Sept. 30 (Bloomberg) — Wynn Macau Ltd., the casino company led by billionaire Stephen Wynn, raised HK$12.6 billion ($1.63 billion) in a Hong Kong initial public offering.

Wynn Macau sold 1.25 billion shares, a 25 percent stake, at HK$10.08 each, the company said today in a statement. The IPO values the business at 14.5 times next year’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization as estimated by banks involved in the sale, a person with knowledge of the matter said. Read the rest of this entry »

MAKUNG, Taiwan — Taiwan’s Penghu group of islands held a referendum on Saturday on whether it should host a new casino following the repeal of a law banning such gambling facilities.

A total of 73,651 residents of the outlying archipelago in the Taiwan Strait are eligible to vote while the outcome is expected around 1000 GMT, the Penghu county government said.

The vote came after the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) party pushed through a controversial bill in parliament in January to lift the decades-long ban on casinos. Read the rest of this entry »

Las Vegas casino operator Wynn Resorts plans to raise up to $1 billion by listing its Macau assets on the Hong Kong stock exchange, two sources with direct knowledge of the deal said on Friday.

The listed unit, Wynn Macau Ltd, will sell 20 percent of its enlarged share capital, said a source who declined to be identified. The tentative listing date for the IPO is set for Oct 9, the source added. Read the rest of this entry »

Genting Singapore has fuelled speculation over a possible entry into the Macau market after it announced a S$1.63bn (US$1.19bn) rights issue that it said will, in part at least, go towards possible future acquisition and investment plans.

The rights issue was announced to the Malaysian Stock exchange on Wednesday and will see the company issue over 2 billion shares at a price of S$0.80. It has been fully underwritten by lead managers DBS Bank and CIMB Bank. Read the rest of this entry »

NEW YORK, Sept. 8, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Melco Crown Entertainment Limited (Nasdaq:MPEL - News), a developer and owner of casino gaming and entertainment resort facilities focused on the Macau market, today announced that Grand Hyatt Macau will open on Tuesday, September 29, 2009, marking the next phase of development at City of Dreams. Read the rest of this entry »

Genting Singapore Plc, which is building one of two casinos in the island nation, surged to a record on speculation its $6.6 billion resort casino in the city-state will open ahead of schedule.

The stock surged up to 9.3% to $1.17. It recently traded 7.5% higher at $1.15, set for its highest close since listing in Sept 1991. Read the rest of this entry »

NEW YORK (AP) — Macau gaming revenue climbed about 17 percent in August, an indication that swine flu fears may be waning and visa restrictions easing, an analyst said Tuesday.
It is only the second time this year that the Chinese enclave has reported monthly gaming revenue growth, Janet Brashear of Bernstein Research said. The increase is so dramatic that Brashear said she assumes some visa restrictions are being loosened. Read the rest of this entry »

NEW YORK (AP) — A Las Vegas Sands Corp. subsidiary has submitted an application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange for a potential listing, according to a regulatory filing on Thursday.

The Sheldon Adelson-led casino operator said in the Securities and Exchange Commission filing that no decisions have been made on the timing or terms of any offering and that there were no guarantees that the subsidiary would follow through with the possible listing. Read the rest of this entry »

Police have found scores of Koreans were involved in illegal gambling in Macao, betting money worth 190 billion won ($155 million).

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency arrested a casino business operator yesterday on charges of running an unlicensed gambling joint. Its 15 employees and five investors were booked without detention. Read the rest of this entry »

James  Packer’s dream to be a world-class casino operator have hit another snag, with his Macau investment reporting falling revenues, more capital expenditure and a worse than expected second-quarter loss of $US78.5 million ($93.8m).

Packer owns 36.4 per cent of the Nasdaq-listed Melco Crown Entertainment (MPEL) business, which owns the City of Dreams casino, and together with other shareholders has shovelled in up to $3.5 billion in licence, construction and fitouts, as part of a grand plan to have stakes in casinos across Europe, the US, Asia and Australia. Read the rest of this entry »