The assertion by the secretary for economy and finance Francis Tam Pak Yuen that the 5,500 table limit on live gaming tables will not be lifted before 2013 has left many wondering how casino projects in the pipeline will be affected.

At least one industry insider told Macau Business there is little to worry about because several casinos leave one-fifth or more of their tables unused most of the time.

Our source says up to about one-third of the Venetian Macao’s tables are unused on any given day. Other casinos also leave up to 30 percent idle. In smaller casinos, the percentage is lower.

This would make it easier for Sands China Ltd. to scrape together enough tables for the two casinos it means to open next year. It could transfer unused licences to its new casinos.

At the end of September the government had licensed 5,379 live gaming tables – just 121 short of the cap, which was first announced in March last year.

Read the full version of this article in the November issue of Macau Business magazine, now available at selected newsstand outlets in Macau, Hong Kong bookshops, by subscription and at partner hotels, restaurants, airlines and ferry carriers in Macau.