Macau Premium Mass Results Soar to New Post-Covid High During Chinese New Year: Citi

MACAU, SAR (February 19, 2024) — Macau has seen record-high premium mass wager, premium mass player count and highest premium mass table utilisation since the relaxation of Covid restrictions, Citigroup said in a recent report.

According to the brokerage, the premium mass wager observed during the Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday reached HKD23 million (MOP23.7 million/US$2.9 million), marking a 49 percent increase compared to the 2019 CNY level.

Meanwhile, the premium mass player count stood at 777, showing a decline of 16 per cent compared to the pre-pandemic level.

Compared to Citigroup’s survey conducted for the last Golden Week, the premium mass player count increased by over 53 per cent, while the average wager or player remained largely unchanged at the high watermark of more than HKD29,000.

Analysts George Choi and Ryan Cheung noted that these figures implied that the quality of the players remained “extremely high”, as the average wager/player of HKD29,624 was 77 per cent higher than the 2019 CNY level.

In addition, the Macau News Agency (MNA) reported a record-high whale count of 41, along with an average minimum bet of HKD2,687 for premium mass segment and the largest single bet of HKD800,000 since the reopening of borders.

“Based on the survey results, we expect the increase in Macau’s visitation during the CNY Golden Week will not materially dilute the quality of the premium mass players,” the Citigroup analysts said.

This year’s eight-day CNY Golden Week holiday period brought a total of 1,357,064 visitor arrivals to the SAR, translating to a daily average of 169,631, well above the tourism authorities’ initial forecast of 120,000.

In terms of market share, Galaxy ranks no.1 in Citi’s premium mass survey, capturing 28 per cent of the total observed wagers. Galaxy Macau’s Horizon Room remains the top premium mass room in terms of total wager, reaching a record-breaking HKD4.2 million this month.

SOURCE: Macau News Agency (MNA).