More Las Vegas-style residency shows featuring global music stars may be just what Macau needs, according to Sam Hou-fai, the gambling hub’s former top judge and a shoo-in for its next political leader.
Sam’s comments came shortly after a report in UK tabloid The Daily Mail that Adele had turned down an offer of $200 million to extend her world tour, which would have included a residency at an unnamed Macau casino.
The tour would also have included stadium stops in Europe, Asia, and South America, according to the Mail’s gossip columnist, Alison Boshoff. But the Macau gig alone would have been worth “nine figures” to the British singer.
This would have been the “biggest payday of her career,” according to Boshoff who explained Adele had decided to spend time with her family instead.
Adele Wants a Break
Casino.org is unable to verify the authenticity the rumor, but it appears to have hit home with Sam after being widely repeated in Macau media.
“I read that a famous UK singer, who once performed in a residency show in Las Vegas for a period of time, was offered around US$200 million by a large leisure gaming firm in Macau to perform for maybe half a year or more,” Sam told a town hall meeting over the weekend, as reported and translated by The South China Morning Post (SCMP).
Adele will have performed 100 shows at the Colosseum in Caesars Palace when she finishes her two-year residency in November 2022. She has publicly declared that she “needs a break.”
While she [Adele] turned down the offer to take care of her family and children, could we not continue to promote something like this to make it a long-term operation?” inquired Sam.
Macau casino operators have flirted with residencies in recent years. These have usually featured Hong Kong or K-Pop A-listers rather than global superstars like Adele, who is popular in Asia but has never toured there.
The House of Dancing Waters, a long-running show combining acrobatics and dance, is set to return to the City of Dreams resort later this year after a four-year hiatus, according to the SCMP.
Pressure to Diversify
The gambling hub is under pressure from Beijing to diversify its economy beyond casino gaming and to attract more foreign tourists outside of mainland China.
Sam, who will be the first Macau leader to have been born in mainland China, is pro-Beijing and toes the party line.
He has stressed the need for the gambling hub to “reform and innovate” to overcome challenges to its economic and political development. He blames the casino industry for “straining the resources of society” and narrowing career choices for young people.
Macau’s six casino licensees have pledged to invest US$12.5 billion in non-gaming amenities as a condition of their recent relicensing. Sam suggested that luring top talent from overseas could be a useful way to splash the cash.
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