Macao gamblers’ tally “decreased” in casino floor-based January survey of the city’s premium mass and mass table gaming segment, but “average bets were much higher” than in February 2019, according to a study report by Citigroup Global Markets.

0The authors said in a recent survey that they observed some “shocking” bets, with a player betting HK$725,000 ($92,500) in a premium bulk area in MGM Macau run by MGM China Holdings.

The January review was on the 27th of this month, the last day of a seven-day holiday in mainland China to mark the most recent Chinese New Year (CNY).

Macau’s January casino gross game revenue (GGR) grew 232.6% month-on-month as mainland China and Macau’s respective “zero-corona” policies, which were booming for tourists, ended and mainland China’s Lunar New Year holiday overlapped. 파칭코

Macau recorded 451,047 visitor arrivals during the seven-day Spring Festival holiday, up 297.0% year-on-year, official data showed. The result was approximately 37% of the pre-Spring Festival trading period in 2019.

A player was seen “with a chip stack of about HK$6 million in front of him, betting HK$300,000 on his hands,” according to Citigroup findings, in the premium area of Kotai Resort Wynn Palace, run by Wynn Macau Inc.

They also noted that 490 players were seen playing in various casino floors in a study classified as premium mass. That was about “53%” of the tally observed in the February 2019 survey, with the latter being the time to deal with China’s New Year in that trading cycle.

Analysts suggested in a January 2023 survey that the “quality” of players was “very high.” Among those seen, the average bet per premium mass player was HK$24,178, “45% higher than the 2019 Chinese New Year,” they said.

The 2023 survey concluded that the recovery of premium mass is much greater than the recovery of the total number of Chinese New Year visitors.

Citigroup analysts said it was “reflecting comments from Sands management on earnings calls.” They were referring to Las Vegas Sands Corporation, the parent company of Macau operator Sands China, which reported the group’s fourth-quarter results last week, and provided some color to gambling trends for the Lunar New Year break.

Citigroup said it surveyed 21 publicly accessible premium public areas and surveyed Galaxy Entertainment Group’s Galaxy Macau, Melco Resort & Entertainment’s Dream City and Sands China’s Plaza Macau, respectively.

Analysts also suggested Citigroup’s recent survey of minimum bets on the mass market showed a “possible trend.”

“The average bulk baccarat minimum bet across Macau was about HK$2,235 – up 2% from the 2019 Chinese New Year and about 1% short of the all-time high of HK$2,266 obtained in the October 2018 survey,” Citigroup said.