Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Review-Journal
The Macau casino industry didn’t produce a third straight $4 billion gaming revenue month in April, but the final total and double-digit increase were enough to ease worries of a market slowdown.
Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau said Friday casinos collected $3.9 billion in gaming revenue during April, a 10.6 percent increase over April 2013.
The figure might seem, paltry to investors after two straight $4 billion revenue months, including February’s all-time single month record of $4.8 billion. Three American casino operators — Wynn Resorts Ltd., Las Vegas Sands Corp., and MGM Resorts International — operate casinos in Macau. The companies are all building multi-billion-dollar project on the Coati Strip to expand their holdings.
Union Gaming Group principal Grant Govertsen, who is based in Macau, told investors the availability of real-time market data often-times leads industry watchers to stir up unfounded fears.
“The reality is that the market naturally ebbs and flows, and can and does slowdown in advance of holiday periods like the now-ongoing May holiday, and there doesn’t have to be a perfect explanation every time,” Govertsen said.
During their recent first quarter earnings releases, casino company executives spent time on conference calls explaining why they are bullish on Macau. Wynn Resorts collected 75 percent of its overall $1.51 billion in quarterly revenue from Macau. Las Vegas Sands garnered more than half of its total $4.01 billion in company revenue from Macau.
“Nothing has stopped them and I don’t think anything will,” Las Vegas Sands Chairman Sheldon Adelson said last month on Asian customers view of gambling. “If there is a momentary blip in the road, it’s like a speed bump in a private housing development, where people don’t want you to drive fast.”
Deutsche Bank gaming analyst Carlo Santarelli called the March results, “a positive surprise,” adding the final figure was in line with most forecasts.
For the first four months of the year, gaming revenue totals are up 17.5 percent over the same four months of 2013. Last year, Macau produced a record $45.2 billion in gaming revenue.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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