In June last year, Melco Crown’s co-chairman, Lawrence Ho, said that Studio City would open with 300 to 400 gaming tables and 1,200 slot machines, pending government approval.
Since then, the government has said several times that the current approved project for Studio City doesn’t include a casino, but has never made clear whether it will approve any request to change this.
Nonetheless, the gaming operator has stated several times that it is confident that it will be able to include a casino in the project, to be located in Cotai. Melco Crown bought a majority stake in the Studio City project last year.
Since 2007 there has been an agreement between the gaming operator and the previous shareholders, for Melco Crown to operate a casino there.