The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) announced in a statement yesterday that Melco will close its Mocha Royal slot-machine parlour for good after midnight on December 28.
The slot-machine parlour located in Hotel Royal is one of Melco’s four current Mocha slot-machine parlours that are not housed on its own premises.
Melco announced in June that it decided to terminate the operations of three of its then six Mocha slot-machine parlours not housed on its own premises, namely Kuong Fat, Grand Dragon, and Royal, by December 31 this year.
The slot-machine parlour located in the Kuong Fat Commercial Centre office building in Zape closed for good in September, while the parlour located in Grand Dragon Hotel in Taipa ceased operations on Monday night this week.
Currently, a Mocha slot-machine parlour is housed on Melco’s own premises, namely in the Altira Macau casino-hotel in Taipa.
Concerning the other three Mocha slot-machine parlours not housed on Melco’s own premises, namely Golden Dragon, Sintra, and Inner Harbour, Melco decided to continue operating them after December 31 this year through the hiring of management companies, according to its announcements in June.
The first two of the three Mocha slot-machine parlours are located in Golden Dragon Hotel in Zape and Hotel Sintra in Nam Van district respectively. The Inner Harbour slot-machine parlour is housed in the former Hotel Cantão (“Hotel Canton”).
“Canton” is the old name for Guangzhou.
According to the gaming law’s newly amended version, all casinos and slot-machine parlours must be housed in premises that are owned by their respective gaming concessionaires.
After the three-year transition period stipulated by the new legislation amending the gaming law, which is scheduled to end on December 31 this year, all slot-machine parlours not housed on premises owned by the respective gaming concessionaires must close, unless the concessionaires choose to hire “management companies” to operate the parlours.
Yesterday’s DICJ statement announced that Melco’s Mocha Royal slot-machine parlour will cease operations after 11:59 p.m. on December 28, i.e., just a few days before the expiration of the three-year transition period.
According to the DICJ statement, there are currently 64 employees working at the Mocha Royal slot-machine parlour.
Meanwhile, Melco underlined in a statement yesterday that all local employees working at the Royal slot-machine parlour will be transfered to other Melco gaming premises.
This photo taken in the lobby of Hotel Royal yesterday shows the entrance to the Mocha slot-machine parlour. – Photo: Tony Wong
