Macao Premium Mass Robust, #1 in GEG Market Share

Bank agency Citigroup said in a recent monthly survey that total premium bulk wages at Macau casinos increased sequentially in August from a year earlier, reflecting strong demand from mainland Chinese companies. The bank also indicated that Galaxy Entertainment Group (GEG) had taken the market share lead among six Macau operators in observed premium bulk wages.

Citigroup said in an August survey that its premium bulk wage total was about 12.8 million Hong Kong dollars ($1.64 million), up 35% from a year ago and up 4.9% from its July survey.

Citigroup said August was likely to be a “visit-heavy” month, meaning more players. In the August survey, Citigroup observed 655 premium mass players, a 40% increase from a year ago.

“This means wages per player fell to HK$19,606 in August 2024 (down 7% from HK$21,193 in July 2024),” wrote Citigroup analysts George Choi and Ryan Cheng. 바카라사이트 추천

“We think this is just a reflection of normal seasonality. Data collected from the 2019 survey showed wages per player fell to a similar level month-on-month (about 6%),” they noted.

Analysts added: “We think this seasonal trend is because August, when visits are strong, is also the month when casual and less keen players appear.”

Citi pointed out that eight of the 25 “whales” – the most valuable players – that Citigroup observed in its latest monthly check were customers of Galaxy Entertainment. Citi defines “whales” as players with a betting scale of HK$100,000 or more per hand.

Citigroup said in its observed bets this month that Galaxy Entertainment has a market-wide premium mass betting share of about 29%, while the premium mass betting share observed in its July survey is about 25%.

The highest per-capita bet observed by whale players during the month of August was HK$600,000 at Dragon Palace in City of Dreams, a property by Melco Resorts & Entertainment Inc.

Citigroup said: “The fact that this happens after the Macau government decides to criminalize illegal exchange in casinos means that most players can still raise funds to Macau casinos through legal channels.”

The survey also noted the additional deployment of “smart” tables at major casino properties in Macau.

These included 225 smart tables observed in the “ground mass” layer of Venetian Macao in Sands China Ltd, compared to just 73 in July. The high restricted area of the casino building also currently houses 28 smart tables, Citigroup noted.

Analysts also noted that every table in the Apex gaming room in Sands China’s Londoner Macao is now “smart.”

In Melco Resorts’ majority-owned Studio City, Citi observed 30 new smart tables placed in the property’s grinding mass area.

Melco Resorts will have 215 smart tables in Studio City “by the end of October” and its flagship property, City of Dreams, will also fully roll out smart tables “by the end of March,” Lawrence Hoyau Loong, the company’s chairman and chief executive, said in a second-quarter earnings call.

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