Citigroup International Markets Inc. has accomplished a analysis paper on Macau playing that covers the not too long ago ended week-long Chinese language New 12 months (CNY) celebrations. A few of the numbers draw direct comparisons between CNY 2019, the final pre-Covid tally, and CNY 2023 the primary time the federal government has allowed free journey because the begin of the pandemic.
The variety of gamblers was not as excessive this yr because it was in the identical interval in 2019, however in keeping with a GGRAsia report on the playing survey and evaluation, the quantity guess on every hand was “a lot increased” than within the earlier interval.
The surveys centered on premium mass playing flooring and mass playing, somewhat than VIP rooms and junket tables.
One participant noticed within the survey reportedly guess about US$92,500 (HKD 725,000) on a baccarat guess at MGM Macau’s premium mass space.
Fats Stacks of Chips – Large Bets
In Cotai at Wynn Palace, Citigroup surveyors reported that one gambler was noticed with “an roughly HKD 6-million chip stack in entrance of him, and he was betting HKD 300,000 a hand,” in keeping with the report.
January twenty seventh was the final day of the seven-day Chinese language vacation marking the lunar new yr and celebrated all around the world. Nevertheless, most CNY celebrations exterior of mainland China, Macau, and Hong Kong – that are particular administrative districts of China – solely noticed native revelers as mainland Chinese language didn’t journey exterior of areas administered by the Chinese language authorities as residents reorient themselves to a world with out draconian well being controls.
Authorities information counted almost half one million guests to Macau over the Chinese language New 12 months week, almost 3x as many as visited final yr, however solely a couple of third as many as in pre-pandemic 2019 CNY. The official numbers confirmed 451,047 guests arrived all through the so-called Golden Week, a rise year-on-year of 297%.
Gross gaming income in Macau reportedly swelled over 232% over the earlier month with the explosion of journey, playing, and revenues coinciding with the mainland authorities ending its zero-Covid insurance policies.
Evaluating the variety of gamers noticed in “premium mass” areas, the report indicated that just below 500 gamers had been noticed over the course of the week. That was a bit greater than half as many as had been discovered round high-limit desk video games within the 2019 survey.
Fewer Gamers Betting Extra
Whereas there have been fewer gamers on the premium tables, the gamers had been betting extra this yr than in the course of the comparable interval in early 2019. The 490 gamers noticed over the week playing at premium mass tables guess a mean of simply over $3,000 per hand (US$3082/HKD 24,178). The common guess was 45% increased this yr than it was in 2019.
The plain takeaway from these two topline observations is that participant numbers had been down, however higher-quality gamers visited the premium mass gaming areas in Macau for the vacations throughout this era.
Throughout the mass gaming flooring of 15 main Macau casinos, the typical minimal guess noticed was about $285 (HKD 2,235), roughly consistent with the typical minimal bets of February 2019. Whereas near the worth of 2019 bets, it’s necessary to notice that this yr’s numbers had been up about 2% however just one% shy of the report common minimal guess noticed just a few months earlier than the 2019 survey interval. Some lodges in Macau had been bought out throughout CNY in 2019.
Supply: Jaw-dropping wagers in Macau CNY survey: Citigroup, GGRAsia, February 2, 2023
