Melco Resorts & Entertainment
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Integrated resorts, casino gaming, entertainment |
| Predecessor | Melco Crown Entertainment |
| Founded | 2004 |
| Founder | Melco International and Crown Limited (joint venture) |
| Headquarters | Hong Kong , Hong Kong |
Area served | Asia, Europe |
Key people | Lawrence Ho (CEO, chairman) |
| Products | Integrated resorts, casino hotels, Mocha Clubs slot machine venues |
| Owner | Melco International (parent company) |
| Website | www |
Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited specializes in developing, owning, and operating integrated resorts that combine entertainment and casino gaming across Asia and Europe. Based in Hong Kong, the company is publicly listed on the NASDAQ. Established in 2004 as Melco Crown Entertainment, a joint venture between Melco International and Crown Limited, it rebranded to Melco Resorts & Entertainment in May 2017 and currently functions as a subsidiary under Melco International.
The company manages several prominent integrated casino resorts, including Altira Macau (opened 2007), City of Dreams Macau (2009), City of Dreams Manila (2015), Studio City Macau (2015), City of Dreams Mediterranean (2021)—Europe's largest casino resort—and City of Dreams Sri Lanka (2024). Additionally, Melco oversees the Mocha Clubs brand, which features slot machine venues.
Formation as Melco Crown Entertainment (2004–2015)
In 2004, Melco International Development Limited joined forces with James Packer’s Australian casino enterprise Crown Limited, creating the joint venture Melco Crown Entertainment Limited to pursue opportunities within Macau’s gaming industry. Lawrence Ho, CEO of Melco International, was appointed CEO and executive director of Melco Crown in December 2004, with both Ho and Packer serving as co-chairmen. By March 2006, Melco Crown secured Macau’s final gaming license from Wynn Resorts for US$900 million, granting unrestricted casino operations until June 2022. Subsequently, the company developed its inaugural casino property.
Melco Crown went public on the NASDAQ in December 2006 and launched its first major project, Altira Macau, in July 2007—a $1.45 billion investment. As of June 2009, Crown Limited owned nearly 36% of the company. That year marked the opening of its flagship $2.4 billion casino resort, City of Dreams Macau, located in Cotai. The company also secured a listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange by late 2011.
In 2011, Melco Crown acquired a majority 60% stake in Studio City Macau, a Hollywood-themed integrated resort situated in Cotai that debuted in October 2015 with a $3.2 billion development cost. Expanding beyond Macau’s borders, Melco Crown partnered with SM Investments in 2012 to develop the $1 billion City of Dreams Manila casino resort in the Philippines, committing up to $580 million toward the project. This facility opened in 2015, marking Melco Crown’s entry into Southeast Asia.
Transition to Melco Resorts & Entertainment (2016–2020)
By May 2016, Melco International emerged as the principal shareholder of Melco Crown after Crown Limited encountered financial difficulties due to poorly timed investments. This enabled Melco International to purchase Packer’s shares. Following the joint development of four integrated resorts, Melco International ended its partnership with Crown Resorts in May 2017 by acquiring Crown’s stake for $1.16 billion and renaming the company Melco Resorts & Entertainment. In April 2017, Lawrence Ho assumed the roles of COO, CEO, and chairman, overseeing three Macau properties, eight Mocha Clubs locations, the Philippine resort, and a Cyprus development project. The Mocha Clubs brand—introduced in 2003—pioneered cafe-style slot machine parlors within Macau.
In December 2017, Melco Resorts rebranded its Crown Towers hotels located at City of Dreams Macau and Manila under the name Nüwa. June 2018 saw the unveiling of Morpheus, a $1.1 billion hotel tower designed by Zaha Hadid at City of Dreams Macau. The following month, July 2018, marked the launch of Macau’s inaugural esports stadium at Studio City. Furthermore, Melco secured a 30-year license to develop Europe’s largest casino-resort in Limassol, Cyprus—with exclusive rights for 15 years—and took controlling ownership of this project by June 2019. Although Melco initially planned to increase its holdings in Crown Resorts during 2019, it divested its entire position to Blackstone Group Inc. by May 2020.
After Japan legalized casinos in 2018 and announced three integrated resort licenses available for bidding, Melco submitted preliminary proposals for Osaka with potential investments reaching $10 billion. Emphasizing features such as an esports stadium and employment opportunities for tens of thousands of foreign workers, Melco shifted its focus to Yokohama following that city’s August 2019 announcement selecting Yamashita Pier as its bid site. Adopting a "Yokohama-First" approach, Melco withdrew from Osaka in September 2019 and commenced plans for what it described as the world’s largest integrated resort in Yokohama—establishing an office there during the same month.
In August 2019, Melco became an official sponsor of Manchester City F.C. within Japan while also supporting sister club Yokohama F. Marinos. October 2019 brought tennis star Naomi Osaka onboard as brand ambassador and director of sports for Melco’s Japanese ventures. That same month, Melco invested $248 million into the Melco Creative Exchange Fund aimed at fostering non-gaming hospitality initiatives across Japan independent from its integrated resort bids.
Properties
- Studio City Macau (holding 60%)
- City of Dreams
- City of Dreams Manila
- Altira Macau
- Morpheus Macau
- City of Dreams Mediterranean
- Mocha Clubs
- City of Dreams Sri Lanka