Macau Gambling Revenue Up 57% To $3.1bn in August 2011

Macau has now released its monthly casino figures for August showing a massive 57% increase in gross gaming revenue to MOP24.77 billion (US$3.1 billion) from MOP15.77bn a year earlier
In 2006, Macau overtook Las Vegas as the world’s most popular gambling resort and the Chinese enclave has been extending it’s lead over its US rival ever since.
The enormity of Macau’s August revenue figure is further highlighted when one considers that, in comparison, the Las Vegas Strip took a paltry $506.7 million in June this year, with its gambling revenue expected to lag five times behind Macau’s by the end of 2011.
The good news, however, is that Nevada gaming companies, Wynn Resorts, Las Vegas Sands and MGM Resorts all operate casinos in the Macau market.
Greatly impacting Macau’s August figures was spending by high rollers travelling from the mainland, despite attempts by China to reign in Macau’s rampant growth. Also, the impressive growth came inspite of global financial markets taking a pounding, such as Hong Kong’s ‘Hang Seng Index’ plummeting by 8.5% in August, the month’s worst performance since 2001.
Commenting on the latest figures, gaming analyst Steven Wieczynski from Stifel Nicolaus Capital Markets said:
“As we have indicated in the past, we do not expect ongoing macroeconomic turmoil in the U.S. or Europe to have a material impact on Asian gaming volumes, a view further supported by strong August results.”
In total, the enclave’s 34 casinos, with their 5,237 gaming tables and 15,098 slot machines have now generated MOP173.1 billion (US21.6bn) in revenue for the first eight months of 2011, an increase of 46.8% compared to the same period last year.
Despite Macau gambling revenue expected to grow by 45% in 2011, RBS’s Mr. Turk is now predicting 18% growth in 2012, and 16% in 2013 partly as a result of a high comparison base.