Despite the advent of Typhoon Noul at the weekend, banking group Citi said it was “more than surprised by the lively crowd we saw and the whales we ran into at Galaxy Macau” during its monthly Macau table game survey conducted on Friday in the city’s Cotai casino district.
Analysts George Choi and Timothy Chau wrote in a note after their Friday visit to Macau referring to Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd, promoter of the Galaxy Macau resort: “We attribute it to Galaxy’s co-organising ‘FIVB Women’s Volleyball Nations League – Finals Macao 2026’ with the Macau government on July 22 to 26.”
The analysts added: “Knowing the popularity of the sport in China, Galaxy strategically organised numerous events around the tournament (e.g., an autograph session with Team China and other national teams).
“We would not be surprised if some good tickets were reserved for its top [casino] players. This once again suggests that well-chosen right non-gaming offerings are a powerful tool to induce the affluent Chinese to visit Macau and spend money there.”
In the mass baccarat segment per Citi’s July review, the minimum bet across Macau fell 10 percent year-on-year to HKD1,898 (US$242), versus HKD2,110 in July 2025.
The bank said the total premium-mass wager it observed across a number of Macau properties during its July survey amounted to HKD13 million, 19 percent lower than a year earlier.
That was “likely due to some players postponing their Macau trips, with Typhoon Noul approaching”.
Nonetheless the premium mass tally this time was still 33 percent up on June’s observed total of HKD9.8 million, it added.
The number of premium mass players observed by Citi totalled 581, 15 percent lower than July 2025.
“This implies that average wager per player” in July this year “fell 5 percent year-on-year to a still respectable HKD22,367, versus HKD23,536 in July 2025,” said the bank.
In terms of observation of the highest-value casino players or “whales”, Citi said it saw 24 this month, equal to June but down on the 35 seen in July last year. The institution defines “whales” as high-value players betting HKD100,000 or above.
The analysts stated: “We saw our player of the month at Pavilion South of Galaxy Macau wagering HKD600,000.
“Honourable mentions go to the two whale players at Galaxy Macau’s Horizon Room, wagering HKD440,000 and HKD300,000 respectively.”
They added: “It is interesting to note that the average wager-per-whale in July 2026 improved 9 percent month-on-month to HKD182,500, although this is still 13 percent lower versus July 2025.”
Citi asserted that Galaxy Entertainment had been the “runaway leader in premium mass” in its July survey, with “an unprecedented 43 percent share versus July 2025’s 35 percent in total wager observed”.
That performance was “highlighted by the fact that the top three whales we ran into this month were all seen at Galaxy Macau”.
The Citi analysts said regarding other operators: “We ran into a [South] Korean whale player (wagering HKD100,000) at MGM Macau’s Supreme Room,” at MGM China Holdings Ltd’s downtown property.
“We saw a HKD200,000 premium mass player playing at a HKD30,000 min bet table – the highest minimum-bet [table] we saw on the day – at a private salon at City of Dreams’ Signature Club,” the analysts noted, referring to a Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd resort.
The Citi team stated, referring to a casino at Sands China Ltd’s The Londoner Macao: “The average baccarat minimum bet at the Londoner Casino, on our numbers, is HKD2,851. This represents a 58 percent premium versus Londoner Grand [casino], but this premium seems considerably lower than the first-half average.”
