Macau gaming revenues hit $3.04 billion in February, up 22 percent
Macau gaming regulators said casino revenues in the special administrative region increased 22 percent during February, despite a calendar shift that moved Chinese New Year to January.
Macau casinos, including properties operated by Wynn Resorts Ltd., MGM Resorts International and Las Vegas Sands Corp., collected $3.04 billion from gamblers during the month, Macau's Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau said Thursday.
For the first two months of the year, gaming revenues in Macau are up 28 percent.
"Given the shift in the 2012 Chinese New Year calendar from February to January, we believe it is more relevant to evaluate gross gaming revenues year-to-date," Stifel Nicolaus Capital Markets gaming analyst Steven Wieczynski told investors.
Macau casinos collected $33.5 billion in gaming revenues in 2011, more than five times the gaming revenues collected on the Strip.
JP Morgan gaming analyst Joe Greff said the three casinos operated by Las Vegas Sands increased the company's share in the Macau market, surpassing Galaxy Entertainment, which owns StarWorld and the Galaxy Cotai resort, which opened last year.
"We believe Las Vegas Sands' market share gains are primarily being driven by the new VIP junket space at its Four Seasons property that opened in late fourth quarter," Greff said.
Las Vegas Sands is expected to open the initial phase of the Sands Cotai Central development this spring. The project's first phase will have 5,800 hotel rooms, including a 1,200-room Holiday Inn and 600-room Conrad.
Nomura Securities gaming analyst Harry Curtis said Macau could experience a 27 percent year-over-year gaming revenue increase in March, if the Sands Cotai development has a better-than-expected soft opening.
"We do not see any signs of a slowdown, which was a market concern as we entered February," Curtis told investors.
Most analysts are bullish on Las Vegas Sands, MGM Resorts and Wynn Resorts because of the companies' Macau holdings and the potential for increased business in the region's high-end play and mass-market customers from Mainland China.
"February's year-over-year growth was better than some expectations," Susquehanna Financial Group gaming analyst Rachael Rothman said.
The opening of Sands Cotai will accelerate gaming revenues in the overall market, she said, but new casinos could also take business away from rival properties.
Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3871.
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