Francis Tam is not what one would call a formidable figure in person. But Macau’s finance chief, whose portfolio includes the gaming industry, carries a big stick. If anyone needed reminding about what that stick is, he could not have made it clearer than he did yesterday to reporters on the sidelines of a public event. Ahem, now hear this: the cap on gaming tables is here to stay, and will only be removed or altered at his discretion.

The table cap is what the government says it is: 5,500 and not a table more until 2013, Tam reiterated. Moreover, it’s only going to rise by another 3-5% annually after that – unless, of course, he decides otherwise. And if anyone thinks that they can get around him by securing land, building big resorts, and then crying about the lack of tables, well, they had best think again, because even though he doesn’t directly oversee land allocations, a similar policy will be followed by his colleagues in the cabinet. “The land granting process is not made under the concessionaires’ needs,” he said, adding, “We will make an overall plan.”

Now, this is not to say that Tam is an unreasonable man. “For sure, there could be an adjustment [in 2013] according to the needs of Macau,” he was quoted as saying in the Macau Daily Times (http://www.macaudailytimes.com.mo/macau/19142-Gaming-table-cap-remain-unchanged.html). “However, this is our policy,” he added. And if any doubt still lingered in reporters’ minds about what this might mean for Cotai, he said: “In the future, it will take some time to approve the concessionaires’ projects.”

Used with permission & copyright IntelMacau