The wildcard of exceptionally wet weather and the predictable seasonable impact on family leisure activity of China’s university admission exams means June should be read as a low point this year in terms of Macau’s casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) run rate. That is according to banking institution Citigroup, summarising its latest monthly survey of Macau table game business, conducted on June 7.
“We recommend investors treat this month’s data point as the floor for Macau’s GGR run-rate this year,” wrote analysts George Choi and Ryan Cheung.
The analysts said their observations suggested total premium mass wager in June was 10 percent higher year-on-year, at about HKD10.0 million (US$1.3 million), versus HKD9.1 million in June 2023.
The tally of premium mass players seen by Citigroup was 543, or circa 31 percent higher year-on-year. But observed wager per player was down by approximately 16 percent year-on-year at HKD18,478.
“We attribute the year-on-year fall in premium mass player quality to the high base in June 2023,” Citigroup stated.
Its analysts added, referring to one of Macau’s six casino concessionaires, and which has the largest coverage in terms of resorts: “Recall June 2023 was when Sands China [Ltd] hosted the renowned Cantopop singer Jacky Cheung for 12 shows,” covering Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays over four weeks.
That had coincided with Sands China “luring a lot of whales [big players] to visit Macau,” which had helped to create the high base.
The number of June 2024 whales observed by Citigroup – betting HKD100,000 or more per hand – was flat year-on-year, at 16.
The bank’s ‘player of the month’ was at a Horizon-branded room at Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd’s Galaxy Macau resort on Cotai, and who wagered HKD1 million, making the person “a player of the year candidate,” said the bank.
“The last time we witnessed a seven-figure bet was November 2019,” when a player bet HKD1.7 million, stated Citigroup.
