澳門——這個(gè)全球最大的博彩中心——希望改變它在人們心中的印象。
這座城市是中國唯一一座博彩業(yè)合法的地方。2019年,在新冠疫情爆發(fā)前,澳門博彩業(yè)的營收高達(dá)360億美元,是美國賭城拉斯維加斯所在的內(nèi)華達(dá)州的三倍。博彩業(yè)貢獻(xiàn)了澳門超過一半的GDP。在當(dāng)?shù)丶s60萬居民中,有17%從事博彩業(yè)。
但澳門政府希望使其經(jīng)濟(jì)多元化。在去年博彩牌照續(xù)期時(shí),澳門六家博彩公司不得不向政府承諾,它們將擴(kuò)大非博彩業(yè)務(wù),并吸引更多外國游客。
美高梅中國(MGM China Holdings)是澳門六家取得執(zhí)照的賭場運(yùn)營商之一。周三,公司董事長何超瓊在澳門舉行的《財(cái)富》“設(shè)計(jì)頭腦風(fēng)暴”大會上表示:“澳門需要有一個(gè)全新的視角?!泵栏呙分袊沁@場大會的主辦合作方。
何超瓊是澳門傳奇賭王何鴻燊的女兒,何鴻燊一手締造了澳門的博彩業(yè)。何超瓊除了任職于美高梅中國以外,還在由已故的父親何鴻燊創(chuàng)建的澳博控股(SJM Holdings)持有股份,澳博控股是澳門葡京賭場(Casino Lisboa)的經(jīng)營者。何超瓊還擔(dān)任綜合企業(yè)信德集團(tuán)(Shun Tak Holdings)的主席,信德集團(tuán)的業(yè)務(wù)包括澳門和香港之間的輪渡服務(wù)。
在美高梅中國申請賭場牌照續(xù)期時(shí),政府要求的苛刻程度,超出了何超瓊的預(yù)期。她說道:“一開始我只帶了一個(gè)小手提包,以為只要來提交已經(jīng)準(zhǔn)備好的文件進(jìn)行備案就行了,結(jié)果卻是——我在這里足足住了六個(gè)月,才按政府要求準(zhǔn)備好了各種文件?!?/p>
她說:“我們開始以為填幾張表就行了,但我們錯(cuò)了——政府要求我們拿出切切實(shí)實(shí)的多樣化經(jīng)營方案,細(xì)到每個(gè)月甚至每周我們要做些什么?!?/p>
何超瓊認(rèn)為,至少對于美高梅中國來說,多元化經(jīng)營的切入點(diǎn)就是藝術(shù)和文化。她表示,澳門曾經(jīng)有幾個(gè)世紀(jì)是中國唯一一個(gè)允許西方人定居的城市,因此它是“一座有故事的城市”。
例如,美高梅中國委托作曲家譚盾,以歷史名勝敦煌為靈感創(chuàng)作了一首作品。敦煌已獲得了聯(lián)合國教科文組織(UNESCO)的認(rèn)可,是絲綢之路主要貿(mào)易路線的交匯地。美高梅中國還承諾對媽閣廟(A-Ma Temple)周邊的地區(qū)進(jìn)行改造。澳門就是因媽閣廟而得名。該公司將振興這片約35,000平方米的空間,包括將保留舊船塢建筑。
何超瓊表示:“我希望澳門能匯聚創(chuàng)意人才,希望有電影公司入駐,希望在這里舉辦藝術(shù)節(jié),希望在這里舉辦各種各樣的慶典活動(dòng)?!?/p>
當(dāng)被問到,她是否希望藝術(shù)和文化事業(yè)減少博彩業(yè)的收入占比時(shí),她說:“我們希望博彩業(yè)務(wù)繼續(xù)增長!”她表示,博彩業(yè)能為藝術(shù)文化事業(yè)的發(fā)展提供財(cái)務(wù)支持。
她解釋稱,自己的計(jì)劃是,利用“博彩業(yè)務(wù),支持和幫助發(fā)展非博彩類的休閑餐旅業(yè)務(wù),包括MICE[會議、獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)旅游、大型企業(yè)會議、活動(dòng)展覽]?!保ㄘ?cái)富中文網(wǎng))
翻譯:劉進(jìn)龍
審校:汪皓
澳門——這個(gè)全球最大的博彩中心——希望改變它在人們心中的印象。
這座城市是中國唯一一座博彩業(yè)合法的地方。2019年,在新冠疫情爆發(fā)前,澳門博彩業(yè)的營收高達(dá)360億美元,是美國賭城拉斯維加斯所在的內(nèi)華達(dá)州的三倍。博彩業(yè)貢獻(xiàn)了澳門超過一半的GDP。在當(dāng)?shù)丶s60萬居民中,有17%從事博彩業(yè)。
但澳門政府希望使其經(jīng)濟(jì)多元化。在去年博彩牌照續(xù)期時(shí),澳門六家博彩公司不得不向政府承諾,它們將擴(kuò)大非博彩業(yè)務(wù),并吸引更多外國游客。
美高梅中國(MGM China Holdings)是澳門六家取得執(zhí)照的賭場運(yùn)營商之一。周三,公司董事長何超瓊在澳門舉行的《財(cái)富》“設(shè)計(jì)頭腦風(fēng)暴”大會上表示:“澳門需要有一個(gè)全新的視角?!泵栏呙分袊沁@場大會的主辦合作方。
何超瓊是澳門傳奇賭王何鴻燊的女兒,何鴻燊一手締造了澳門的博彩業(yè)。何超瓊除了任職于美高梅中國以外,還在由已故的父親何鴻燊創(chuàng)建的澳博控股(SJM Holdings)持有股份,澳博控股是澳門葡京賭場(Casino Lisboa)的經(jīng)營者。何超瓊還擔(dān)任綜合企業(yè)信德集團(tuán)(Shun Tak Holdings)的主席,信德集團(tuán)的業(yè)務(wù)包括澳門和香港之間的輪渡服務(wù)。
在美高梅中國申請賭場牌照續(xù)期時(shí),政府要求的苛刻程度,超出了何超瓊的預(yù)期。她說道:“一開始我只帶了一個(gè)小手提包,以為只要來提交已經(jīng)準(zhǔn)備好的文件進(jìn)行備案就行了,結(jié)果卻是——我在這里足足住了六個(gè)月,才按政府要求準(zhǔn)備好了各種文件?!?/p>
她說:“我們開始以為填幾張表就行了,但我們錯(cuò)了——政府要求我們拿出切切實(shí)實(shí)的多樣化經(jīng)營方案,細(xì)到每個(gè)月甚至每周我們要做些什么?!?/p>
何超瓊認(rèn)為,至少對于美高梅中國來說,多元化經(jīng)營的切入點(diǎn)就是藝術(shù)和文化。她表示,澳門曾經(jīng)有幾個(gè)世紀(jì)是中國唯一一個(gè)允許西方人定居的城市,因此它是“一座有故事的城市”。
例如,美高梅中國委托作曲家譚盾,以歷史名勝敦煌為靈感創(chuàng)作了一首作品。敦煌已獲得了聯(lián)合國教科文組織(UNESCO)的認(rèn)可,是絲綢之路主要貿(mào)易路線的交匯地。美高梅中國還承諾對媽閣廟(A-Ma Temple)周邊的地區(qū)進(jìn)行改造。澳門就是因媽閣廟而得名。該公司將振興這片約35,000平方米的空間,包括將保留舊船塢建筑。
何超瓊表示:“我希望澳門能匯聚創(chuàng)意人才,希望有電影公司入駐,希望在這里舉辦藝術(shù)節(jié),希望在這里舉辦各種各樣的慶典活動(dòng)?!?/p>
當(dāng)被問到,她是否希望藝術(shù)和文化事業(yè)減少博彩業(yè)的收入占比時(shí),她說:“我們希望博彩業(yè)務(wù)繼續(xù)增長!”她表示,博彩業(yè)能為藝術(shù)文化事業(yè)的發(fā)展提供財(cái)務(wù)支持。
她解釋稱,自己的計(jì)劃是,利用“博彩業(yè)務(wù),支持和幫助發(fā)展非博彩類的休閑餐旅業(yè)務(wù),包括MICE[會議、獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)旅游、大型企業(yè)會議、活動(dòng)展覽]?!保ㄘ?cái)富中文網(wǎng))
翻譯:劉進(jìn)龍
審校:汪皓
Macau doesn’t want to be known as just the world’s biggest gambling hub. The Chinese city is the only place in the Asian country where casino gambling is legal. In 2019, before the COVID pandemic, Macau’s gaming industry generated $36 billion in revenue, three times as much as the U.S. state of Nevada, home of Las Vegas. The sector was connected to over half the city’s GDP, and employed 17% of the city’s roughly 600,000 residents.
But the city’s government wants to diversify its economy. When casino licenses were up for renewal last year, Macau’s six gaming operators had to promise the government that they would expand non-gambling offerings and attract more foreign tourists.
“Macau needs to take a completely new perspective,” Pansy Ho, chairperson of MGM China Holdings, one of Macau’s six licensed casino operators, said during Fortune‘s Brainstorm Design conference in Macau on Wednesday. (MGM China is a host partner of the Brainstorm Design conference.)
Ho is the daughter of Stanley Ho, the legendary Macau-based casino tycoon who launched the city’s gaming industry. In addition to her role at MGM China, she also has shares in SJM Holdings, the company started by her late father that operates the city’s iconic Casino Lisboa. Pansy Ho also chairs Shun Tak Holdings, a conglomerate that, among other things, operates the ferry service between Macau and the nearby Chinese city of Hong Kong.
When MGM China asked Macau to renew its casino license, the government drove a harder bargain than Ho anticipated. “I had to come and live here for six months in order to prepare” for the process, she said. “I came with a little hand-carry bag, thinking that I was there to just submit the already prepared file for the docket.”
“What the government has made us do is to practically write into the calendar on a monthly and even weekly basis, we’re going to have something to offer,” she said.
Ho thinks the angle, at least for MGM China, is arts and culture. Macau, which for centuries housed the only permitted Western presence in China, is “so rich in terms of storytelling,” Ho said.
For example, the company commissioned composer Tan Dun for a piece inspired by Dunhuang, a famous, and UNESCO-recognized, intersection point for major trade routes on the Silk Road. MGM China also promised to revitalize the area around the A-Ma Temple, the origin of the city’s name. The company will revive about 35,000 square meters of space, including old shipyard buildings that will also be preserved.
“I want all the creative minds,” the casino magnate said. “We want to have the studios here. We want to have the art fairs here. We want to bring festivals here.”
Despite her support for Macau’s plan to diversify the economy, she has no qualms about the gaming business. The plan is to use “gaming to sustain and to help build out the non-gaming aspects of hospitality, in MICE [meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions],” she explained.