MGM Cotai to open with no VIP tables

Casino operator MGM Resorts says its new Macau property won’t have any VIP gaming tables, at least, not to start.

On Tuesday, MGM China CEO Grant Bowie discussed the company’s in-development MGM Cotai property, telling reporters that the company had “already made the decision that we’re envisaging opening only with mass tables.”

GGRAsia quoted Bowie saying the Cotai venue planned to “walk forward as a mass-only property.” Bowie said the mass market represented “the future of Macau” and MGM “need to be very responsive to” the market’s shift away from a reliance on VIP gaming.

MGM isn’t the first to envision a VIP-free future. Melco Crown Entertainment’s Studio City property broke the mold last October when it opened without any VIP tables, although the property has since struck deals with a pair of junket operators to add some VIP options after CEO Lawrence Ho felt Studio City wasn’t living up to its full potential.