Macau casinos: Citigroup notes a rise in premium mass wagers

Citigroup says premium mass wagers for the year to date total HK$43.3m (US$5.6m).

Macau.- Citigroup’s survey has reported that premium mass wagers in Macau for the year to date have reached HK$43.3m (US$5.6m). The figure surpasses the total for all of 2023. It observed 222 premium mass players compared to 224 in 2023.

Analyst George Choi said the wager per player was up 43 per cent in year-on-year terms at HK$655,000 (US$84,100). He said the spending trend seems to be accelerating, with the average over the past five months being up at HK$728,000 (US$93,474).

Citigroup’s monthly survey reported premium mass wagers of HK$11.9m (US$1.53m) so far in September, up 36 per cent from a year ago. Some 613 premium-mass players were seen, a rise of 42 per cent in year-on-year terms, but the wager per player was down by 5 per cent year-on-year to HK$19,389 (US$2,524).

The survey observed 21 whales (players with bets of HK$100,000 per hand or more), up from 17 a year earlier. Sands China represented approximately 26 per cent of the total premium mass wager observed, up from a 22 per cent share in August. Melco Resorts & Entertainment, which has recently launched a rebranding programme for its premium mass products, had a 17 per cent share, up from a 13.5 per cent average in the first eight months of the year.

See also: Tourism in Macau: 23m visitors in first eight months of the year

Golden Week GGR to reach US$112.1m, analysts say

Morgan Stanley Asia estimates that Macau’s gross gaming revenue (GGR) could reach MOP900m (US$112.1m) during the upcoming Golden Week and MOP20bn (US$2.4bn) for October as a whole. The latter would be an increase of 1 per cent in year-on-year terms.

The holiday period will take place from October 1 to 7 inclusive. Analysts Praveen Choudhary and Gareth Leung noted that average daily hotel rates and occupancy are tracking similarly to October 2023 while rates seem stronger compared to the May Golden Week.

Analysts said they expect mass GGR during the October Golden Week to reach up to 115 per cent of 2019 levels. VIP is expected to be 23 to 25 per cent, similar to the second quarter of this year.

See also: Macau GGR reaches US$591.4m in first eight days of September, Citigroup says