China's playground enjoys dragon years

MACAU – It doesn’t matter what animal in the Chinese calendar is reigning in any year… for this former Portuguese colony, it has been nothing less than prosperous dragon years, year after year after year. It only seems to get better every time I visit. The big all around entertainment centers, and I mean big as in humongous, are now operating at the Cotai strip very near the airport. China’s decision to cut Stanley Ho’s monopoly on gambling and open up Macau to the big guys from Las Vegas is certainly working.

Thanks to a very affordable special getaway package of Philippine Airlines, my wife and I took a spur of the moment three day trip to this Chinese playground. We wouldn’t have been able to afford the luxurious accommodation of The Venetian if it was not part of the package. But here we are in this much bigger sibling of The Venetian in Las Vegas… the largest casino in the world… the sixth largest building on earth… 1.6 million square foot retail center… 1.2 million square foot convention center, a pitch and putt golf course… a 15,000 seat arena that has hosted a tennis match between Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi and an NBA basketball game and a resident Cirque du Soleil show. It has everything a short-term visitor needs… including a fast foods center for families on a budget.

We don’t gamble so we spent a lot of time walking around the mall. It must be bigger than the Mall of Asia and similar to the mall at the Singapore Marina Sands. And one thing that is very noticeable the moment you check in is the great number of people. At check in time in the afternoon, the West Lobby, where the tour buses disgorge their passengers, looks like Mega Mall during a three day weekend sale, only worse. And this is how it looks, day after day as a whole lot of young Chinese couples and families check in.

China is, indeed, Macau’s engine of growth. In a column I wrote last year about Las Vegas, I noted how The Los Angeles Times used a dramatic bar chart that says it all: for 2010, Macau delivered $23 billion of gambling revenues, Las Vegas a very far $6.3 billion, the recently inaugurated Singapore casinos $5.1 billion and Atlantic City an anemic $3.6 billion. A CLSA analyst told the LA Times that Singapore will match Las Vegas this year at $6.5 billion and “surge past it next year with estimated revenue of $8.1 billion.”

According to a gaming magazine, almost 60 percent of Macau visitors come from China and they constitute 90 percent of the gaming revenues. The average stay in Macau is a mere 1.5 days and about half don’t even stay overnight. As the gaming magazine puts it, “many players are on a mission – get to a casino fast, play hard and get out.” The same magazine reports 80,000 people coming to Macau every day and there are 120,000 visitors at any given time. And despite all the new big hotels that have come up, there are only 24,000 hotel rooms in Macau. Business is growing at 35 percent a year.

The magazine ventures the forecast that Macau will grow and continue to grow fast. And it is all because of China and its fast growing middle class with money to burn. Most of this growing affluence is concentrated in the eastern seaboard of China, just a train ride away to Macau. With the growth in China’s fast train line, even visitors from Shanghai don’t have to take a plane to get here. It is very common to see such middle class families with young children enjoying the amenities of The Venetian. Like Las Vegas, Macau is turning from a purely gambling center to an all around tourist destination.

Some years ago, a friend of mine who was a director at PAGCOR told me that there is a chance of teaming up with the operators in Macau. The idea is to offer a package that would bring Macau visitors directly to the beaches in Boracay, Bohol and Palawan. The concept will work specially for families. But I doubt if it will appeal to the majority of Macau visitors who are only there to gamble quickly and nothing more. Maybe once the PAGCOR Entertainment City comes up, we might even be considered a competitor.

Despite Macau’s tough labor laws that make it difficult for businesses to hire foreign workers, Filipinos are everywhere. The gondolier who steered the gondola that took us around the canal in The Venetian is a Filipina jazz singer – Felicidad, a 21-year old nursing graduate who used to sing in Manila’s five star hotels. She said she is taking a few hours on the gondola to help out because of the long line of people who want to ride and a limited number of gondoliers. She is the epitome of the Global Pinoy — half Pinoy/half Russian who grew up in Argentina, had her high school in Russia and her college in Bulacan. She claims to be fluent in five languages. Another Filipino, an opera singer, was steering the gondola next to ours while singing an aria… contributing greatly to the Venetian ambience.

The gaming magazine cited this problem of the inability of businesses to hire qualified foreign workers as one that may eventually limit Macau’s growth rate. Macanese businesses have supposedly declared that they are ready to hire any local with a heartbeat. It isn’t a question of a foreign worker displacing a local anymore. It is more about expanding the businesses beyond what can be sustained by local labor.

Still, Filipinos with talent and training are finding jobs in Macau. Because it is just a two hour plane ride away, it is all but expected that once the Macanese government relents on their hiring policies, Pinoys will be first on the line. Even now, PAGCOR has reportedly experienced a drain of trained personnel. Expect more drain on qualified workers in hotels and resorts. This city is just expanding like there is no tomorrow.

Fun fun fun

I got this e-mail from marketing veteran Noy DyLiacco.

It is INDEED MORE FUN in the Philippines! My family research (base of 3!) validates this.

Last summer, we played host to balikbayan relatives - grandparents (my sibling), their 2 daughters and 3 grandchildren. Instead of the typical beach/mall outings, we took them to historical places that included a visit to Calamba, Ayala Museum, Luneta Park and Intramuros. We also went to the American Cemetery to recall the courageous men and women who fought for freedom this side of World War 2.

We made sure, whenever possible, to have local food (bulalo, sinigang, champorado, pan de sal, kesong puti, dills, sinangag, danggit, rambutan, manga, langka, chico, pritong saba, fresh buko, atbp.) although after so much local fare, towards the end of the visit, the youngest grandchild already asked for mac ‘n cheese. No problem. They all enjoyed their stay and vowed to return for some more. I became an instant hero to the young folks!

Fast forward. Yesterday, I asked the mothers (my nieces Candy and Josephine Dy-Liacco) to ask the 3 kids to describe their summer in the Philippines in just a few words.

Here’s what they said, separately: Corinna Sales, 16, “fun with family”; Isabel Sales, nearly 13, said “Awesomely fun” and Jake, 9, added “SuperFun”.

The target audience has spoken. Need I say more?”

PPP

Lito Austria sent this e-mail.

Hi Mr. Chanco,

Thanks for continuing to be vigilant on the progress of the PPP. Every morning I would eagerly check the papers for any update from Sec. Mar Roxas on important infrastructure projects. And I end up disappointed every day to find out that there is practically no news from Sec Mar or the DOTC. I am already thinking of getting together with a group of friends via social media to seek a dialogue with Sec. Mar Roxas and convey to him the expectations of the Filipinos, and urgency in ensuring PPP becomes a reality this year.

Thanks again for writing the article, and for voicing out what I know many Filipinos feel, that  we should not waste this opportunity of having an honest President, which is the best time for us to initiate all high cost projects and make most of the metropolitan areas of our country at par with our neighbors.

Choices

Someone sent me this text joke.

Never laugh at your wife’s choices. You are one of them.

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected]. He is also on Twitter @boochanco