Macau Casinos Up 20% To $3.7bn In July

Macau has just released its casino results for July, revealing a 20% increase in revenue to $3.7 billion compared to the same month last year. The figure was largely in line with analysts forecasts as middle-class gamblers outpaced the growth in the number of high-rollers visiting China’s only legal gambling resort.
In Macau, high-rollers, known as ‘whales’ account for around 70% of gaming revenues, but the recent slowdown in China’s economic growth has seen more of these wealthy customers stay away from Macau casinos, just as the expanding middle-classes numbers increased. Consequently, Macau’s casinos have started diversifying their entertainment options in an attempt to attract more of these middle-income visitors.
Galaxy Entertainment, for instance, has built a beach at its resort, while MGM China’s indoor aquarium has proved quite a draw for visitors from mainland China. During July, the Las Vegas Sands owned Venetian Macao also hosted a boxing match featuring China’s most successful amateur boxer ever with two Olympic gold medals, Zou Shiming.
Overall, the Chinese enclave of Macau continues to show impressive growth as July’s results further reinforces its position as the world’s largest gambling hub. Last year, for instance, Macau generated a staggering $38 billion in casino gaming revenue compared to the Las Vegas where 39.7 million tourists spent $6.7 billion over the same year.
The story of Macau’s incredible growth is further highlighted by the fact that the Las Vegas Strip generated $5.3 billion revenue in 2002, compared to  Macau’s casino revenue of $2.77 billion but by 2007, Macau’s annual revenue had risen to $10.38 billion while Vegas was stuck at $6.83 billion. Completing the picture, the 2008 US downturn saw Las Vegas revenue fall to $5.78 billion by 2010, while that year Macau’s figure hit an astounding $23.54 billion.