Cairns’ Shanghai connection a boost for the Reef.
Wednesday, October 31, is set to be a ‘red letter day’ for Paul McHenry, general manager at the Reef Hotel Casino in Cairns, Australia.
On that day China Eastern Airlines was due to begin a three-times-weekly direct flight from Shanghai, China, a major new tourist source for the small city and its only casino. The Reef already hosts premium players coming in from Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and China, but the direct flight will certainly boost that business. “The Chinese players can go to Macau, of course,” said McHenry, “but many of them like to come to Cairns because of the cultural experience.”
Added to that, the Reef, like most of the Australian casinos, can offer groups a cash rebate commission. This is, quite simply, a refund on the total amount staked by a group of players, a programme which is a strong attraction to premium players. “We are not attracting the ‘whales’, said McHenry, “but the lower-to-mid sector of players. We don’t compete with the baccarat maximum bet of, say, A$150,000 to A$300,000, which some Australian casinos set. We’re not in that league in terms of risk; we position ourselves to appeal to the more modest premium players and rely on the volume it can create.”
This article can be read in full in the October issue of InterGaming.
