Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Review-Journal

Another month, another $4 billion in gaming revenue for Macau casinos.

Macau’s gaming market didn’t show any slowdown in March after February’s Chinese New Year holiday, growing revenue 13.1 percent during the month, according to figures released Tuesday by the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.

For the month, Macau casinos collected $4.4 billion in gaming revenue, the market’s second straight $4 billion revenue month and third out of the past sixth months.

The March figure was the third highest on record for Macau, behind February’s $4.8 billion and $4.6 billion last October.

Through the first three months of the year, Macau gaming revenue is up almost 20 percent higher when compared to the first three months of 2013. Last year, Macau casinos collected a record $45.2 billion in gaming revenue.

“Macau gaming trends are still strong across all relevant segments despite recent macro China fears, as well as concerns on various growth drivers,” said Union Gaming Group analyst Grant Govertsen, who is based in Macau. “To date we are not seeing any indications that Macau’s gaming industry is experiencing any such related weakness.”

Las Vegas Sands Corp., Wynn Resorts Ltd. and MGM Resorts International operate casinos in Macau and all three companies are in the process of building new multibillion-dollar hotel-casino developments on the region’s Cotai Strip.

Govertsen said the boost in the March numbers came despite several trends that seemed to be working against the market, including a comparison to March 2013, when gaming revenue grew 25 percent.

Analyst said the market should continue double-digit growth figures throughout 2014.

“Despite some extended Chinese New Year-related VIP events in the market in early March, we expect this year’s trends to remain largely static from a seasonal perspective,” said Deutsche Bank gaming analyst Carlo Santarelli.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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