Macau Locks Down to Stamp Out Omicron

Macau shuts down its casinos this week, gaming stocks fall

From today casinos in Macau will be shut for a week in a bid to clamp down on Covid-19 Omicron infections that have spiked -- to 71 infections on Saturday. It has a total of 1,526 infections. This compares to Hong Kong's 1.271 million cases.

For Macau 71 cases is a lot considering it had zero infections for the longest time, and the random case here and there.

This is the first time since February 2020 -- when the pandemic first began -- that casinos are closed temporarily. 

All residents will face a battery of PCR tests

When news broke about the impending lockdown, gaming shares fell between 6.1 percent for SJM Holdings, founded by the late casino tycoon Stanley Ho Hung-sun, and 7 percent for Sands China, a subsidiary of Las Vegas Sands.

Schools and entertainment venues, such as bars and cinemas had already closed because of rising infections and casinos were the last to shut down.

Only those businesses deemed essential are allowed to stay open, otherwise everyone else needs to stay at home. There is no dine-in service at restaurants either. 

The word is that Beijing is not happy with its "favourite child" up until now, and may be using the pandemic as an opportunity to take down the gambling industry several notches in an attempt to make Macau less dependent on gamblers.

However, this will be a tall order as this is the only industry modern Macau has known since the 1960s when Ho won the former Portuguese colony's monopoly gambling license.

Beijing plans to minimise gambling in Macau

In the meantime, while 91 percent of Macanese residents have received two doses of the vaccine -- many of which are probably Sinovac -- the numbers are even less clear for those who have gotten boosters.

Macau is like Hong Kong in that they are both at the mercy of China when it comes to reopening borders.

But Macau only has 600,000 people and doesn't have the volume to support the economy in the long term on its own, whereas Hong Kong still seems to find money to open restaurants and shops, though not at the rate of replacing the ones that have closed.

So we will eagerly watch what happens in Macau this week to see if the lockdown works according to the "zero Covid" strategy, and how the city will be remade even further into China's image...

Jumbo Sinks to its Demise

Jumbo docked in Aberdeen harbour before it left June 14

Today came news that the Jumbo Floating Restaurant, that left Hong Kong's Aberdeen harbour on June 14 has sunk in the South China Sea.

According to a press release issued by Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises Limited, the floating restaurant passed through the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea when it "encountered adverse conditions" and water entered the vessel, causing it to tip.

Marine engineers inspected the vessel before it left

"Despite the efforts of the towing company responsible for the trip to rescue the vessel, unfortunately it capsized on Sunday (June 19)," the statement said. 

It added no crew members were injured and because the vessel sank to a depth of 1,000 metres, it will be extremely difficult for the company to conduct a salvaging operation.

When people found out about the news, they immediately latched onto it as a metaphor for Hong Kong's demise.

Really? Is the city a rundown has-been bloated vessel that only catered to tourists served crappy food?

Definitely not.

There are sneaking suspicions on social media that the company -- which is owned by late casino magnate Stanley Ho Hung-sun's family -- may have accidentally sunk for insurance purposes.

Ah To's prescient cartoon of Jumbo's fate

Its insurance is probably worth more than the scrap metal...

Interesting the restaurant had a press release ready for the media too...

What did political cartoonist Ah To know? When he heard news on June 1 that Jumbo Floating Restaurant would be towed away, he drew the sinking Jumbo Floating Restaurant together with the Goddess of Democracy and Lady Justice at the bottom of the ocean to represent the end of the June 4 candlelight vigils in Victoria Park and the rule of law.

And another artist known as SurrealHK made a computer manipulated image of the Jumbo Floating Restaurant sinking in Victoria Harbour... coincidence? Inspiration?

Jumbo Floats Away from Hong Kong

Jumbo Floating Restaurant was opened in 1976

Remember Jumbo Floating Restaurant in Aberdeen? In its heyday it mimicked the look of an imperial palace, where visitors could dress up in royal robes and sit on the throne for a picture before tucking into a Chinese banquet-style dinner.

To me it was very kitsch and touristy, I didn't quite see the charm of the place, while other guests lapped up the idea of being an emperor or empress for a photo.

Later parts of Jumbo were rented out to restaurant groups who tried to turn the outdoor deck space into a hip area for drinks. But that didn't last long.

Mounting losses forced Jumbo to close in 2020

After years of losses, the Covid-19 pandemic forced the restaurant to shutter in March 2020.

It was donated to Ocean Park in hopes that it could revive the massive floating restaurant, but there were no restaurant operators interested in taking on an ageing and expensive place that cost several million to upkeep every year.

Now the vessel's license is set to expire next month and its owner, Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises is searching for a proper docking space for this massive structure in order to carry out regular maintenance.

Since Hong Kong does not have such a space, Jumbo will have to leave the city after four decades. 

"As different sectors in Hong Kong have been hit by the fifth wave of infections, we foresee that the Jumbo Floating Restaurant cannot return to business in the near future," the company said.

In its heyday the restaurant catered to tourists

Therefore it will send out the floating restaurant somewhere for maintenance while it waits for a white knight to come... but who will?

Jumbo had an inauspicious start -- on October 30, 1971, a fire broke out on the restaurant which led to the deaths of 34 people and 42 injured. It was eventually reopened five years later by gambling tycoon Stanley Ho Hung-sun who had the floating restaurant decorated like an imperial palace. 

The chances of Jumbo have another life are pretty slim... its time and place have long gone.