(Bloomberg) -- Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd., a venture between Australian billionaire James Packer and Macau magnate Stanley Ho’s son, said its City of Dreams casino will open in the second quarter of this year. “The worst time has probably gone” for Macau, Chief Executive Officer Lawrence Ho said at a press conference in Macau today. The opening of the USD 2.1 billion project in the world’s largest gambling hub will create about 7,000 jobs, he added.

James Packer's gamble on casinos has already cost him billions but the workers at his Macau investment are the latest to pay the price. Crown Macau staff have taken a haircut of up to 8 per cent on their wages after government officials gave Packer's consortium, Melco Crown Entertainment (MPEL), permission to slash their salaries, reports The Daily Telegraph. MPEL is moving to cut costs as the Macau casino industry continues to be hit hard by the economic downturn...

Melco Crown Executive VP and CFO Simon Dewhurst spoke during the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) in Las Vegas recently, explaining Melco Crown's view of the situation at the end of a conference session entitled "State of the Economy: Gaming CFO Roundtable." According to financial website 'The Motley Fool' on Wednesday, Mr Dewhurst gave a response to a question from the audience asking what kind of additional risk premium was required in valuing the stocks of the casino companies operating in Macau...

New York (AP) - Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. said Wednesday that it will start offering some monthly unpaid leave and an optional voluntary sabbatical leave to its Crown Macau workers. The company, which develops and owns casino resorts in the Chinese gambling enclave of Macau, said the moves were made with employee consent as it tries to deal with current economic conditions while simultaneously providing some job security.

New York (AP) -- Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. on Friday maintained that its casino resort under development in Macau will still open during the first half of 2009 and has enough funding for the first two phases of development. Melco's announcement comes after recent media reports suggested that the project might be delayed. The casino industry, as well as many other sectors, has been pressured as consumers continue to curb spending due to the ongoing housing slowdown, rising food and fuel costs and eroding credit.