HONG KONG — Gambling magnate Steve Wynn said Wednesday travel restrictions that have stifled growth in the Chinese gambling city of Macau have been eased, as he promoted his company's new initial public offering.
Wynn is looking to raise between $1.4 billion and $1.6 billion by selling an equity stake in his booming operations in Macau, where he has one casino resort and another to open next year. Shares in Wynn's company are set to trade on Hong Kong's stock exchange Oct. 8
The 67-year-old billionaire, speaking to media in Hong Kong, said China recently relaxed limits on visitors to Macau from the country's Guandong province, the main source of the city's gamblers.
Restrictions were loosened from once every three months to once a month, he said, without saying when the policy went into effect.
Macau, located an hour's ferry ride from Hong Kong and the place in China where gambling is legal, is the world's top gambling market.
Wynn cast the IPO as a step toward "becoming more of a Chinese company."
"Our goal was not to be an American company in China, but to be a Chinese company that had American participation," he said.
