Crown Macau - 3rd Visit
As promised, I took another look inside…
As promised, I revisited Melco’s Crown Macau Casino (MPEL) yesterday (Tuesday 7 p.m. approx.). I thought what better way to get a feel for the place than to take the shuttle bus from the city centre. Well, true to my earlier report, a line formed waiting for the bus. I estimate a dozen or so individuals took the trip. As “burro” wondered, some people were just along for the ride. There appeared to be a few employees as well as a few individuals who did not go into the casino when we arrived. However, a good portion of the bus did enter the casino. I heard that there has been some active promotion on the part of the casino to bring people over to their Taipa property and true to this we were given a ticket that gave us a chance to spin the wheel when we arrived. My colleague’s ticket won that chance, but because he didn’t have his passport with him, he was thus ineligible…a bit disappointing.
The Crown Macau Casino has 5 floors. The first three are gaming floors, the fourth is a restaurant, and the fifth floor is a higher-minimums gaming floor. The first 3 floors had an active gaming scene. By this I mean there were a lot of tables in use, some to capacity but some empty. The central parts of the floors were busier than the fringes. Definitely, it wasn’t shoulder-to-shoulder like it can be at the Sands sometimes, but on the other hand, the first 3 floors had a scene, i.e. you wouldn’t think “This place is dead anyway.” (Swingers quote). The fifth floor on the other hand was empty minus a few individuals. This could be that minimum bets are more or less equivalent to my monthly rent. As for the punters, I heard more Mandarin (mainland) than Cantonese (HK, Macau, Guangdong Province).
In sum, I’ve walked through the Crown Macau on three occasions now (Grand Opening, one month ago, yesterday). Each time the casino has been busier than the last time. The Greek Mythology Casino in the New Century Hotel is right next door and it is one of the most profitable casinos in Macau. The location is probably the biggest obstacle, but as the Greek Mythology Casino has shown, it’s an obstacle that can be overcome with the right marketing. (I understand they cater exclusively to mainland tour groups, so the Crown Macau is likely going to pursue a different model.) My general feeling is that Macau is maturing into the type of destination that will attract visitors interested in visiting the Crown Macau. Maybe the Crown Macau is not packed this month, or this year, or even next year, but the property is in line with what most developers are planning and anticipating. I’m going to try and check the Crown Macau out again this weekend to note the difference.
By the way, I ate at the Crown Macau’s Monsoon noodle shop. Yum. I had Cantonese wonton noodle soup with Chinese chives and honey glazed BBQ pork. Delicious and very nicely presented.
Any comments, questions, etc. click below…
June 27th, 2007 at 9:38 pm
Thanks for the information!!!!!!!!
June 27th, 2007 at 9:57 pm
Thanks for the up-date on the Crown, keep up the good work.
Bill
June 28th, 2007 at 5:49 am
Thanks for your great reporting ,keeping us abreast here in the states
June 28th, 2007 at 8:02 am
[...] Crown Macau - 3rd Visit As promised, I took another look inside… As promised, I revisited the Crown Macau Casino yesterday (Tuesday 7 […] [...]
June 28th, 2007 at 12:44 pm
The Crown Macau is supposed to have a so called “6 Star Hotel.” Wondered if you stayed in the hotel and what you thought of that. But your description of the increasing business in the casino is interesting.
June 28th, 2007 at 6:11 pm
@Todd - The hotel isn’t open yet. My colleague says Q4. When I was at the Grand Opening, my photographer friends said they were shocked that the Crown didn’t let them in to snap photos of the rooms. I guess they didn’t even have a showroom done up. I expect they’ll aim to really deliver a 6 star experience, especially considering the negative press they’ve been getting since opening.
June 28th, 2007 at 8:49 pm
I was wondering if the crown is having live shows and entertainment to draw people into the property? Again thanks for your great reporting,thanks mike
August 10th, 2007 at 8:55 pm
In my opinion, Macau has been destroyed by overdevelopment and greed. Imagine filling in that beautiful bay and sticking in a lake! I’m glad to have seen it when I did, though of course even at that time people said it was on its way down.
December 30th, 2007 at 1:50 am
I am a stock holder…in the U.S. unable to travel to the crown I sincerely appreciate your viewing the action on the tables and restaurants and rooms…your info is very helpful in my decision making…I worry about overkill in the area as melco is building “city of dreams” also…competition seems head to head and I understand most chinese do not stay overnight…again thank you for any information, and for your honest overview of whats going on…tony viceroy