Gaming revenue in Macau went up by more than estimated in September as new projects from Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts opened their doors.
Gross gaming revenue rose 7.4 per cent to US$2.3bn, according to Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau. That followed a 1.1 per cent increase in August, after a 26-month slump, and compares with the median estimate for a four per cent advance in a Bloomberg survey of nine analysts.
Macau is in the process of transforming itself into a tourist destination after Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered the city to diversify its economy from gambling in late 2014. In response, casino operators have been building resorts with more non-gambling features in Macau’s Cotai Strip, including the new Wynn Palace and Sands’ Parisian.
“In September we had the benefit of recent openings such as Wynn Palace and the Parisian,” Aaron Fischer, an analyst at CLSA, said before the data was released. “There’s been a shortage of hotel rooms and the new properties are adding to capacity.”
