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\tBy HOWARD STUTZ
\n\tLAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
\n\tMacau\u2019s casino industry shattered its single-month gaming revenue record in October when the market produced an eye-popping $4.6 billion in pre-tax winnings.<\/p>\n
\tThe total exceeded the previous record of $3.92 billion set in March of this year.<\/p>\n
\tThe Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau said Friday the results were a 31.7 percent increase over the October 2012 total. Analysts had been predicting the record month, based on visitation trends into Macau.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cAlthough most investors expected a new all-time monthly record to be established in October, we believe the degree to which the end result eclipsed the prior record was slightly ahead of consensus expectations,\u201d Stifel Nicolaus Capital Markets gaming analyst Steven Wieczynski said.<\/p>\n
\tIn 2012, Macau \u2014 the world\u2019s largest gaming market \u2014 produced a record $38 billion in gaming revenues. Through October, the region nearly topped that amount \u2014 producing $37.13 billion in just 10 months.<\/p>\n
\tMacau gaming revenues are up 18.4 percent over the same 10 months of 2012 the market\u2019s growth could exceed 20 percent by the time the year is out, analysts said.<\/p>\n
\tThe single month revenue record in Macau equals roughly 75 percent of the entire Strip gaming market took in during all of 2012. Macau currently has more than three dozen large and small casinos.<\/p>\n
\tUnion Gaming Group Principal Grant Govertsen, who is based in Macau, said the results from October, coupled with projections for the last two months of the year, indicate that Macau will produce seven times more gaming revenues than Las Vegas.<\/p>\n
\tHe said Macau\u2019s revenues over the next two months are expected to show across-the-board strength in all gaming segments.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cOur forecast is driven in part by historical trends with average gross gaming revenues in November and December generally running 6 percent or more higher than the January-October gross gaming revenue run-rate,\u201d Govertsen said.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cEconomic indicators out of China continue their positive trends,\u201d RBC Capital Markets gaming analyst John Kempf told investors. \u201cWe continue to favor Macau exposed gaming names and believe today\u2019s news will be viewed positively by the market.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tLas Vegas Sands Corp., Wynn Resorts Ltd. and MGM Resorts International all operate hotel-casinos in Macau. The companies are also in the process of expanding their reach into the market.<\/p>\n
\tFor Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts, Macau is the primary driver of gaming revenues.<\/p>\n
\tIn the third quarter, Macau revenues of $2.34 billion from Las Vegas Sands\u2019 four developments accounted for more than 65 percent of the company\u2019s overall third quarter revenues of $3.57 billion. As for Wynn Resorts, the company\u2019s two Macau casinos collected $997.6 million accounted for almost 72 percent of the company\u2019s overall revenue total of $1.39 billion.<\/p>\n
\tLas Vegas Sands is finishing another phase of the multiple hotel Sands Cotai Central and is spending $2.7 billion to build a 3,000-room Parisian-themed hotel-casino on Macau\u2019s Cotai Strip region. Wynn is spending $4 billion on the Wynn Palace on Cotai, that is targeted to open during Chinese New Year in 2016.<\/p>\n
\tMGM Resorts collected $808 million in revenues from the MGM Macau during the third quarter, almost 33 percent of the company\u2019s $2.46 billion in overall quarterly revenues. MGM Resorts is spending $2.6 billion on a Cotai resort.<\/p>\n
\tShares of Las Vegas Sands closed at $69.88 on the New York Stock Exchange, down 34 cents or 0.48 percent. MGM Resorts\u2019 shares, also traded on the New York Stock Exchange, closed at $19.30, up 26 cents or 1.37 percent. Wynn Resorts, which is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select, saw its stock price increase $1.45 or 0.87 percent to close at $167.70<\/p>\n
\tContact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal.com<\/a> or 702-477-3871. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.<\/p>\n