South Shore Holdings, owner and operator of luxury Macau hotel THE 13, has confirmed that no formal agreement is currently in place with any of the SAR’s gaming concessionaires in respect to launching gaming operations at the property.
The update comes just a few days after the company’s previously announced 31 March 2019 deadline to open a casino passed.
In a voluntary announcement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange late Thursday, South Shore stated that “as at today’s date, no formal agreement has been entered into with any concessionaire or sub-concessionaire as operator, in respect of any gaming operations in THE 13 Hotel.”
However, the company suggested that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) it reached with Melco Resorts & Entertainment prior to development of The 13 regarding a potential “service agreement” arrangement remains in place. Macau’s service agreements allow third party hospitality operators to have gaming in their properties under the license of one of the city’s six gaming licensees.
South Shore added that it had yet to apply to the Macau government for permission to operate gaming facilities.
THE 13, which opened some hotel rooms to guests in August 2018 but is yet to complete all interior works, has space for 66 gaming tables in its ground-floor casino space and connected private rooms.
South Shore also revealed overnight that it has extended the expiry date of another MoU it signed in January with “an associate of a substantial shareholder” that could result in an investment of up to HK$1.5 billion into the company subsidiary that beneficially owns THE 13 Hotel. The extension, from 4 April 2019 to 4 May 2019, is to facilitate ongoing negotiations between the parties.
