The expansion of the Chairman’s Club gaming area at the Cotai casino resort Wynn Palace (pictured) in Macau will open in time for the Chinese New Year period, as all licences have been received.
That is according to Craig Billings, chairman and chief executive of the parent firm Wynn Resorts Ltd. The latter controls Macau-based casino operator Wynn Macau Ltd.
Besides the Cotai casino resort Wynn Palace, Wynn Macau Ltd also runs the Wynn Macau property in downtown Macau.
“This is a significant expansion of the Chairman’s Club,” a space dedicated to the casino firm’s “highest-value customers,” Mr Billings said.
“This expansion triples the size of the Chairman’s Club to nearly 100,000 square feet [9,290 sq. metres]. The space includes gaming areas, along with a range of amenities, including several boutique food and beverage outlets, entertainment areas, a cigar lounge and a bar,” the CEO said.
“We honestly believe it will set a new standard for premium gaming space in Macau, in an area that already feels very, very comfortable to our best customers,” Mr Billings added.
He was speaking on Thursday during the call for the fourth-quarter earnings of Wynn Resorts.
The casino group’s management confirmed during the call that it had received final approval on Thursday to open the Chairman’s Club expansion at Wynn Palace.
Chinese New Year falls on February 17 (Tuesday) and is usually a peak business period for the tourism and gaming industries in Macau. On the Chinese mainland – Macau’s main feeder market – the festival will be marked by a nine-day holiday starting on February 15.
During the call, Mr Billings said the “booking pace” at the Wynn Macau Ltd properties for the Chinese New Year period was “good”.
“With the opening of the Chairman’s Club [expansion] at Wynn Palace, we feel we have something new and shiny that will delight our best customers,” the executive added.
He, however, noted that the firm would usually “run into capacity constraints around these peak periods, based on table count – that doesn’t affect our best customers, obviously”.
Mr Billings also mentioned the “refresh” of the Wynn Tower rooms at the Wynn Macau complex. He said that project, alongside the expansion of the Chairman’s Club at Wynn Palace, would “further strengthen” the firm’s ability to capture premium clientele demand in 2026.
The revamp of these venues was first discussed on the group’s second-quarter call in August, and again on the third-quarter call in November.
Mr Billings stated in the latest call that fourth-quarter results at Wynn Macau Ltd were “all about significant volume growth, but unusually low hold in both VIP and mass”.
The firm delivered earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of around US$271 million, “with low VIP hold costing us a little over US$16 million in EBITDA in the quarter,” the executive stated.
Positive early signs in 2026
Providing some colour on performance so far in the first quarter of 2026, Mr Billings said “momentum in Macau has persisted,” with business volumes in January “just above” those recorded by Wynn Macau Ltd in the fourth quarter.
“Looking ahead to the rest of 2026, following sustained double-digit market-wide gross gaming revenue growth in the back half of 2025, we remain optimistic about the future of Macau,” Mr Billings stated. “The premium segment continues to lead the market, and that is a segment where we are always well positioned.”
During the fourth-quarter call, the Wynn group management said it expected 2026 capital expenditure in Macau in a range of between US$400 million and US$450 million, “with several concession-related projects awaiting government approval”.
It added that operational expenses per day at the Macau unit were within the range of US$2.7 million to US$2.9 million, as previously announced.
Questioned by analysts about a potential player reinvestment contest taking place in the Macau market, Mr Billings dismissed those concerns – at least regarding Wynn Macau Ltd.
“It’s a very short booking window in Macau, and so it’s daily hand-to-hand combat for customers. And we’ll adjust reinvestment up or down in any given period to make sure that we achieve our business goals,” he said. “I can’t say that our quarter was unusually impacted by a significant jump in [player] reinvestment.”
Mr Billings also said Wynn Macau Ltd was not driving growth in the VIP gaming segment on the back of incremental player credit.
“We have been making very specific investments in our VIP hosting teams and in our VIP player development, and we saw the benefit of that this quarter,” he said.
The executive also mentioned during the call the use of artificial intelligence by the Wynn group to optimise business performance, including regarding player reinvestment, also in the Macau market.
