“Somewhat disappointing” was JP Morgan analyst Joseph Greff‘s verdict on Golden Week numbers out of Macao. “Given that some VIPs visit Macau after the holiday to avoid the crowds, we note that channel checks post Golden Week indicate that gaming 
volumes have remained subdued … but favorable VIP hold has offset a decline in volumes,” he added. In the third quarter VIP-derived gaming revenue grew 35% versus only 7% in mass-market play and a 13% bump in slot winnings. VIP play represents 58% of total gross gaming revenues, as opposed to only 37.5% from that Great White Hope, the mass market. “We note the decelerating mass GGR growth/performance could be attributed to a number of factors, including capital controls on ATMs, pawn shops, or crackdown of underground banks, all of which have made it more difficult for mass players to move cash,” Greff theorized.
Taking a contrarian view, Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli raised 3Q17 estimates, partly due to “better than expected results at Wynn Palace.” Although the latter stole some business from Wynn Macau, “October to date performance at WYNN’s Macau assets has been strong, with share gains likely experienced over the period. Wynn Resorts, incidentally, put $3.75 million apiece toward Hurricane Harvey and Typhoon Hato recovery efforts, for which they have our deep gratitude.
Even full-month contributions from Wynn Palace and Parisian couldn’t take the sting off a downbeat “super” Golden Week (eight days). Gaming stocks were punished accordingly. JP Morgan Securities Asia Pacific gaming analysts DS Kim and Sean Zhuang wrote that “Golden Week wasn’t as golden as what we’d hoped for,” while Power Macao Gaming Association President Stephen Lau opined, “Gaming revenue for the holiday was flat compared with last year or only grew slightly.”
New info is available on the profile of the average Macanese gambler. He is 36 years old, has a gambling budget of $3,000 per visit and comes three times a year. Those players are overwhelmingly male. Sociedade de Jogos de Macau is getting left behind by the greening of the gambling profile. “Due to its large hotel room presence and critical mass [of amenities], properties owned by Sands are, unsurprisingly, the most frequented, while Melco and Wynn have the highest percentage of higher-income customers, while SJM customers are getting older,” reported a Sanford C. Bernstein analysis. In the near term, MGM Cotai is gambling on mass-market players, planning to open with an unspecified number of mass-only table games. CEO Grant Bowie said relationships with VIP junkets would be established “over time.”
* Gamblit Gaming‘s Pac-Man Battle Casino is awarded “Best of Show” accolades in a review of skill-based slots at Global Gaming Expo. The Gamblit game is hailed as “undoubtedly the flashiest game in the show, and features the gameplay to match.” GameCo had to settle for a “Best in Show” for Steve Aoki’ s Neon Dream. (A $2 mini
mum bet narrows down the player pool.) The big manufacturers got skunked, not even being mentioned as also-rans,
