A series of concerts by Hong Kong pop singer Jacky Cheung is likely to be the reason behind “all the positive findings” seen in a June survey of the Macau gaming market, said Citigroup in its latest memo.
The banking institution said it observed a year-on-year increase in the total volume of premium mass wagers, as well as in the average wage per player in that segment.
“We conducted our June 2025 table survey on the first night [June 20] Cheung performed this year – nine shows from mid-June to early July – and we attribute all the positive findings from our survey to him,” wrote analysts George Choi and Timothy Chau.
The positive impact of the concerts might help the Macau market in “bucking seasonal trends” in terms of gross gaming revenue (GGR), suggested the analysts.
“We won’t be surprised if Macau generates more GGR than what we forecast for June 2025, MOP19.0 billion [US$2.35 billion], up 5 percent year-on-year,” they added.
They stated: “Galaxy [Entertainment Group Ltd] seems to have struck the right note by hosting him at the Galaxy Arena (significant improvement in foot traffic seen at Galaxy Macau).
“We believe other operators are also benefiting – some of them have purchased tickets as comps for their grade-A players.”
In their latest monthly survey, the Citi’s analysts said they observed total wager in the premium-mass segment of about HKD15.8 million (US$2 million), “58-percent higher” than in the same month last year.
The number of premium mass players was up by 16 percent from a year earlier to 629, resulting in a 36-percent year-on-year increase in the average premium-mass wager per player to HKD25,130, according to Citi’s survey.
“June 2025’s average wager per player is only 12-percent lower versus May 2025 (i.e., Labour Day holidays) and 4-percent lower versus Chinese New Year 2025, bucking seasonal trends (as June is normally the slowest month),” Citi noted.
The analysts also said they observed a total of 35 ‘whales’ in this month’s survey in the Macau market, “more than double” from the 16 observed in June last year. The institution defines ‘whales’ as players that have a bet size of HKD100,000 or more.
“Despite the ongoing geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainties, the 35 whales we came across this month wagered a total of HKD7.6 million, plus 128 percent versus that in June 2024 (HKD3.3 million),” the Citi analysts stated.
The average wage per ‘whale’ was up 4 percent year-on-year growth, to HKD216,343, denoting better “whale quality”, they added.
The Citi analysts covered for the first time in their latest survey the Horizon Plus room, a premium gaming area at Capella at Galaxy Macau, a property that had a soft launch in early May. The Horizon Plus room is said to host 16 tables in an open area, and had an average minimum bet of HKD8,938 on the day of Citi’s survey. The minimum bet for 13 of the 16 tables at the venue “was set at HKD10,000,” noted the analysts.
They added: “We got to Horizon Plus at around 22.30, and the players we saw there wagered an average of HKD140,000 (the second-highest amongst the premium-mass rooms in our survey).”
Wynn Macau Ltd was said to have regained “some significant share” in total premium mass wager observed in the latest survey, with a circa 35-percent share, versus a 24-percent share a year earlier, suggested the Citi analysts.
In other observations, the Citi team also noted that at MGM Macau, run by MGM China Holdings Ltd, an escalator was being installed inside the property’s premium gaming area, “Supreme Room”, to provide players with “easier access” to the “soon-to-open Alpha gaming area” and new villas at the complex, which are expected to open “around July”.
