New slot machine venue in Inner Harbor

The Inner Habour hotel called the Guangzhou Hotel will be turned into a slot machine venue but there is no word regarding the expected opening, according to Francis Tam, secretary of Economy and Finance.
Speaking yesterday on the sidelines of Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute’s seminar on exploiting online business markets for SME’s, Francis Tam  gave few details on the plans for the venue.
Tam said the government wants to preserve the historic building while at the same time making use of entertainment facilities to “stimulate the economic development in the Inner Harbour area”.
As for an expected opening date, Tam said that the government is drafting an administrative regulation which will strictly control the location and evacuation of slot machine establishments from residential areas and that no opening date will be discussed before the regulation is in place.
The administrative regulation is finalising the provisions and Tam expects that it will soon be handed to the Executive Council for discussion.
“Therefore, only after the regulation is in place, can the opening date of the Guangzhou Hotel’s slot machine venue be discussed”, Francis Tam said.
In addition, Francis Tam also said that the government didn’t receive until now, any reports from the Venetian regarding selling its non-core assets such as the shopping mall. The secretary said he didn’t want to make any comments right before trading in Sands China shares starts at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, which is due to take place at the end of this month.