Gaming firm profits on Naga

Elixir Gaming Co said it would add 32 more gaming machines to NagaWorld casino by the end of the year. Bloomberg

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Thursday, 12 November 2009 15:01 Jeremy Mullins

Elixir Gaming records 6 percent rise in Cambodia revenue in Q3

OPERATING slot machines in the capital’s sole licensed casino provided profitable third-quarter returns for Las Vegas-based Elixir Gaming Co, according to results released Tuesday.

The company, which operates 384 machines in Phnom Penh’s NagaWorld casino, made US$1.1 million in revenues from its Cambodia machines in the July-to-September quarter, a 6 percent increase on the previous quarter.

Elixir signed two agreements in January and July of this year to operate on the gaming floor in NagaWorld. The firm purchases gaming machines from countries such as Australia and Slovenia, and operates them in Asian casinos.

Under the terms of its two Cambodia agreements, Elixir operates 384 machines at NagaWorld, and 32 more machines are slated to be in place by the end of December. The company also holds until February 28 a right of first refusal on a proposed additional 200 units for the casino floor.

Under the terms of its most recent deal, Elixir paid a “commitment fee” of $5.84 million to locate its machines on the gaming floor, said Clarence Chung, CEO of Elixir, in a teleconference Tuesday.

“However, Elixir Gaming is entitled to 100 percent of the net wins per unit per day from the additional machines, starting from the first day of operations until we have received a total accumulative amount of $7.3 million, which represents the commitment fee plus our 20 percent share of the win per unit per day,” he said.

NagaWorld officials declined to comment Wednesday, other than confirming Elixir constitutes just one of several gaming machine suppliers. The casino had 749 machines up to the end of June, according to a company report.

By the end of the year Elixir plans to have “1,300 to 1,400” operational gaming machines, of which 440 will be in NagaWorld, and the rest in the Philippines, Chung said.

In Tuesday’s teleconference the firm discussed possible expansion in Southeast Asia.

“Deployments for such projects could be as early as the first half of 2010,” said Chung. “Such projects that are in negotiation phases include two venues outside the Phnom Penh area in Cambodia, which could total over 500 machines, and one project in Vietnam.”