January 31, 2018 |
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Riding a one-time tax benefit of an estimated $74 million, Las Vegas-based Allegiant Travel Co. reported its most profitable quarter, beating Wall Street analysts’ expectations.
January 31, 2018 |
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Game software designer Bede Gaming announced that they've signed a deal with Playson and will bring the group's games to its PLAY platform as a result.
January 31, 2018 |
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Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings revised on Tuesday its outlook on Las Vegas-based Wynn Resorts Ltd and its subsidiaries – including its Macau unit – to “negative” from “stable”. The ratings agency said the negative outlook reflects the “significant uncertainty” over the resolution of various investigations into the allegations of misconduct made against the founder and chairman-cum-chief executive of Wynn Resorts, Steve Wynn.
Wynn Resorts – with gaming operations in Las Vegas, Nevada – is the parent company of Macau-based casino operator Wynn Macau Ltd. Mr Wynn is also chairman and chief executive of Wynn Macau Ltd.
The misconduct allegations against Mr Wynn “could impair the company’s brand and ability to maintain or review its gaming licences,” the ratings agency noted in its research update. Standard & Poor’s has also affirmed its ratings on Wynn Resorts and its subsidiaries, including the “BB-minus” corporate credit ratings.
“The negative outlook also reflects our limited transparency into potential succession plans in the event that Steve Wynn is forced to resign as CEO, whether his departure would include monetary compensation or a buy-out of his ownership in the company, and potential rebranding risks if the company elected to discontinue using the Wynn brand,” the ratings agency wrote.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board launched a formal investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct made against Mr Wynn, a move that followed a report last week by the Wall Street Journal detailing the allegations made by former Wynn Resorts employees. Mr Wynn has denied the allegations featured in the article.
The Macau regulator – the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, a body also known by its Portuguese acronym DICJ – met on Monday with representatives from Wynn Macau Ltd “better to understand the situation” regarding the allegations against Mr Wynn.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission announced on Friday it would independently investigate the allegations raised in the Wall Street Journal article. Wynn Resorts is developing a casino property in Boston, in the U.S. state of Massachusetts.
Wynn Resorts also announced on Friday it would form a special committee consisting solely of independent directors to investigate the claims against Mr Wynn.
“Given Steve Wynn’s intimate involvement in design, branding, and marketing, this could impair the company’s ability to maintain or renew gaming licences and weaken its ability to secure licences in new jurisdictions,” Standard & Poor’s wrote in its Tuesday report.
It added: “We believe reputational damage has the potential to hurt cash flows (especially in Las Vegas) through reduced visitation and spending at the properties.”
But the ratings agency also highlighted that the Macau operation of Wynn Resorts could be “less sensitive” to the allegations made against Mr Wynn.
“We believe visitation to and cash flow generation at Wynn’s resorts in Macau, which constitute about two-thirds of total [group] EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation], will be less sensitive to the allegations… the magnitude of the cultural conversation occurring around these types of incidents in China are less impactful than those occurring in the U.S.,” stated the report.
January 30, 2018 |
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President Donald Trump and casino mogul Steve Wynn have been bitter competitors who have bad-mouthed each other, sued each other and poached each other’s top employees in a decades-long faceoff as they jostled to be top dog in the high-stakes casino-friendly Atlantic City.
January 30, 2018 |
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Gaming group QTech has announced that they've launched a new game engine that uses technology that will make it feel like Netflix or Spotify in terms of recommending games.
January 30, 2018 |
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The China arm of Steve Wynn’s casino empire said Tuesday it will comply with Macau regulators as they seek more information about sexual misconduct allegations against the Las Vegas billionaire.
January 30, 2018 |
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January 30, 2018 |
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The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission has issued a warning to investors about the “high concentration of shareholding” in Hong Kong-listed Kingston Financial Group Ltd.
“In view of the high concentration of shareholding in a small number of shareholders, shareholders and prospective investors should be aware that the price of the shares of the company could fluctuate substantially even with a small number of shares traded, and should exercise extreme caution when dealing in the shares,” the regulator said in a Monday announcement.
As at January 8, Pollyanna Chu Yuet Wah, chief executive of Kingston Financial, was the firm’s main shareholder, with a stake of 74.6 percent. Additionally, a group of 19 shareholders held an aggregate stake of 17.1 percent, according to data from the Securities and Futures Commission included in Monday’s release. The remaining 8.3 percent shares were held by “other shareholders”.
Kingston Financial stressed in a follow-up filing that – despite its current shareholding structure – it was “able to comply with the public float requirement” under the rules governing the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The exchange requires listed companies to have a minimum public float of 25 percent of their total issued shares.
Kingston Financial controls two casino hotels in Macau – Casa Real on Macau peninsula and Grandview (pictured) on Taipa. They offer gaming under the casino licence of SJM Holdings Ltd via a so-called service agreement.
The Securities and Futures Commission’s release added that the firm’s stock price had increased by 211.3 percent from August 11, 2017 to January 26, 2018.
Kingston Financial reported in November last year that gaming revenue from its two Macau casinos had fell by 2.6 percent year-on-year in the six months to September 30.
January 29, 2018 |
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The Macau regulator met on Monday with representatives from local casino operator Wynn Macau Ltd following allegations of sexual misconduct made in the United States against the firm’s chairman and chief executive Steve Wynn (pictured in a file photo).
The meeting was confirmed to GGRAsia by a spokesperson from the local regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, a body also known by its Portuguese acronym DICJ.
“In response to recent media reports regarding alleged improper conduct in the United States by the chairman and CEO of Wynn Macau Ltd, Steve Wynn, DICJ is paying attention to the matter and met on January 29 with the Wynn Macau Ltd management better to understand the situation,” the spokesperson told GGRAsia in an emailed reply.
The person added: “DICJ reiterates that the Macau government pays attention to the suitability of major shareholders, directors and key employees in high-level positions in the casino industry, and to the strict implementation of the relevant provisions in this field.”
GGRAsia directly enquired of the DICJ spokesperson whether the body planned to launch a review of the recent sexual misconduct claims against Mr Wynn. No reply on the matter was provided.
The DICJ reply did not identify the Wynn Macau Ltd representatives that took part in the meeting with the local regulator.
The meeting between DICJ and representatives from Wynn Macau Ltd followed an article by the Wall Street Journal on January 26 detailing allegations of sexual misconduct made against Mr Wynn by former Wynn Resorts Ltd employees. Mr Wynn has denied the allegations featured in the article.
In a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Tuesday, Wynn Macau Ltd said it would “cooperate fully with any requests” made to the company by DICJ.
U.S.-based Wynn Resorts is the parent company of Macau-based casino operator Wynn Macau Ltd. Mr Wynn is also chairman and chief executive of Wynn Resorts.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission announced on Friday it would independently investigate the allegations raised in the Wall Street Journal article. Wynn Resorts is developing a casino property in Boston, in the U.S. state of Massachusetts.
The head of the Nevada Gaming Control Board – where Wynn Resorts has gaming operations, namely in Las Vegas – said it a statement the body was “aware of the situation and we are reviewing the information”, according to media reports.
Wynn Resorts announced on Friday it would form a special committee consisting solely of independent directors to investigate the claims against Mr Wynn. It will be chaired by Patricia Mulroy, a member of the board’s corporate governance and compliance committees and a former member of the Nevada Gaming Commission.
Impact ‘hard to access’
Commenting on the allegations involving Mr Wynn and the near-term potential impact on the stock price of Wynn Resorts, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc analysts Carlo Santarelli and Danny Valoy said it was “hard to access”.
They added, in a note published on Monday: “We believe the next several months are likely to be choppy; just how choppy likely depends on the following: whether further allegations, along the lines of Friday’s Wall Street Journal article, emerge; whether other negative headlines surface, as members of the media gravitate to the story; and whether the Universal Entertainment case (April start) becomes a more considerable than expected distraction or whether a settlement amount, should one surface, extend well beyond the current balance sheet promissory note value of US$1.9 billion.”
The latter was a reference to a court case involving Japanese gaming conglomerate Universal Entertainment Corp and Wynn Resorts. Universal Entertainment is seeking return of 24.55 million shares in Wynn Resorts that Universal Entertainment says are owed to its own unit Aruze USA Inc.
In 2012, Wynn Resorts’ board voted to cancel a 20 percent stake in the firm held by Universal Entertainment. Wynn Resorts issued the Japanese firm with a promissory note for US$1.9 billion. The note was in effect a 30-percent discount on the then US$2.77-billion valuation of the stake.
The decision followed a Wynn Resorts-commissioned report that concluded then-Universal Entertainment chairman Kazuo Okada was “unsuitable” to be a Wynn Resorts director and a threat to the firm’s gaming licences. This was on the basis of Mr Okada allegedly providing gifts to what were then senior officials of the Philippine casino regulator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.
The Deutsche Bank analysts said in their Monday note that in the case of Wynn Resorts specifically, Mr Wynn’s “influence on operations, the brand, and the investment community, is more pronounced than that of the majority of his peers.”
They added: “Thus, hypothetically, if Mr Wynn were to step down, something we aren’t about to speculate on, we do believe there would be an impact, over time, on the operations of the company and we believe the design and development of future company projects would lack the meticulous attention to detail the current portfolio is renowned for.”
Brokerage Union Gaming Securities LLC advised investors to remain on the sidelines regarding trading on Wynn Resorts shares.
Analyst John DeCree wrote in a note published on Monday: “We do believe the company has a deep bench of strong executives and we remain constructive on the company’s fundamentals overall as well as business trends in Macau and Las Vegas. We would look for the equity to eventually bounce back but suggest investors remain patiently on the sidelines at this point.”
January 29, 2018 |
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MGM Resorts will soon announce an increase in fees, parking employees at four MGM properties said Sunday and Monday.
January 29, 2018 |
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Fallout over sexual misconduct allegations and the resignation of Wynn Resorts Chairman and CEO Steve Wynn as Republican National Committee fundraiser mounted Sunday as calls increased for lawmakers and groups to return contributions and disavow support.
January 28, 2018 |
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Australian casino operator Crown Resorts Ltd said in a Monday filing that its majority-owned subsidiary Alon Las Vegas Resort LLC had completed the sale of its interest in a 34.6-acre (14-hectare) vacant site (pictured) on Las Vegas Boulevard to a subsidiary of casino firm Wynn Resorts Ltd, for US$300 million.
Crown Resorts said its share of the proceeds from the disposal – a deal announced in December – was, after taking into account minority interests, approximately US$264 million.
In June 2017, Crown Resorts wrote down the carrying value of its investment in Alon to US$200 million; or US$176 million net of minority interests.
In May 2017, brokerage CBRE Group said in a press release it had been hired by Crown Resorts to sell the plot – that had been earmarked for a casino and hotel project named “Alon” – for as much as US$400 million.
The land is on the western side of Las Vegas Boulevard, opposite Wynn Las Vegas and Wynn Encore.
When the Alon project was first announced in 2014, it had been due to be led by current Crown Resorts board member James Packer, and former Wynn Resorts executive Andrew Pascal.
Since then Crown Resorts – which had made a capital commitment to the project – has undergone a significant restructuring of its finances and business model, including a scaling down of its Chinese VIP gambling business following the detention in mainland China in October 2016 of several company representatives – and the subsequent conviction and jailing of some last year – on allegations of gambling-related crimes, understood to be a reference to marketing within mainland China of casino services.
January 28, 2018 |
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U.S.-based casino operator Wynn Resorts Ltd is to investigate the allegations of sexual misconduct made against its founder and chairman-cum-chief executive Steve Wynn (pictured in a file photo).
The firm said on Friday it would form a special committee consisting solely of independent directors to investigate the claims against Mr Wynn. It will be chaired by Patricia Mulroy, a member of the board’s corporate governance and compliance committees and a former member of the Nevada Gaming Commission, Wynn Resorts said in a statement emailed to Reuters.
The announcement of the enquiry followed an article by the Wall Street Journal detailing allegations of sexual misconduct made against Mr Wynn by former Wynn Resorts employees.
Wynn Resorts is the parent company of Macau-based casino operator Wynn Macau Ltd. Mr Wynn is also chairman and chief executive of Wynn Macau Ltd.
The Wall Street Journal article included allegations by a manicurist that allegedly received a US$7.5-million settlement from Mr Wynn after complaining he ordered her to have sex with him in 2005.
In a statement sent to media outlets in the U.S., Mr Wynn denied the allegations featured in the article.
“The idea that I ever assaulted any woman is preposterous,” Mr Wynn reportedly said. “We find ourselves in a world where people can make allegations, regardless of the truth, and a person is left with the choice of weathering insulting publicity or engaging in multi-year lawsuits. It is deplorable for anyone to find themselves in this situation.”
The sexual misconduct claims against Mr Wynn had an immediate negative impact on the stock price of Wynn Resorts. The company’s stock dropped by more than 10 percent on Friday once the story was made public.
“Despite the reaction in shares, the majority of [the] news is not new,” Deutsche Bank Securities Inc analysts Carlo Santarelli and Danny Valoy wrote on a note on Friday. “Reports of the settlement were present for some time, including as recently as the end of December when a Bloomberg article was published regarding it. We believe some of the reaction in shares… stems from the significant level of detail provided in the Wall Street Journal article, which in and of itself has likely created a somewhat emotional market response.”
They added: “We believe a substantial portion of the contents of the Wall Street Journal article were known at the company/board well in advance of [Friday]. That being said, we would not be surprised to see further follow up, and potential further revelations, as has been the case in other similar circumstances.”
Regulatory investigations underway
Both the Massachusetts Gaming Commission and Nevada Gaming Control Board have announced that they would independently investigate the allegations raised in the Wall Street Journal article, according to media reports. Wynn Resorts is developing a casino property in Boston, in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, and has gaming operations in Las Vegas, in the U.S state of Nevada.
Mr Wynn meanwhile resigned as finance chair of the Republican Party in the United States over the weekend.
In related events, investment bank Morgan Stanley and brokerage Union Gaming Securities Asia Ltd both downgraded the stock of Wynn Macau Ltd respectively to “equal weight” and “hold”.
Morgan Stanley analysts Praveen Choudhary, Jeremy An and Thomas Allen wrote in a Sunday note: “The share price [of Wynn Macau Ltd] has more than tripled since [Cotai casino resort] Wynn Palace opened its doors in August 2016. The stock and earnings could continue to rise thanks to an upcycle, and consensus remains bullish – but we expect peers to perform better from here for several reasons, including rich valuation.”
While not referring directly to the sexual misconduct claims against Mr Wynn, they added: “Management continuity is important: Wynn Macau Ltd has received a premium for its stable management and corporate structure, but could face derating if this were to change for any reason.”
Grant Govertsen from Union Gaming said in a Monday note the brokerage was downgrading the shares of Wynn Macau Ltd driven by a confluence of factors, including “uncertainty” surrounding the sexual misconduct allegations against Mr Wynn and subsequent Wynn Resorts’ board investigation announcement, and potential for a review of the Macau gaming regulator on the heels of already-announced regulatory reviews in the United States.
Brokerage Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd said in a Monday note that while it maintained “a long-term positive fundamental view” on Wynn Macau Ltd, “the dynamics surrounding the allegations, the uncertainty surrounding the outcome, and the negative news commentary that these events will continue to generate are likely to be a headwind on the stock.”
Analysts Vitaly Umansky, Zhen Gong and Cathy Huang added: “Wynn Macau Ltd stock is likely to face a significant headwind and a short-term trade off and funds may rotate out of Wynn Macau Ltd into other competitors in the near term (in particular Sands China Ltd due to U.S. investor sentiment and Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd which is perceived to operate in a similar high-end market segment).”
January 27, 2018 |
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Steve Wynn stepped down Saturday as Republican National Committee finance chairman amid allegations of sexual misconduct. “The work we are doing to make America a better place is too important to be impaired by this distraction,” Wynn said in a statement.
January 27, 2018 |
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The aggregate number of Macau licensed gaming promoters, also known as junkets, is not likely to change very much this year, following a period of mergers and shutdowns, several representatives of the sector have told GGRAsia.
Data published on Wednesday by Macau’s casino regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, showed there were currently 109 licensed junkets in the market, a 13.5-percent fall from the 126 present in January 2017. The year-on-year shrinkage in the sector marks the fifth consecutive year this has happened. In January 2013, Macau had a total of 235 licensed junkets, according to official data.
In 2017 some smaller-scale junkets did not have their respective licences renewed as they had not been able to continue operations after failing to meet minimum VIP gambling turnover requirements imposed by casino operators, said Kwok Chi Chung, president of Macau’s Association of Gaming and Entertainment Promoters.
“As the gaming industry has undergone more than two years of an adjustment phase, a large reduction has been seen in the number of individual junkets,” Mr Kwok told GGRAsia.
The term “adjustment phase” has been used by the Macau government to describe a period centring on the years 2015 and 2016, when Macau gross gaming revenue contracted year-on-year, largely driven by a decline in VIP gambling. Investment analysts covering the sector have attributed most of that downward correction to an anti-graft campaign pursued in mainland China under the leadership of President Xi Jinping.
“Some of the junkets are simply not fitting the [licence] renewal conditions; while some others just give up [renewing licences],” Mr Kwok stated. He added: “While the major junket operators here have been expanding their operation venues, those smaller ones that have not been able to meet the turnover requirement were just naturally kicked out from the market.”
The trade body representative explained why he believed that the city’s total number of licensed junket operators was unlikely to undergo a “big change” in the coming year.
“Even if we are seeing a further decrease [in licensed junkets], it will not be to a great extent. The consolidation amongst the junkets here has already largely stabilised,” said Mr Kwok.
Andrew Lo Kai Bong, chief investment officer of the privately-held junket investor Suncity Group, shared a similar view.
He told GGRAsia: “After undergoing a seven- to eight-year cycle of consolidation in the local market, this [VIP gaming] industry has already grown to such a large scale that it is not easy for any new start-ups to enter it.”
The Macau government plans this year to update the regulatory framework that covers the operation of the city’s junket operators, via an amendment bill, said in December Paulo Martins Chan, the director of the gaming bureau.
According to Mr Chan, the Macau government is proposing a higher capital deposit for any licensed casino junkets newly registered in Macau. The junkets’ shareholder structure, suitability and financial strength are also areas that the government would look into with the amendment bill.
“This amendment is a positive news for the [VIP gaming] sector. That means those [junket operators] who are not financially strong or weak in management would be out,” said Mr Lo. He cited as an example of what can go wrong, “the Dore incident which has largely affected the industry’s reputation”.
In September 2015, Macau junket operator Dore Entertainment Co Ltd – which operated a number of tables at Wynn Macau on the city’s peninsula – admitted it had been a victim of internal fraud by a former employee. The junket operator however did not confirm the amount of money involved, although it was widely reported at the time that the theft involved the equivalent of many millions of U.S. dollars.
January 27, 2018 |
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January 27, 2018 |
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Las Vegas’ business elite gave the bad and the good of expectations for 2018 and beyond.
January 26, 2018 |
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January 26, 2018 |
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The number of people tying the knot in Clark County fell to a 26-year low after the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history tainted the city’s image and spooked lovers.
January 25, 2018 |
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Internet betting brand Bodog has announced that they've signed on to sponsor the Copa do Brasil knockout soccer tournament, the company's first foray into the Brazilian sponsorship market.
January 25, 2018 |
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Entrepreneur Stephen Hung (pictured second left) has resigned as joint chairman and executive director of The 13 Holdings Ltd, the promoter of a hotel scheme on the border of Cotai and Coloane in Macau.
The news was given in a Thursday filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Rumours of Mr Hung’s imminent departure had swirled for months, amid delays to The 13 Hotel’s launch, question marks over completion of its funding, and speculation about exactly which of Macau’s six casino operators might provide the gaming licence for the on-site casino sought by the promoters.
The 13 Hotel’s initial market positioning – with an average construction cost per room of more than US$7 million according to company statements, and a US$20-million order for a fleet of Rolls Royce Phantom limousines painted in bright red livery – put it in the super luxury bracket, at a time when China’s government was engaged in a crackdown on graft and ostentatious spending among Communist Party cadres and the public.
On Tuesday, the hotel’s promoters announced a further delay of at least a month – to “on or before” April 30, 2018 – for the launch of its accommodation.
But The 13 Holdings added that a pending rights issue for further funding would be “fully underwritten and it is expected that the proceeds from the rights issue will be sufficient for completion of The 13 Hotel”.
The company had also noted in its Tuesday announcement: “The authorisation to install and operate a casino in The 13 Hotel is subject to the approval of the Macau government, and therefore its success remains an uncertainty.”
A second Thursday filing said that Peter Coker was now chairman of The 13 Holdings.
The earlier Thursday filing announcing Mr Hung’s departure, said that Pride Wisdom Group Ltd – a company previously described in filings from The 13 Holdings as being jointly owned by Stephen Hung – was transferring, via a sales and purchase agreement, nearly 82.5 million shares of The 13 Holdings – representing approximately 8.96 percent of its issued capital – to a firm wholly owned by the group’s deputy chairman Tom Lau Ko Yuen.
January 25, 2018 |
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January 25, 2018 |
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Macau-based gaming operator MGM China Holdings Ltd has delayed the opening of casino resort MGM Cotai (pictured) to February. The firm had previously said the property was scheduled to open on January 29.
“We put out an announcement today indicating that we will not open the doors of MGM Cotai on January 29th,” the company said in a press release on Thursday. “While still undergoing government approval process, we are now focusing on our grand opening within the month of February,” it added.
The company had said previously that the “grand opening” would take place on February 13, although the date was not confirmed in the latest release.
In a separate filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, MGM China said the overall budget of the Cotai project is expected to remain unchanged at approximately HKD27 billion (US$3.45 billion), excluding land and capitalised interest.
“We are working closely with the Macau government to bring to our community and to the public a long-awaited world class resort that takes diversified consumer experiences to a new height and that thousands of our employees feel deeply proud of,” the casino operator said in Thursday’s release.
Macau’s Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lionel Leong Vai Tac, said on Wednesday that MGM China would get 100 new-to-market live gaming tables for the opening of its MGM Cotai. The government official added that the company would be granted an additional 25 new-to-market tables on January 1, 2019.
The tables were granted only for the mass-market segment, the city’s gaming regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, confirmed to GGRAsia in an emailed statement. The regulator also approved more than 900 slot machines for operation at MGM Cotai.
MGM China has also been authorised to transfer 77 gaming tables from MGM Macau, in the city’s traditional downtown casino district, to the Cotai venue.
Market expectations
The gaming table grant for MGM Cotai is below market expectation, several analysts noted. The aggregate number of tables granted to MGM Cotai is lower than the 150 gaming tables allocated to, respectively, the Parisian Macao, developed by Sands China Ltd, and Wynn Palace, operated by Wynn Macau Ltd, two properties launched in 2016.
“We believe consensus were expecting 150 tables over the next two years and may be disappointed to get total of 125 tables,” said banking group Morgan Stanley in a Thursday note.
“One of the key reasons could be the licence expiry for SJM/MGM in March 2020. We believe once the licence extension is sorted, it is possible to see MGM China receiving more tables for this [Cotai] project,” added the institution.
The concessions of the six current Macau operators expire on various dates in either 2020 or 2022, with the respective licences of SJM Holdings Ltd and MGM China set to expire in 2020.
Commenting on the table allocation for MGM Cotai, Japanese brokerage Nomura said: “We believe limited growth in tables is positive (for both MGM and the overall market), as the supply of tables is relatively static, so there becomes a scarcity value attached to them, which should benefit those operators with the best properties, including MGM.”
The analysts noted that the lower-than-expected table allocation for MGM Cotai might not result in lower earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) estimates in 2018 and 2019.
“In regard to MGM Cotai, we believe that excess table capacity harvested from MGM Macau on the peninsula, in addition to the new tables being allocated by the government, will be enough to achieve current revenue and cash flow forecasts for the company,” said Union Gaming Securities Asia Ltd’s analyst Grant Govertsen.
Table policy
The Macau government operates a table cap policy, effective since 2013, designed to limit compound annual growth in the number of new live-dealer tables in the city’s casinos to 3 percent until the end of 2022, from a base of 5,485 tables recorded at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012.
The Macau market had 6,419 live-dealer tables as of the end of the fourth quarter – 30 fewer than at the end of the third quarter – stated the regulator in quarterly data updated on January 16.
“The government is expected to see number of tables growing at 3 percent per annum since 2012 implying 2018 table quota of 193 tables … considering MGM received only 100 tables, this is positive news for other casino/hotel openings in 2018,” Morgan Stanley noted in its Thursday memo.
Union Gaming estimates that there will still be 657 new-to-market tables to be allocated under the Macau government table cap.
“Under the assumption that SJM also gets an initial batch of 100 tables for Grand Lisboa Palace in 2019, and that the government allocates ‘catch-up’ tables to MGM and SJM after the licence situation is finalised, this would leave 482 tables in the government’s inventory,” said Union Gaming in its Wednesday note.
(Updated at 2.45pm, Jan 25)
January 24, 2018 |
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The Culinary union will ask Las Vegas casinos and hotels to supply guest room attendants with so-called panic buttons amid growing national attention to the issue of workplace sexual harassment.
January 24, 2018 |
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January 24, 2018 |
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UK betting firm Ladbrokes has announced that they've opted to renew their sponsorship deal with the Scottish Professional Football League through the 2020 season.
January 24, 2018 |
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Asian casino operator Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd announced on Wednesday changes to several key executive positions, including the departure of Macau casino industry veteran Gabriel Hunterton. Mr Hunterton had been appointed property president of casino resort City of Dreams Macau in January last year.
The firm said additionally that David Sisk – most recently president of Melco Resorts’ 60 percent-owned Macau property Studio City on Cotai – would be replacing Mr Hunterton as president of City of Dreams Macau. Mr Sisk had been appointed property president of Studio City in 2016.
The company did not disclose in Wednesday’s press release when the changes would take effect.
Commenting on Melco Resorts’ management changes, brokerage Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd said: “While Hunterton was in the role for only a year, under his leadership, the property [City of Dreams Macau] had undergone considerable operational and marketing issues in mass (premium mass in particular). Hold rate in mass has been a considerable issue partly due to operating changes introduced by Hunterton.”
The City of Dreams Macau property is undergoing a major revamp. The Crown Towers hotel tower at the property was renamed Nüwa with effect from this month.
Another accommodation facility at City of Dreams Macau – previously branded the Hard Rock Hotel – is currently operating under the name ‘The Countdown’ until March 31, and will get a new branding after that time.
A new hotel tower for City of Dreams Macau – the US$1-billion Morpheus – is due to open in the first half of 2018. The new hotel will feature approximately 780 hotel rooms, suites and villas.
Melco Resorts flagged on Wednesday several other management changes.
Geoffry Philip Andres – currently president of City of Dreams Manila in the Philippines, a venue managed by Melco Resorts – will assume the role of Studio City property president, filling Mr Sisk’s previous role. As part of the rejig, Kevin Benning has been promoted to senior vice president and chief operating officer of the Manila property, said Melco Resorts.
Commenting on the management changes, Melco Resorts chairman and chief executive Lawrence Ho Yau Lung said: “The redeployment of our senior operating management across our integrated resorts is aimed at optimising our operating excellence. We are leveraging on key individuals who all have demonstrated their expertise in managing and delivering strong growth.”
In Wednesday’s note, the Sanford Bernstein team said Melco Resorts’ management changes deserved the “benefit of the doubt”. “But we would need to see improvement at City of Dreams in 2018,” said analysts Vitaly Umansky, Zhen Gong and Cathy Huang.
They added: “City of Dreams is now a turnaround story in our view (with a catalyst coming from Morpheus) as fourth quarter will confirm considerable problems, which in our view accelerated these management changes. City of Dreams has underperformed other Melco Resorts properties since Hunterton took over in January 2017, especially in mass gross gaming revenue and mass hold rate.”
Melco Resorts reported in November net revenue of approximately US$1.38 billion for the third quarter of 2017, up nearly 19.5 percent year-on-year. The company said at the time that the improved performance “was primarily attributable to higher rolling chip revenues at City of Dreams [Macau] and the commencement of rolling chip operations at Studio City in November 2016”.
The company said in a November filing that the rolling chip win rate at City of Dreams Macau was 3.5 percent in the third quarter of 2017 versus 2.6 percent in the comparable period in 2016. The mass-market table games hold percentage was 32.3 percent in the three months to September 30 last year, compared to 34.5 percent in the prior-year period.
January 24, 2018 |
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Management at the Jeju Shinhwa World resort say they want a “50-50” balance of gaming to non-gaming revenue. Currently the recently-launched project doesn’t have a working casino, but hopes to have one soon, subject to approval from the authorities in Jeju, the semi-autonomous South Korean island that plays host to the scheme.
“Our goal is to have a balanced revenue for the gaming and non-gaming segment…we aim to have a 50-50 contribution from these two segments for the overall project,” said David Hoon, senior vice president of the project’s promoter Hong Kong-listed Landing International Development Ltd.
The estimated investment cost for the whole Jeju Shinhwa World project is US$2.4 billion, according to Mr Hoon.
Another executive from the group had already flagged that the property did not expect to be dependent on mainland Chinese customers.
Mr Hoon stated in his remarks, referring to a Singapore casino resort run by Genting Singapore Plc: “If you look at Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore, their EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation] margin for a year is about 40 percent… our goal is to be able to achieve the same level as in Singapore, i.e., 30 to 40 percent [of EBITDA margin]. But frankly…it will have to take two to three years for the business to stabilise.”
Investment analysts covering the casino gaming business have indicated that typically, the margin on VIP gambling is smaller than that on the mass-market sort, due to issues including player general reinvestment costs, rolling chip programmes, and in many cases commissions for junkets; while margins on some non-gaming activities offered by casino resorts are in turn superior to those available on many gambling activities.
In full-year 2016, the EBITDA margin for Resorts World Sentosa was 35.9 percent, according to GGRAsia calculations based on publicly-disclosed company data.
The 627-room Jeju Shinhwa World Marriott Resort at Jeju Shinhwa World received its first guests on December 22 and is the planned venue for the casino. Landing International’s management hopes that by the end of February the hotel will have an operating gaming facility. It will be accessible only to non-Korean customers, and is likely to offer 160 gaming tables and 240 slots and electronic table games. The launch of such a facility is conditional on the local government agreeing to shift gaming rights from Landing’s existing Jeju casino hotel property, the Hyatt Regency Jeju.
Notwithstanding management comments on seeking a balance between gaming and non-gaming revenue, the scale of the foreigner-only Jeju Shinhwa World casino is unprecedented in that local market, according to Albert Lim, senior vice president of resort operations at Landing Jeju Development Co Ltd, a unit of the group.
“Each of the casinos here has about 30 to 50 gaming tables…currently there are eight operating casinos on the island,” he stated, referring to existing foreigner-only venues on the island.
Landing International is looking to open another hotel, the 538-room Shinhwa Resort Jeju Shinhwa World, and a water park at the resort complex in summer this year. The resort project promoter is also planning to launch a Four Seasons Resort and Spa by the end of 2019, which will bring the overall hotel room inventory of Jeju Shinhwa World to more than 2,000 units, according to Mr Lim.
The Four Seasons Resort and Spa, along with an outdoor theme park called Lionsgate Movie World, are for a second phase of Jeju Shinhwa World. Lionsgate Movie World is slated to be completed in 2019.
Commenting on the capital investment for the whole project, Mr Hoon stated: “We as Landing International, the Hong Kong company, have injected US$1.5 billion. So this project is substantially funded by way of shareholders’ equity. And then we also have taken some bank borrowings.”
At the briefing, Mr Hoon noted that his firm was not likely to seek a further share placement exercise for the second phase of Jeju Shinhwa World, but would instead pay for it via bank borrowings, property sales at the site and operating cash flow from phase one.
January 23, 2018 |
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Two Station Casinos properties reported slot jackpots on consecutive days in January, according to a statement from Station Casinos.
January 23, 2018 |
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Internet casino group SoftGaming has announced that they've signed a content deal with Endorphina and will integrate the developer's games into their platform as a result.
January 23, 2018 |
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Emergency and other Macau government workers joined a simulation drill overnight on Monday at the Galaxy Macau casino resort operated by Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd. The government said the drill (pictured) had been designed to test the ability of public-sector departments and the local casino industry to coordinate and handle a response to major incidents. It added it was satisfied with the outcome.
Nine government departments participated in the drill, including the Unitary Police Service, the Judiciary Police, the Public Security Police Force and the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, Macau’s gaming regulator which is also known by the acronym DICJ.
The Unitary Police Service and the gaming bureau described the simulation exercise as a success in separate press releases on Tuesday.
The police press release confirmed that the two-hour-long exercise, code-named “Wolf Hunting”, took place at Galaxy Macau. The property is across the road from the main Macau barracks of the Chinese military, the People’s Liberation Army.
The exercise simulated an armed robbery in a public area, with four ‘criminals’ attacking a ‘passer-by’ before escaped into a crowded hotel lobby. Scenes of multiple injuries, a bomb threat, people being held hostage and standoffs between the police and the ‘criminals’ were involved, said the Unitary Police Service release.
During the simulation exercise, the gaming bureau also tested the “Major Incidents Emergency Communication Mechanism”, which was established last year following the deadly attack on June 2 at the Resorts World Manila casino complex in the Philippine capital.
The gaming regulator said in its Tuesday press release that the test achieved the expected results.
Macau’s Secretary for Security, Wong Sio Chak, had noted to local media in November that the government planned in the first half of 2018 to launch a “large-scale, joint contingency drill” involving local casinos and their surroundings.
The Monday drill came only days after the theft of casino chips with a face value of nearly HKD47.9 million (US$6.1 million) from the Wynn Macau casino property on the city’s peninsula operated by Wynn Macau Ltd.
January 22, 2018 |
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January 22, 2018 |
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Today a punter playing a video slot at Gold Mega Casino had their life changed forever when they struck the Gold Mega Jackpot for a large $610,784 cash prize.
January 22, 2018 |
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January 22, 2018 |
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Landing International Development Ltd, the promoter of the Jeju Shinhwa World resort on South Korea’s Jeju Island, is working to attract independent travellers from North and Southeast Asia via targeted promotion campaigns, rather than relying on visitors from mainland China, says one of its executives. The management hopes that by the end of next month the property will have an operating casino available for non-Korean customers, offering 160 gaming tables and 240 slots and electronic table games. It will be at Jeju Shinhwa World Marriott Resort (pictured), one of the hotels at the new complex.
Commentary on the target market was given in comments to Chinese-language media by Albert Lim, senior vice president of resort operations at Landing Jeju Development Co Ltd, a subsidiary of the resort’s Hong Kong-listed promoter. The topic arose when he was asked about a reported Chinese ban – which has never been confirmed by officials in that country – on package tours to South Korea for mainland Chinese.
“Our strategy is to largely focus on individual travellers… our focus has also shifted to other visitor sources – Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and Southeast Asia. We are also targeting at Japan, which is a very important source market,” Mr Lim told media. He added that his firm had been working on joint promotion campaigns to that effect with the tourism authority in Jeju – a semi-autonomous region of South Korea – as well as similar campaigns with airlines and travel agents in the target markets.
Media in South Korea had previously reported that Chinese authorities had either banned Chinese tourist travel to South Korea or reduced the volume of such trade, with effect from autumn 2016 – including to Jeju, which has a number of foreigner-only casino venues. Such action was said to be in retaliation for a South Korean decision to install the U.S.-supplied Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system close to Chinese territory as a counter to North Korean missile tests.
In late December, China reportedly brought back a ban on group tours to South Korea, following reports of a partial easing of the ban at the end of November.
A purported ban on group tours from China has had “no effect” on VIP gambling at Landing’s existing Jeju casino hotel property, the Hyatt Regency Jeju, said Chris Block, executive vice president, casino, at Landing Entertainment Korea; but “on the mass side, yes,” he added.
Mr Block had previously told GGRAsia that the firm expects to have all the necessary local government approvals to relocate its existing casino in Hyatt Regency Jeju to Jeju Shinhwa World in late February.
“The groups [business] would be beneficial when it resumes,” he noted in comments specifically to GGRAsia.
David Hoon, senior vice president of Landing International, additionally told us: “As an integrated resort, yes we do target customers who love gaming; but at the same time we are also targeting customers who do not necessarily love gaming but want to spend time at the resort on non-gaming activities.”
Currently-operating facilities at Jeju Shinhwa World include: the luxury hotels Jeju Shinhwa World Landing Resort, Jeju Shinhwa World Marriott Resort and Somerset Jeju Shinhwa World; Landing Convention Centre; a K-pop themed zone called “YG Republique”; Shinhwa Theme Park, which opened at the end of September; and a shopping area branded as “Shinhwa Shoppes”.
January 21, 2018 |
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The head of Macau’s gaming regulator believes that the theft of casino chips with a face value of nearly HKD47.9 million (US$6.1 million) from a property operated by a Macau casino concessionaire was an “isolated incident”.
“I believe that the crime is only an isolated incident. The police authorities were able to crack the case quickly,” said on Friday Paulo Martins Chan (pictured in a file photo), director of the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, also known by its Portuguese acronym DICJ. He didn’t name the casino involved, but Wynn Macau Ltd has already confirmed that one of its two Macau properties was involved. Separately, the Judiciary Police confirmed the property concerned was in the NAPE district of the city, narrowing it down to Wynn Macau on the city’s peninsula.
“We think that this is not going to have a significant impact on the image of Macau,” Mr Chan additionally told media representatives on the sidelines of an event.
Mr Chan also stated the six local gaming operators had immediately adopted new security measures following the crime.
“I, for sure, cannot reveal the details of the measures adopted. But these measures were implemented straightaway. I believe they are effective measures because [the casino operators] already knew where the crux of the problem lies,” said the gaming regulator head, without clarifying that point.
Two local residents were arrested by Macau’s Judiciary Police on Thursday in connection with the heist. Some cash and cash chips were allegedly found respectively on the two suspects, but it did not correspond to the same amount as reported stolen.
One of them, described by the Judiciary Police as a casino dealer, admitted having committed the crime, said the force. He also claimed to have started gambling since his teenage years, and was heavily in debt, asserted the police.
One suspect – described as a relative of the dealer – denied any involvement. The detained dealer allegedly refused to comment when questioned on the whereabouts of the balance of the missing chips.
The DICJ director mentioned in his Friday remarks that casino workers were “a group that poses a higher risk” of problem gambling than others in the community. He indicated that his department would soon submit to the Executive Council – an advisory body to the Chief Executive of Macau – a previously-flagged proposal to ban Macau-based gaming workers from entering any casino floor outside work hours.
The initiative, which involves amending the current legal regime for entry to casinos, was a subject to a one-month public consultation period last year.
Meanwhile, the acting director of the Judiciary Police, Sit Chong Meng, told media on Saturday that the gaming operator involved in the heist had implemented measures to prevent the stolen chips to be cashed.
“The stolen chips were registered and uniquely coded, and currently cannot be cashed,” he said.
In other developments relating to local casino security, a simulation exercise – involving a scenario with multiple armed suspects attacking Galaxy Macau casino resort and taking hostages – was due to take place overnight on Monday into the early hours of Tuesday.
Macau’s Secretary for Security, Wong Sio Chak, noted to local media in November that the government planned in the first half of 2018 to launch a “large-scale, joint contingency drill” involving local casinos and their surroundings.
January 20, 2018 |
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It’s hard to imagine that someone as smart as William Weidner, former president and chief operating officer of Las Vegas Sands and one of the backers of the Lucky Dragon, could have been so wrong about positioning the off-Strip casino that closed its doors Jan. 4 and faces a foreclosure auction on Feb. 6.
January 19, 2018 |
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Gambling marketing group Catena has announced that they've entered a purchase agreement with Dreamworx Online, which operates in the same vertical sector.
January 19, 2018 |
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Owners of the Hard Rock Hotel are in talks to sell the Las Vegas resort, and plans call for billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Hotels to operate it, two people familiar with the matter said Friday.
January 19, 2018 |
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Two Macau residents have been arrested by the city’s Judiciary Police (PJ) in connection with a criminal complaint that casino chips with a face value of nearly HKD47.9 million (US$6.1 million) were stolen from a Macau casino on Tuesday.
In a special press conference on Friday, a Judiciary Police spokesperson revealed that the two people arrested were related to each other. They were identified only by the respective surnames Lei and Ho.
No mention was made during the press conference about where the alleged theft occurred. But Wynn Macau Ltd has already confirmed that it was the firm affected. It operates two Macau casinos: Wynn Macau on the city’s peninsula, and Wynn Palace on Cotai.
It was alleged that Lei, who had worked in the security department of an unidentified casino starting in 2009 – and had become a dealer from February 2011 – was on duty in the early morning on Tuesday at a casino VIP club.
When there were no guests in the club and all but one of his colleagues had left the room, the suspect allegedly walked toward a female colleague also working as a card dealer in that room. He allegedly demanded she keep quiet and place her upper body in a prone position across her card table.
He then returned to his own card table. It was said that after that he put into a black bag casino chips that had been inside the chip tray at his own table. He also took off his uniform and put it in the same bag.
The suspect then walked out of the property and reportedly made his getaway on a motorcycle.
Aftermath
After investigation, the Judiciary Police concluded that Lei had arranged to meet up with the suspect, Ho, in the early evening on Thursday. Police officers then intercepted and arrested the two suspects at the scene. They also allegedly found on the suspects some cash and cash chips.
The police representative said Lei admitted having committed the crime. He also told the police that he had been a gambler since his teenage years and was heavily in debt, which he said was the reason he committed the crime. But he refused to disclose the whereabouts of the remaining chips that were stolen.
The suspect Ho, identified during the press briefing as an uncle of Lei, had denied his involvement in the case, said the police.
The force did not rule out the possibility that the suspects had already cashed the chips via underground banks.
In another development, the Judiciary Police said they had arrested three local residents alleged to have uploaded a confidential document to social media platforms and chat groups. The document is said to have contained a photograph and personal information of a suspect connected to the Wynn Macau heist.
The three were accused of “violating judicial secrecy”. Matters relating to them had been handed over to the Public Prosecutions Office.
The local casino regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, issued a statement on Wednesday saying it had asked the casino operator at the centre of the latest incident – though did not name it – to submit a report on the matter. The gaming bureau also said that subsequent to the alleged incident it had a meeting with all six Macau operators and asked them to step up the surveillance effort in their properties.
During the first nine months of 2017, the Judiciary Police opened a total of 1,323 gaming-related crime cases – a number inclusive of launched investigations and reports made to the force – said Macau’s Secretary for Security, Wong Sio Chak, in a November media briefing. The tally represented a 1.9-percent year-on-year rise.
January 19, 2018 |
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January 19, 2018 |
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Southern Nevada real estate professionals already have seen indications of an anticipated climb in local land values as a result of Las Vegas’ leap into big-league status.
January 18, 2018 |
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The state of Delaware has revealed their 2017 online gambling financial numbers, showing that numbers suffered a double digit decline for the period.
January 18, 2018 |
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A Florida man hit a slot jackpot for more than $1 million Tuesday evening on the Las Vegas Strip.
January 18, 2018 |
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January 17, 2018 |
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The rise in Macau casino stock values in 2017 has contributed to the growth in the fortunes of some of the sector’s best-known entrepreneurs, according to Forbes’ latest ‘Hong Kong’s 50 Richest People’ list, published this week.
Many of the people concerned hold their wealth largely via equity holdings in casino firms they founded or run.
Lui Che Woo (pictured), founder and chairman of casino operator Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd, continues to be the richest gaming tycoon in the Hong Kong list. His net worth jumped nearly 70 percent from an estimated US$11.2 billion in January 2017 to US$19 billion in January this year, Forbes said. Mr Lui climbed three positions to 3rd place on Forbes’ list.
A strong growth in casino gross gaming revenue for Macau’s gaming sector in 2017 helped push up share prices of the city’s casino operators. Galaxy Entertainment saw its stock price increase almost 86 percent in 2017 from its value as of end-2016, according to data collated by GGRAsia.
Pansy Ho Chiu King, co-chairperson of MGM China Holdings Ltd, has seen her personal fortune increase by an estimated 27.9 percent, to US$5.5 billion, according to Forbes. Ms Ho, a daughter of Macau casino tycoon Stanley Ho Hung Sun, climbed one position to 15th place in January 2018.
Ms Ho is currently Hong Kong’s second-wealthiest woman, according to Forbes. She is also managing director of Hong Kong-listed shipping and property conglomerate Shun Tak Holdings Ltd, which runs the TurboJet ferry operation serving routes between Hong Kong and Macau. The group also has significant real estate interests in Macau.
Lawrence Ho Yau Lung, chairman and chief executive of Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd, saw his net worth jump approximately 85 percent year-on-year, to US$2.6 billion. Mr Ho, a son of Stanley Ho, saw his ranking among Hong Kong’s wealthiest people jump from 42nd to 29th, according to Forbes.
Mr Ho ended in 2017 his gaming business partnership with Australian billionaire James Packer, following a series of stock sell-downs in what was then Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd, by Australia-based casino operator Crown Resorts Ltd. Mr Ho, who also chairs casino investor firm Melco International Development Ltd, is moving forward with plans to develop a casino resort in the Republic of Cyprus.
Angela Leong On Kei, fourth consort of Stanley Ho and an executive director of SJM Holdings Ltd, saw her net worth slip 7.5 percent to US$3.7 billion this year, from US$4 billion in January 2017, said Forbes. She went from 18th place to 22nd position. According to the magazine, Ms Leong owes the vast majority of her wealth to her portfolio of properties in Hong Kong.
The latest ‘Hong Kong’s 50 Richest People’ list by Forbes included other billionaires that, while owning diversified holdings, had a sizeable exposure to Macau’s casino sector.
Pollyanna Chu Yuet Wah, chief executive of Hong Kong-listed Kingston Financial Group Ltd, saw her net worth increase by 150 percent year-on-year to US$12 billion. She climbed to 7th place in the overall list and remains Hong Kong’s wealthiest woman, according to Forbes.
Financial services firm Kingston controls two Macau casino hotels – Casa Real on the peninsula and Grandview on Taipa. They offer gaming under the casino licence of SJM Holdings via a so-called service agreement.
A newcomer to this year’s list is Henry Cheng Kar Shun, chairman of Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, in 49th place with an estimated fortune of US$1.3 billion. He took over from his father Cheng Yu Tung, who was Hong Kong’s third-richest person when he died in 2016. Henry Cheng is developing a US$9.5-billion Greenwich Peninsula residential-and-commercial project in Southeast London in the United Kingdom capital. The group has also been expanding its casino interests in recent years, via involvement in projects in Vietnam, Australia and the Bahamas.
Forbes says the net worth of Hong Kong’s wealthiest people soared last year, supported by a 37 percent jump in the Hang Seng index, a booming real estate market and a stronger global economy. The magazine’s annual list is compiled using shareholding and financial information obtained from the individuals, stock exchanges, analysts and private databases. The net worth of the people on the list is based on share prices and currency rates as of January 5, it added.
January 17, 2018 |
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January 17, 2018 |
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MGM Growth Properties’ offer to buy a Caesars Entertainment real estate investment trust spinoff that serves as a landlord to 20 properties, including Caesars Palace, has been unanimously rebuffed by the board of Vici Properties.
January 17, 2018 |
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January 16, 2018 |
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Nevada casinos had a big 2017 as the Nevada Gaming Control Board revealed that revenues for brick and mortar casinos were up 3.7% when compared to 2016.
January 16, 2018 |
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The Lucky Dragon, after closing its casino and restaurants this month, now faces foreclosure.
January 16, 2018 |
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MGM officials disclosed Tuesday that the company has been in negotiation with Vici Properties, which controls Caesars Palace and Harrah’s in Las Vegas, making public an offer of $19.50 a share to present to shareholders.
January 16, 2018 |
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Casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) in Macau’s VIP segment expanded by 21.9 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2017, according to data released on Tuesday by the local regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.
VIP baccarat GGR in the three months to December 31 was approximately MOP40.64 billion (US$5.04 billion) compared to MOP33.33 billion in the prior-year period.
For full-year 2017, VIP baccarat GGR was approximately MOP150.67 billion, up 26.7 percent on the MOP118.96 billion registered in full-year 2016.
In the breakdown of fourth-quarter 2017, VIP baccarat revenue as a proportion of all casino GGR in the period stood at 56.2 percent. In the equivalent quarter a year earlier it had been 55.2 percent.
Mass-market gambling, including play from slot machines, was MOP31.73 billion in the three months to December 31, a rise of 17.1-percent year-on-year on the MOP27.09 billion in fourth quarter 2016.
Mass-market GGR – including slots – for the full year was MOP115.07 billion, up 10.4 percent compared to the MOP104.25-billion tally in 2016.
Brokerage Union Gaming Securities Asia Ltd said in a note on Tuesday that the latest quarterly results were “likely well outside of investor expectations, which were likely expecting a continuation of VIP [circa] +30 percent and mass [about] +10 percent”.
Analyst Grant Govertsen said in the memo: “A very small part of the VIP deceleration in fourth quarter 2017 can be attributed to the low VIP win rate (aka bad luck) in December. We would attribute another part of the change in growth velocities to a clear resurgence in the lower tiers of mass market as we’ve witnessed a significant uptick in low-end patrons.”
He added: “Finally, we could also be witnessing an unwinding of the reclassification of table games in advance of the new smoking law.”
Macau’s Legislative Assembly approved on July 14 a revised bill on smoking that bans tableside tobacco use in VIP rooms. Although the new rules apply from January 1, 2018, tableside smoking at VIP rooms will in effect be able to continue until January 1, 2019, as casinos have been given a year’s grace period to set up VIP smoking lounges.
According to the official data released on Tuesday, GGR from slot machines was approximately MOP3.63 billion in the fourth quarter of 2017, up 18.5 percent on the MOP3.06 billion in the fourth quarter of 2016. For full-year 2017, slot revenue was approximately MOP13.16 billion, up 15.6 percent on the MOP11.38 billion achieved in calendar year 2016.
Revenue from live multi game products – those featuring table-style games with live dealers but electronic betting and electronic bet settlement – was MOP624 million for the fourth quarter 2017, a decrease of nearly 1 percent on the MOP630 million recorded in fourth-quarter 2016.
Live multi game revenue for calendar year 2017 was approximately MOP2.43 billion, an increase of 3.4 percent compared to the MOP2.35 billion achieved in 2016.
Macau’s accumulated casino GGR for full-year 2017 grew by 19.1 percent compared to the tally for 2016, according to data released by the gaming regulator on January 1. Gaming revenue for the 12 months of 2017 stood at MOP265.74 billion, compared to MOP223.21 billion in 2016.
