Macau gaming floors had decent customer traffic on Friday (May 2), the second day of the five-day mainland China holiday period surrounding Labour Day, according to GGRAsia spot checks. Properties in Macau’s Cotai district were the busiest, with punters favouring mass-market baccarat tables with a HKD2,000 (US$258) denomination.
Macau received a total of 176,921 visitors on Thursday, the first day of the holiday break, according to preliminary data published by the city’s Public Security Police. As of 5pm on Friday, the city had received 193,241 visitors, showed official figures.
China’s State Council has designated this year’s Labour Day holidays on the mainland – Macau’s main feeder market – as May 1 to May 5 inclusive. Some commentators refer to the holiday period, as ‘May Golden Week’.
May 1 and May 5 are also public holidays in Hong Kong, Macau’s second most important market for inbound visitors.
GGRAsia on Friday walked the mass-play floors of a number of the major casinos in downtown Macau and the Cotai district.
Properties in downtown Macau had moderate traffic during a late morning spot check, and gaming tables with lower denominations than complexes in Cotai.
At Grand Lisboa, the principal Macau-peninsula property of SJM Holdings Ltd, the first-floor main gaming area had live-dealer baccarat tables with minimum bets ranging from HKD1,000 to HKD3,000. Several tables priced at HKD1,000 and HKD1,500 had players.
Grand Lisboa’s second-floor gaming area had live-dealer baccarat with minimum bets as low as HKD300, and most ranged between HKD300 to HKD500. They were reasonably well populated with players, particularly the tables with a HKD500 minimum bet.
A high-limit area on the mezzanine floor had live baccarat tables ranging from HKD2,000 to HKD5,000. Only a couple of tables had players present at the time of observation.
Other properties in downtown Macau showed similar trends, with tables offering HKD1,000 bets favoured by punters.
At the main gaming floor of Wynn Macau, run by Wynn Macau Ltd, minimum bets ranged from HKD1,000 to HKD3,000, with the busiest tables priced at HKD1,000. At the Encore wing of the property, live baccarat was at HKD2,000 to HKD5,000, with the lower-price tables being busiest.
Across the road at MGM Macau, the original property of MGM China Holdings Ltd, the sprawling main gaming floor had mass live baccarat from HKD1,000 to HKD3,000, with the busiest tables at HKD1,000.
A short walk away at StarWorld Hotel, the downtown main property of Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd, live baccarat tables there were generally busy, and ranged from HKD500 up to HKD2,000. Those priced at HKD1,000 were the most popular. The Horizon high-limit area had HKD2,000 to HKD5,000 tables, but was not busy.
Robust traffic at Cotai properties
On Friday afternoon, casino complexes in Macau’s Cotai district looked busier.
Galaxy Macau, Galaxy Entertainment Group’s flagship, had mass-floor live baccarat minimums ranging from HKD500 to HKD5,000, with many tables busy. Most popular were the HKD1,000 and HKD2,000 tables.
At The Pavilion high-limit areas on the main floor of Galaxy Macau, live baccarat tables were offered at either HKD2,000, HKD3,000, HKD5,000 or HKD10,000, with one table at HKD20,000. A number of tables were busy at the time of observation, especially the ones in the HKD3,000 denomination.
At Sands China Ltd’s The Venetian Macao (pictured above), many mass-floor baccarat tables had minimum bets ranging from HKD1,000 to HKD3,000, with the most popular being those offering either HKD1,000 or HKD2,000 games. The floor featured an area with live-baccarat tables priced at either HKD500 or HKD800, which was packed at the time of GGRAsia’s visit.
Main-floor high-limit baccarat zones at The Venetian Macao saw minimums of HKD2,000, HKD3,000, and HKD5,000. There, several tables were in use, mostly with minimum bets at HKD3,000.
At the Londoner Macao, another Sands China property in Cotai, the main casino’s live baccarat games were HKD1,000, HKD2,000, HKD3,000 and HKD5,000. Of the in-use tables, most were at HKD2,000. Other live table games had moderate use.
The Londoner Grand casino offered live baccarat in the range of HKD800 to HKD2,000, with several tables patronised, especially the ones priced at HKD1,000.
At Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd’s City of Dreams on Cotai, observable live-dealer baccarat was denominated at HKD1,000 and up to HKD5,000. Most tables in operation were busy, particularly the ones priced at either HKD1,500 or HKD2,000. A high-limit baccarat area had a few tables active, with minimum bets mostly ranging from HKD3,000 to HKD10,000.
At the MGM Cotai property of MGM China and Wynn Palace complex of Wynn Macau Ltd, observable live baccarat tables on the mass floor were well populated, with tables offering minimum bets of HKD1,000, HKD1,500 and HKD2,000 preferred by punters.
A high-limit baccarat zone at MGM Cotai had only a handful of tables with players; while a high-limit Diamond Club at Wynn Palace had most operational baccarat tables with players, including one table priced at HKD10,000.
SJM Holdings’ Grand Lisboa Palace on Cotai had baccarat tables with minimums of HKD500 up to HKD3,000, with the busiest priced HKD1,000. Only a few tables at a high-limit area at the venue had players at the time of observation.
