Crown running on empty?
A week after its grand opening, the Crown Macau is struggling to attract visitors to its five-floor casino, according to spot checks conducted by Destination Macau.
Our latest visit was shortly before noon today, when we walked into the newest casino, on Taipa Island, and found staff to be far outnumbering visitors. On the fifth floor, where the high minimum-bet tables are located, we found not a single customer.
We went next door, to the Greek Mythology casino, which was packed, mostly with mainland tourists, and we then visited the Wynn Macau on Macau peninsula, which was nearly full on its mass gaming floor.
The Crown opened on Saturday, May 12. In response to queries about facilities that were open and doing business, we were directed to a press release from the operating company, Melco-PBL, which said the following:
The Crown Macau "... opened with approximately 38 VIP tables, 130 premium mass tables and 479 gaming machines operational. In full and final configuration, Crown Macau will have approximately 80 VIP tables, 142 premium mass tables and 550 gaming machines. We expect that the additional 54 gaming tables and 71 gaming machines will be operational within approximately four weeks. The Crown Towers hotel will be operational with approximately 60 rooms available within three weeks. Approximately 216 hotel rooms, including all villas and suites, will be fully operational by the end of July 2007."
2007-05-18
