Analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein expect gaming operator Wynn Macau Ltd. to get around 250 new gaming tables from the government for its new Wynn Palace Cotai project slated to open near the end of August.
On Monday, a filing by Wynn Macau with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange announced that the opening of the new Cotai casino-resort is slated for August 22, without revealing information on its gaming facilities.
“Based on the number of new tables awarded to Galaxy Macau Phase II (150) and Studio City (250), we believe Wynn Palace could receive a similar number of tables of about some 250 and another some 140 tables could be transferred from Wynn Macau for a total of 400 tables,” brokerage analysts Vitaly Umansky, Simon Zhang and Clifford Kurz wrote in the firm’s latest weekly updates.
The investment firm added that they remain of the view that the increase in the city’s new hotel supply will drive the growth of overnight visitors to the territory, which will be a key driver of mass demand for the next decade.
Official data from the city’s Statistic and Census Service (DSEC) reveals total visitor numbers in Macau registered a year-on-year fall of 2.8 per cent to 2.48 million for last month, while overnight tourists jumped 3.8 per cent year-on-year to 1.2 million.
“We believe the Light Rail [Transit] and the [Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau] Bridge will play an important role in attracting long-haul mass visitors to Cotai, where integrated resorts will have been built as Macau’s new tourist attractions,” the report reads.
11-pct fall
On the other hand, the Hong Kong-based analysts predict the city’s gross gaming revenue will post a year-on-year decline of some 10 to 11 per cent for this month.
“Our channel checks indicate that Macau’s gross gaming revenue month-to-date is some MOP13.5 billion…Assuming an average daily revenue of MOP470 to550 million for the remainder of this month, [gross gaming revenue for June] would be MOP15.4 billion to MOP15.7 billion.
Meanwhile, investment firm Wells Fargo Securities is predicting that the Special Administrative Region will see gaming revenue decline by a maximum 11 per cent year-on-year for this month.
“We estimate average daily revenues are tracking at around MOP53 million month-to-date. We now expect June revenues of around MOP15.5 billion to MOP16 billion, implying a decrease of 8 per cent to 11 per cent year-on-year,” the firm’s analysts Cameron McKnight, Daniel Adam and Robert J. Shore wrote in a report released last week.
