Daily Finance – Gambling in Asia has been the highlight of the world gaming industry over the last decade. With the industry seeing rising profits in Macau and Singapore over the last few years, companies and investors have been rewarded heavily by gaming growth in Asia. Las Vegas Sands investors would agree that Asian profits have provided a nice portfolio boost as Sands’ share price has grown more than 2100% in the last five years. The growth of Asian operations continues, with both Sands and Wynn Resorts posting huge income increases for the fourth quarter of 2013 with 40% and 92% increases year-over-year, respectively.
Unfortunately for Caesars Entertainment , it wouldn’t know about this Asian growth. Caesars sold its only Macau holdings in August of last year and used the money to pay down a portion of its industry-high debt of over $27 billion. There was not much else the company could do, as it did not file for a gaming license with the Macau government when other casinos did in 2001, and it would still need to complete that bureaucratic hurdle to be able to operate a casino in Macau. Chairman Gary Loveman has said that not entering Macau was the worst mistake the casino ever made.
Caesars attempted to rectify its lack of Asian presence in 2013 by bidding to enter the South Korean market. Throughout the first half of 2013, the deal seemed confirmed and the government was expected to let Caesars and its Indonesian partner build their casino resort near the capital city of Seoul. However, in June 2013, the government declined the bid. The decision was not discussed by the government, but reportedly it was made because of worry over Caesars’ huge debt load. This foreshadowed the company’s decision a few months later to sell its Macau holdings to pay down long-term debt.
