Stadium Swim is a signature attraction at Circa Resort in downtown Las Vegas.

Casino resorts spend billions to develop unique customer experiences. But in most cases gaming companies don’t protect intellectual property underlying those signature attractions. Experts say that’s not as crazy as it sounds, even as casino resorts increasingly rely on marketing those customer experiences.

Former US diplomat and broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is a correspondent for ICE 365, a contributor to Forbes, columnist for Asia Times and author of Hong Kong On Air, a novel set in his adopted hometown during the 1997 handover about television news, love, betrayal, high finance and cheap lingerie. See his bio, archive and more at www.muhammadcohen.com, follow him on Facebook, Twitter @MuhammadCohen and LinkedIn.

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The listed arm of Suncity owns 34% of central Vietnam beachfront resort Hoiana. (Photo provided by Hoiana)

Once dominant in Macau’s junket business, Suncity has fallen on hard times. Founder Alvin Chau’s late November arrest toppled its junket business and nearly that entire segment of the Macau gaming economy. Last week, the non-junket listed arm of Suncity reported a US$83 million loss in 2021, casting “significant doubt on the group’s ability to continue as a going concern.”

Amid the devastation, Vietnam beachfront casino resort Hoiana should prove Suncity’s lasting positive legacy. The listed side of Suncity owns 34% of Hoiana, a US$4 billion project soft opened in June 2020, 15 minutes drive from Hoi An, a UNESCO World Heritage site. As travel restrictions ease across Asia, Hoiana appears poised for success, whatever happens with Suncity.

Former US diplomat and broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is a correspondent for ICE 365, a contributor to Forbes, columnist for Asia Times, and author of Hong Kong On Air, a novel set in his adopted hometown during the 1997 handover about television news, love, betrayal, high finance, and cheap lingerie. See his biography, online archive and more at www.muhammadcohen.com; follow him on Facebook, Twitter @MuhammadCohen and LinkedIn.

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Rush Street Gaming’s Rivers 78, in a new riverside neighborhood, is among three finalists for a Chicago casino license. Hard Rock and Bally’s have proposal similarly ambitious projects. (Graphic provided by Rush Street Gaming)

The Windy City isn’t blowing its casino opportunity. The long running saga took another turn when Chicago chose three finalists for its casino license.

The city eliminated two proposals that built on the success of its McCormick Place convention center. Instead, Chicago opted for projects that would introduce new landmarks to the urban landscape.

I’ve been urging a similar approach for New York’s downstate casino opportunity, encouraging an iconic development that makes New York City a more attractive destination for residents and visitors and maximizes new investment and employment. Adding live table games to New York’s two current downstate electronic gaming facilities at race tracks would likely dampen enthusiasm for the region’s third license and lengthen the odds of creating a casino worthy of the largest city in the US.

When it comes to casino development, downstate New York has a better hand than Chicago. But winning often depends on how you play your cards.

Former US diplomat and broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is a columnist for ICE 365, a contributor to Forbes, columnist/correspondent for Asia Times, and author of Hong Kong On Air, a novel set in his adopted hometown during the 1997 handover about television news, love, betrayal, high finance, and cheap lingerie. See his bio, online archive and more at www.muhammadcohen.com; follow him on Facebook, Twitter @MuhammadCohen and LinkedIn.

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With high rollers increasingly scarce, Las Vegas Sands subsidiary Sands China is betting that fake London, alongside fake Venice and Paris, will bring in crowds . (Photo provided by Sands China)

For years, a key question overhanging Macau has been how long will China tolerate hundreds of billions of dollars annually exiting the mainland via Macau casino VIP rooms. “No longer,” mainland authorities broadcast with the arrest of Suncity chairman Alvin Chau, precipitating the rapid collapse of Macau’s junket business.

Macau may still be the best bet in Asian gaming, but it’s now a whole new ballgame. No more debating about whether mainland China’s efforts to curtail overseas gambling and money transfers apply to Macau.

Mainland high rollers can still gamble millions in Macau. Without junkets, though, they’ll have to find their own means to skirt China’s currency controls. And they’ll know exactly how Beijing feels about their activities.

Former US diplomat and broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is a columnist for ICE 365, a contributor to Forbes, columnist/correspondent for Asia Times, and author of Hong Kong On Air, a novel set in his adopted hometown during the 1997 handover about television news, love, betrayal, high finance, and cheap lingerie. See his bio, online archive and more at www.muhammadcohen.com; follow him on Facebook, Twitter @MuhammadCohen and LinkedIn.

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The arrest of Suncity chief Alvin Chau and others from the leading Macau junket promoter dramatically escalates China’s efforts to limit its citizens’ gambling activities and illegal overseas money transfers.

Suncity’s Hong Kong listed arm, which excludes its junket business but holds stakes in casino properties Hoiana in Vietnam and Tigre di Crystal in Russia plus a casino hotel under development in Manila’s Entertainment City, says Chau plans to resign as its chairman and CEO.

My ICE365 article on Genting’s licensing in Nevada while discounting its Philippines business highlights how regulators around the world have perfected the art of diminishing, if not disregarding, inconvenient facts. In Macau, at least for now, the authorities have lost their blinders when it comes to Suncity. This story has barely begun to unfold.

Former US diplomat and broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is a columnist for ICE 365, a contributor to Forbes, columnist/correspondent for Asia Times, and author of Hong Kong On Air, a novel set in his adopted hometown during the 1997 handover about television news, love, betrayal, high finance, and cheap lingerie. See his bio, online archive and more at www.muhammadcohen.com; follow him on Facebook and Twitter @MuhammadCohen.

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