Landmark Casino in Zape will close for good after midnight on December 30, just one day before the expiration of the statutory three-year transition period after which all “satellite casinos” in Macau must close.
The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) announced the casino’s upcoming closure in a statement yesterday.
Except Le Royal Arc Casino located in L’Arc Hotel in Nape, which currently is still a third-party-operated satellite casino but is scheduled to become a casino directly run by gaming concessionaire SJM after the three-year transition period, Landmark Casino, at New Orient Landmark Hotel in Zape, is now the city’s last remaining satellite casino set to close down permanently, following Fortuna Casino’s closure on Tuesday night this week.
The government announced in June that in compliance with the three-year transition period stipulated by the new legislation amending the gaming law, all of the city’s then 11 satellite casinos decided to close for good by December 31 this year. Grandview Casino in Taipa, which closed in late July, was the first of them to cease operations.
After Grand Dragon Casino, also in Taipa, closed in September, two satellite casinos in the peninsula, namely Emperor Palace Casino in Nam Van district and Waldo Casino in Zape, ceased operations in late October.
Afterwards, three other satellite casinos closed down permanently at different times last month, namely Legend Palace Casino located in the Macau Fisherman’s Wharf entertainment complex in Nape, Casa Real Casino in Zape, and Ponte 16 Casino located in the Ponte 16 hotel resort in the Inner Harbour district.
After Kam Pek Paradise Casino in Zape ceased operations on Monday night last week, its adjacent Fortuna Casino closed for good on Tuesday night this week.
Consequently, Landmark Casino is now one of the city’s last two satellite casinos and will be the 10th satellite casino to cease operations, with the other remaining one being Le Royal Arc Casino.
The so-called satellite casinos in Macau are formally owned by gaming concessionaires but are actually run and managed by third parties as they are housed on premises that are not owned by the respective gaming concessionaires.
After the three-year transition period, which is scheduled to end on December 31 this year, all satellite casinos must close, unless the respective gaming concessionaire chooses to hire a “management company” to operate the casino. However, such a management company is only allowed to receive a management fee from the respective gaming concessionaire, no longer being permitted to share in the casino’s revenues.
The three respective gaming concessionaires, SJM, Galaxy, and Melco, decided in June to terminate the operations of all 11 satellite casinos before the expiration of the transition period based on their respective commercial decisions, meaning that none of the three gaming concessionaires decided to continue operating these casinos through the hiring of management companies after December 31 this year.
Among the 11 satellite casinos, Waldo Casino was formally owned by Galaxy, while Grand Dragon Casino was owned by Melco, with the other nine by SJM.
Unlike its other satellite casinos, SJM has signed an agreement to acquire the ownership of L’Arc Hotel in order to convert Le Royal Arc Casino into a “directly-operated” casino after its scheduled closure as a satellite casino. After the acquisition gets off the ground, Le Royal Arc Casino will continue operating, but no longer as a third-party managed business but as a casino directly operated by SJM.
As Le Royal Arc Casino is set to become a casino directly operated by SJM, Landmark Casino, located in New Orient Landmark Hotel on Avenida da Amizade, is now the city’s last remaining satellite casino set to close down permanently.
Yesterday’s DICJ statement announced that after business negotiations, Landmark Casino’s third-party operator and SJM decided to terminate the operations of the casino after 11:59 p.m. on December 30, i.e., just 24 hours before the expiration of the three-year transition period.
The statement pledged that the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, in collaboration with the Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL), will ensure that SJM fulfils its promise to ensure the employment of those working at Landmark Casino after its closure.
According to the statement, there are currently 1,169 employees working at Landmark Casino.
Meanwhile, SJM noted in a statement yesterday that all gaming tables and slot machines currently operating at Landmark Casino will be redeployed to other SJM casinos.
The statement also pledged that SJM will provide all its local employees working at Landmark Casino with gaming positions at other SJM casinos, while local employees working there who are employed by its third-party operator “will be invited to apply for related vacancies” offered by SJM where they will be given employment priority.
Historical number of casinos
According to the earliest data available on the website of the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ), Macau had only 11 casinos in 2002, before the number increased to its historical peak of 42 in 2021. Afterwards, the number of casinos began to decrease in the second quarter of 2022, when there were 37 casinos. The number dropped to 30 in the fourth quarter of the same year, after which the number had remained unchanged at 30 until the second quarter of this year.
Following the closure of Grandview Casino (July) and Grand Dragon Casino (September), the number of casinos dropped to 28 at the end of the third quarter of this year, according to the DICJ website.
At the end of this month, when Landmark Casino is scheduled to close, the number of casinos, according to calculations by the Post, will drop to 20, comprising five owned by SJM, five by Sands, three by Galaxy, three by Melco, two by Wynn, and two by MGM.
A tourist coach is parked outside New Orient Landmark Hotel on Avenida da Amizade in Zape late last month where Landmark Casino is housed on three podium floors. – Photo: Tony Wong
