Casinos in Macao generated 1.08 billion patacas (US$134.8 million) in average daily gross gaming revenue (GGR) during the initial six days of the National Day holidays, according to JP Morgan data cited by multiple media publications.
The hefty haul represents a year-on-year surge of 30 percent and marked a five-year high, with the total only slightly less than the comparable 2019 figure of 1.16 billion patacas (US$144.79 million) per day.
JP Morgan said the sums greatly exceeded their expectations, as well as that of the market, which had estimated a daily total between 850 million patacas to 900 million patacas (US$106 million to US$112 million).
By markets, the analysts said the current total “implies that mass GGR recovered to 130 percent to 140 percent of pre-Covid levels.” The VIP sector’s growth, meanwhile, rose by 35 percent.
[See more: September’s gross gaming revenue is up 15.5% year-on-year, down compared to August]
One driver that JP Morgan cited as helping to spur the sizable increase in the premium mass market during “golden week” – as the holiday period is also known – was the staging of Hong Kong entertainer Andy Lau’s concert at Galaxy Arean between 3 and 6 October.
“Anecdotally, we heard quite a few high-end premium mass players had delayed their September trip to this golden week to attend the Andy Lau concert…and this seems to have helped the above-seasonal recovery in premium mass,” the analysts noted.
As for spending per capita, JP Morgan said it increased by roughly 25 percent in comparison to pre-Covid times.
Looking ahead, the financial house expects the SAR’s GGR in the fourth quarter to hit 56.6 billion patacas (US$ 7.1 billion), a rise of 5 percent in comparison to the same period last year or an increase of 7.8 percent against the fourth quarter in 2019. Seaport Research Partners, meanwhile, had a slightly more optimistic forecast, with its analysts predicting a fourth quarter haul of 59.9 billion patacas (US$7.48 billion).
