All time high in Macau

GROSS gaming revenue in Macau looks like it is on track for an all time high in March, according to business publication Forbes. It reports that channel checks for the first 11 days of March suggest GGR is growing at an impressive 40 percent annual rate, according to Citi. Revenue has already hit 9.3 billion Macau patacas ($1.16 billion) & could be on track to exceed the 26.8 billion pataca ($3.35 billion) record set last October.

Analysts at Nomura are slightly less optimistic, Forbes reports. Forecasting March GGR of 25.5 billion patacas ($3.19 billion) on data from the first 11 days of the month this would imply about 27 percent year-over-year growth. Last year, there was brief scare that Chinese gamblers would perhaps shy away from Macau. This triggered a one-day slaughter on the Hong Kong market, with shares of major operators plunging by double-digit percentages.

 “The standards by which the two jurisdictions are assessed are very different,” said Ben Lee, managing partner of IGamiX, an industry consultancy. “They are popping Champagne corks in Las Vegas these days when growth hits 4%.”

 For, he pointed out, “as your base grows, your percentage growth declines, and that is exactly what is happening this year.” Expectations are high for the future too. “Our main challenge is trying to manage investor expectations,” said Grant Bowie, chief executive of MGM China. “If we grow 20% this year, that means we are going to be up roughly $7 billion. That’s like adding another Las Vegas Strip.”