Gaming revenues overtake last year

In the first three quarters of this year, Macau's gaming revenues hit US$7.3 billion (MOP 58.45 billion) to overtake all of 2006 (US$6.95 billion) according to the DICJ (Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau).

This may be a boost over last year, but last month's year-on-year growth of 55 per cent to US$894 million (MOP 7.15 billion) fell below Morgan Stanley projections of 75 per cent. Wynn shares fell 9.9 per cent and Las Vegas Sands shares fell 12 per cent in U.S. trading this week as a result.

"The gaming revenue number implies that the new supply that came to the market shifted revenue rather than grew the market incrementally," Morgan Stanley analyst Celeste Mellet Brown reported.

Meanwhile, Harry Curtis, an analyst with J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. called the growth of 55 per cent "very respectable", and he had predicted a 52 per cent increase.

Whichever way you look at it, Macau's gaming revenues appear to be moving closer to the US$8 billion mark by year-end, a projection made by Jonathan Galaviz, a partner of Globalysis Ltd. in August 2006.