Macau Casino Revenue Hits Record $4.57bn In October
November 1, 2013 1:00 pmChina’s only gambling resort, Macau, has just seen its casino revenues soar by 32% to a record $4.57 billion in October, as Chinese visitors flocked to the world’s largest gambling hub to celebrate their Golden Week holiday. Between October 1st and 7th, total visitor arrivals were up by an impressive 5.7% to 896,847, while visitors from mainland China were also up by 10.7% during the week-long national holiday.
So busy, in fact, was the Golden Week holiday that Macau’s hotels reported close to full occupancy, while many mainland visitors chose, instead, to stay at campsites to avoid paying the exorbitant room rates charged by hotels, with the cheapest five-star deluxe room on the Cotai strip charging $737 per night.
Overall, visitor arrivals during the third quarter of 2013 now total a staggering 7.76 million people, while for the first 10 months of 2013 Macau’s 35 casinos have generated 18% more revenue at $37.2 billion, and are close to surpassing the $38 billion wagered for the whole of 2012.
The former Portuguese colony has six licensed casino operators, namely Sands China, Wynn Macau, Melco Crown, Galaxy Entertainment, MGM China, and SJM Holdings Ltd, which only recently have begun to turn their attention from VIP gamblers to the “premium mass” segment, who may wager a lot less than the affluent high-rollers, but at the same time ensure more stability within the industry.
For the third quarter of 2013, Sands China, MGM China Holdings Ltd. and Wynn Macau Ltd all reported double-digit increases in their casino revenue, after which MGM saw its stock price 1% to HK$27, while both Sands China and Galaxy also added 1.8% to their share price. Conversely, Wynn Macau dropped 0.8% , Melco Crown Entertainment fell 0.6%,and SJM Holdings Ltd. was unchanged.