Macau gaming revenues up 13.5 percent in May
Macau gaming revenues grew 13.5 percent in May to $3.7 billion as the Chinese casino market recorded its second-largest single-month collection.
Analysts said the improving Chinese economy and May holidays fueled the increase in the world’s largest gaming market.
The Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau released the figures Monday.
In March, the Chinese gaming enclave shattered the region’s monthly gaming revenue mark with casinos collecting more than $3.92 billion from gamblers.
Susquehanna International Group gaming analyst Rachael Rothman said a large amount of mass market play in Macau during April probably helped push the action from high-end customers into May.
“The faster-growing mass market segment tends to peak during holiday periods, while VIP stays home or gambles elsewhere to avoid the crowds,” Rothman said.
Union Gaming Group analyst Grant Govertsen said the May figure could have been higher if not for severe weather during the third week of the month, when Macau and nearby parts of Guangdong province recorded their heaviest rainfall in more than 30 years.
Through May, Macau gaming revenues are up 14 percent over the same five months of 2012. Last year, Macau reported gaming revenues of $38 billion.
By comparison, gaming revenues on the Strip were
$6.2 billion in all of 2012.
“By and large, we believe the results were essentially in line with consensus expectations,” Stifel Nicolaus Capital Markets gaming analyst Steven Wieczynski told investors.
Las Vegas Sands Corp., Wynn Resorts Ltd. and MGM Resorts International operate hotel-casinos in the Macau market.
All three companies are expanding their footprints in the region.
Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or
702-477-3871. Follow
@howardstutz on Twitter.
