The Macau operations of casino firm Las Vegas Sands Corp have not been performing as expected, says Robert Goldstein (pictured in a file photo), the group’s chairman and chief executive. That was in the context of the casino firm, according to him, not being as competitive as it should be regarding incentives to customers, as well as in terms of increasing earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) across the Macau portfolio.
Las Vegas Sands runs casino resorts in Macau via its Sands China Ltd unit, and the Marina Bay Sands property in Singapore, via its Marina Bay Sands Pte Ltd unit.
“Macau has always been a market predicated on product, on retail, and quality of food, and the product drove revenue. What’s happened is it’s gotten [a] much more incentive-driven market – direct incentive to the customer – [and] we’ve not played that game as well as others have,” stated the executive during a session on Thursday at the Bernstein 41st Annual Strategic Decisions Conference.
He added: “I’m not here to say they [Macau market rivals] are right and we are wrong. We need to be more aggressive, and it may cost us some margin [points].”
Mr Goldstein further stated: “You’ve got to compete, and you’ve got to be market sensitive; and frankly, we haven’t been. We have been good enough, but our numbers are disappointing to me.”
According to the CEO, the group’s operations in Macau “should do better”.
Net revenues from Macau operations in the first quarter of 2025 were just under US$1.71 billion, down 5.6 percent year-on-year. The Macau operations’ adjusted property EBITDA stood at US$535 million in the three months to March 31, down 12.3 percent from a year earlier.
“If Macau [operations] were doing what they should be doing, it would be a US$5.5 billion of cumulative [group-wide annual] EBITDA, which would put us where we want to be,” stated Mr Goldstein.
The CEO said the group continues to invest in upgrading its properties in Macau, but it is not getting the returns it expected.
He observed: “I was wrong because I thought the product would drive [results], but equally important today is incentives to the customer. Direct incentives, cash and discounts and things like that, which are not margin positive, but they’re EBITDA positive.”
Mr Goldstein added: “We’ve sat back thinking this would change and we were wrong, I was wrong. We can pontificate on how people should run their business, but if they’re making more money than you, then shame on you.
“You get in the game and stop complaining, and that’s what we need to do. We need to be more aggressive in Macau and make more money. No one pays you for margins or pretty buildings if they don’t produce EBITDA.”
Cautious spending
Mr Goldstein also said the structure of the market in Macau has shifted, as visitors’ spending “is different than it used to be”.
“Visitation used to be equivalent to the spend, but they have decoupled now, and visitation can be pretty good, but the spend isn’t,” he explained.
“The market had a nice rebound post-Covid … and peaked at [around] US$27 billion, US$28 billion,” in terms of annual casino gross gaming revenue (GGR), “and right now it appears to be flat” at the number, said the executive.
The CEO said there were a “couple of factors” affecting consumer sentiment, including “global economic issues”.
“Macau is definitely stalled,” stated the executive, adding that the “demise of the junket segment” in the market and the rise of “online gambling” in Asia “didn’t help”.
Mr Goldstein also said “there’s no consistency” in recent trends in the Macau market, but that it was “actually pretty impressive in light of the economic numbers coming out of China, like retail and other businesses, how well Macau’s held up in this rather difficult time”.
The issue, he stated, is about “getting the right gamblers in the market,” and “we’ve got to work harder and make sure that mix is more favourable to our results”.
The CEO added: “We’ve not done as well as we could have done competitively, and our last quarter was disappointing. So, we’re hoping for improvement in our operating philosophy and our operating approach to accelerate our own EBITDA within the Macau market.”
In his Thursday remarks, Mr Goldstein also said the Marina Bay Sands complex in Singapore was doing “very well”.
Singapore “is that kind of place that attracts a very high spend, high frequent person from all over Asia,” he added. “Our business in Singapore is powerful and … it’s based on a very top tier, luxury segment of customer.”
In mid-May the promoter of Marina Bay Sands announced that hotel room renovations at the complex had been completed, marking the “most significant milestone” in its US$1.75-billion multi-year refurbishment programme.
Las Vegas Sands stated in October last year that it planned to invest US$8.0 billion in developing the second phase of the Marina Bay Sands complex.
