Local junket operator Cali Group shut down two of its four VIP rooms in the city over the past weekend in order to shift part of its resources to the Philippines. According to gaming labour union Forefront of Macau Gaming (FMG), the junket company’s VIP rooms in Grand Lisboa on the Peninsula and in City of Dreams on the Cotai Strip officially closed on Sunday. The closures mean the company has only two VIP rooms operating in the territory, located in Galaxy Macau and MGM Macau, according to its official website. In addition to the closures, the gaming union claimed in a written announcement that some employees of the operator have been assigned to work in the Philippines as the Group had excess human resources due to the local gaming slump. Business Daily reached the Cali Group yesterday but a spokesperson of the company declined to comment on the issue. Nevertheless, the president of the Association of Gaming and Entertainment Promoters of Macau, Mr. Kwok Chi Chung, yesterday confirmed the company’s closure of two VIP rooms to reporters. “As I know, the Cali Group has indeed closed two of its VIP rooms in the city. However, they will still continue their operations in Macau. On the other hand, they have allocated part of their resources to overseas… which is the Philippines,” the Association head said. Mr. Kwok’s Association includes the city’s major junket operators, such as Suncity Group, Tak Chun, Jimei, Meg-Star International, and Macau Golden Group, in addition to the Cali Group. Closure Trend Meanwhile, commenting on the closure trend of the city’s VIP rooms, Mr. Kuok believes that more VIP operators will shut down their businesses. “The current situation is like the aftershocks following an earthquake. After some time, some VIP rooms may have seen the number of customers that they receive is not enough to support their operations. As such, they may prefer shifting some of their resources and focuses from Macau to other places in order to decrease their operational costs here,” Mr. Kwok said. He added that big-scale VIP rooms may not have the full advantages of sustaining their businesses amid the downturn. “It is not necessary that smaller rooms are always the ones shutting down their businesses. It depends on how these companies manage their finances. After all, their operations get worse due to they having given out too many loans before. Amid the downturn, it is difficult for them to chase up the debts, so their capital flow is affected,” he explained. Blacklist Meanwhile, Mr. Kwok revealed that the government has given the nod for the Association to study the establishment of a credit database for the gaming industry, known as the blacklist of debtors. “The government has agreed with the direction, giving the priority that the database or blacklist should not violate the city’s laws. It said it would accept such a plan if our operation obeys the laws,” he said. The Association director claimed that the establishment is still under study, whilst no timetable or details have been confirmed.
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