Opens New Gaming Area In Grand Lisboa Casino

SJM Holdings formally opened a new gaming area in its flagship property, the Grand Lisboa casino in Macau as a part of its renovation efforts. The casino had already completed a soft launch in February.

Located in the mezzanine floor, the size of the new gaming area is 870 square metres and is said to feature over 10 gaming tables and more than 40 slot machines in addition to a dining lounge.

A restaurant that was located on the spot was moved to make way for the new gambling area which according to SJM’s earlier announcement was for premium mass market gamblers.

SJM Holdings has been overhauling its facilities in its flagship property as part of an extensive renovation program. The revamp program which began in 2014 is expected to take three years and is the first for the casino since its launch in 2009.

The ground floor of Grand Lisboa is being rebuilt to increase the gaming area, adding five more tables along with 31 new slot machines. Additional retail space is also being planned on the ground floor. The casino is also renovating its hotel rooms for the first time since its launch.

With this latest addition, Grand Lisboa will now have over 400 gaming tables and over 880 slot machines in all. The casino installed 78 multi-game terminals in its mass-market floor earlier this year.

Market analysts have however said that that the non-gaming and mass-market segments will remain critical for success in Macau as the slump in the gambling industry caused due to the anti-corruption crackdown is likely to continue into next year.

Many casinos have thus been concentrating on developing their offerings for mass-market gamblers and families, as evidenced by the facilities in the new integrated casinos that have opened on the Cotai strip. Analysts have cautioned casino operators who do not have facilities on the Cotai strip that they will most likely witness market pressure on their shares.

SJM Holdings is currently in the process of developing a HKD30 billion project called the Grand Lisboa Palace on the Cotai strip and is expected to open by end of 2017.

SJM Holdings is also expected to open its Casino Jai Alai, which is located in the Macau peninsula before the end of this year. The casino currently remains closed as renovation work is going on. The casino was expected to open earlier but the project was stalled in Feb 2014 before SJM Holdings sorted out all issues and redevelopment work commenced from May 2015.

Adrian Sterne

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