Koons And Kitsch
Besides the usual constellation of luxury stores, the new resort is festooned with $100-150 million worth of art including a $35 million Jeff Koons "tulip" sculpture and a quartet of $15 million antique Chinese vases.
Planned several years ago when soaring revenues seemed unstoppable, the projects initially budgeted for earnings about four times bigger than what is currently being generated.
Macau is the only place in China where gambling in casinos is legal but demand from wealthy patrons has plummeted over the past two years due to Beijing's crackdown on graft and China's slowing economy. Regional rivals like the Philippines and Vietnam have sought to capitalize on the situation by luring Chinese gamblers to their own casino hubs.
New openings from Melco Crown and Galaxy Entertainment last year have not significantly bolstered receipts, while operators are being frustrated by strict official limits on gaming table allocations.
Wynn Macau's share price tumbled after it confirmed it had received only a third of the gaming tables it had requested, as the government tries to wean itself off gaming revenues and re-brand Macau as a more mass-market destination.
Wynn Palace and Adelson's Parisian resort, due to open on Sept. 13, will add close to 5,000 hotel rooms. MGM China, SJM Holdings and The 13 Holding are also set to open multibillion resorts in the next two years.
This article was provided by Reuters.