Wynn Resorts Ltd – the parent company of local casino operator Wynn Macau Ltd – has announced that the opening of its new Cotai property Wynn Palace has been delayed until June 2016.
Just four months after setting an opening date of 25 March 2016, Wynn Resorts was forced to amend their expectations after being informed by their general contractor, Leighton Holdings Ltd, that the project would not be ready in time.
The revised date has officially been set as 25 June 2016.
However, investment analysts have widely predicted there would likely be no change to the US$4.1 billion construction budget, nor would the delay have any significant impact to the company’s bottom line.
“While we are surprised by the announcement, given our negative view of the impacts of new supply into the current market climate, we don’t think the three-month delay is entirely meaningful from a fundamental perspective,” said Deutsche Bank gaming analyst Carlo Santarelli.
The delay has been blamed on a range of factors including labor shortages and the Macau government’s tendency to delay the issuing of necessary permits at various stages of construction in order to ensure the opening dates of Cotai’s under-construction properties are staggered.
But Santarelli said it was more likely down to on-site difficulties. “They have experienced due course construction delays, some of which stem from the level of the expectation for the quality of the finishing work,” he said.
Wynn Resorts Chairman Steve Wynn was recently critical of the Macau government for failing to inform casino operators of how many new-to-market gaming tables their new properties would be granted until shortly before opening. Most had previously budgeted for between 500 to 600 new tables but the two big properties to open so far – Galaxy Phase II and Studio City – have received just 150 and 250 respectively.
When it finally opens, Wynn Palace will feature a 1,700 room hotel along with a lake with water displays and a gondola ride.
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