Macau wannabes risk being short of gamblers 29 Jun 2023 Japan and the UAE will soon have legal casinos; Thailand may follow. In theory Wynn, MGM and peers will have around $12 bln of new annual revenue to play for, more than Macau has raked in this year. But newcomers can’t rely on Chinese punters and their home markets are untested.
Chinese tourists return with lighter wallets 3 May 2023 More than 240 mln people are visiting mainly domestic spots like Shanghai and Hong Kong during the Labour Day festivities. It’s slightly more than pre-Covid levels, but spending is lower as many find cheaper ways to have fun. That bodes ill for an already weak retail revival.
Macau reinvention is a big roll of the dice 14 Apr 2023 Casino operators Sands, MGM and others are juggling a recovery with spending on water parks, medical tourism and more to help the Chinese hub reduce its dependence on gambling. Investors can diversify too. They face better odds by sticking closer to the US holding companies.
Macau bounces into Year of the Rabbit 19 Jan 2023 Spring has sprung in the casino hub with the end of China’s zero-Covid. Operators will return to profit. Yet from Sands to SJM, balance sheets are stretched. How quickly they are repaired depends on if punters spend as much as before. Pandemic policies will leave other scars too.
Macau keeps poker face on its gambling future 29 Sep 2022 Beijing is allowing punters back to the Chinese gaming enclave but the odds of a full recovery are long. Gambling looks increasingly out of sync with Xi Jinping’s bigger policy priorities. As casinos including Sands and Wynn apply to renew licenses, the future looks less golden.
MGM and SJM fuel Macau recovery hopes and fears 4 Aug 2022 The $15 bln U.S. group’s record results in Las Vegas suggests its Chinese casinos should prosper, too, once Beijing’s zero-Covid policy lifts. That, though, is becoming a long-term bet, and cash-burning rivals like SJM are already having to raise more money to stay at the table.
Sands’ Singapore bet turns into crucial hedge 28 Apr 2022 Core profit at its Marina Bay resort held up relatively well last quarter. Its larger Macau hub dipped into the red, and China’s Covid curbs are dealing it another bad hand. Relaxed tourist restrictions mean the Lion City casino is now the $27 bln gambling group’s prize property.
Fallen casino kings have lessons for Blackstone 25 Apr 2022 If the buyout shop’s $6.5 bln bid for Crown Resorts succeeds, its executives will study founder James Packer and his former Macau partner. Lawrence Ho’s Melco group is struggling while Packer is exiting Crown after bad China bets. Even so, their examples point the way to success.
Wynn rolls the dice in search of a new prize 15 Feb 2022 Craig Billings, the $11 bln casino group’s third boss in four years, could use a growth engine. A long slog awaits in Macau even as the mature Las Vegas market rebounds. Rival Sands found success in Singapore. The odds are longer for Wynn’s push into online betting and the UAE.
Capital Calls: UK bid gets hedge funds off hook 17 Jan 2022 Concise views on global finance: Private equity group Triton sweetens its offer for pharma group Clinigen to 1.3 bln pounds, raising the chances of hedge funds accepting the deal.
Macau watchdogs will double down on digital yuan 3 Jan 2022 As casino operators prepare bids for new licenses in the $37 bln gambling hub, investors fear regulators will tighten their grip on Sands, Wynn and MGM. One clever way to start would be by forcing them to adopt China’s new virtual currency.
Macau mogul’s downfall is good news for casinos 1 Dec 2021 China’s investigation into an illegal gambling group casts a shadow over Alvin Chau’s Suncity, which once helped high rollers fund as much as $8 bln in wagers each year in the betting hub. But the VIP market is a drag on earnings. Ending it can help strengthen recovering casinos.
China’s bet on Covid-zero worsens odds for Macau 29 Nov 2021 Beijing’s draconian restrictions are a growing problem for Wynn, Sands, and other casino operators in the gambling hub. Resorts sit half-empty with gaming at 30% of pre-pandemic highs. They can live without foreign tourists, but local visitors are their lifeblood.
Viewsroom: Basket-case Britain; Gambling in Macau 30 Sep 2021 Trucker shortages, partly thanks to Brexit, have been blamed for all manner of UK economic hardships, from toilet paper scarcities to long queues at petrol stations. Ed Cropley and Peter Thal Larsen explain. And our columnists in Hong Kong discuss casinos and investment banking.
SJM is only edging out of Stanley Ho’s shadow 5 May 2021 A year after the death of its founder, the $7.2 bln Macau casino company has yet to open a new flagship resort, its market share is the lowest among peers and the board needs a shake-up. Daughter and Chair Daisy Ho has her work cut out to make sure the house wins again.
Humbled Crown Resorts faces rough reinvention 9 Feb 2021 The company is not fit to operate its $1.7 bln casino in Sydney, according to a report prepared for regulators. An ownership change could solve some, but not all, of the issues. China’s row with Canberra, plus a crackdown on overseas gaming, renders the business model obsolete.
Digital coins could dull Macau’s bling 3 Feb 2020 Mobile payments quintupled in the gambling hub in 2020, and digital currency might be introduced soon, helping watchdogs monitor money flows. Players might not like that idea, especially wealthy clients and tax dodgers. VIP haunts like Galaxy and Wynn are particularly exposed.
It’s time for Sheldon Adelson to leave Las Vegas 28 Oct 2020 His $37 bln casino company may sell U.S. assets for $6 bln to double down on fast-growing Asian markets. That would thin its hedge against risks in Chinese Macau, but Nevada contributes barely 10% of earnings. Las Vegas Sands could use the cash for deals – and debts.
Australia’s Crown trapped inside its gilded cage 15 Oct 2020 The $4 bln casino empire is facing intense regulatory scrutiny for allegedly dodgy dealings involving Chinese high-rollers. It puts a new resort licence in jeopardy. Billionaire James Packer also has conceded the ownership structure may need changing, but it could be a hard sell.
Macau casinos now playing for an inside straight 8 Oct 2020 China’s long holiday break has brought few visitors to the Asian gambling hub. That makes it hard to accept rosy forecasts that revenue at Sands, SJM and Galaxy will reach more than 85% of pre-pandemic levels next year. It’ll take consumer exuberance and policy help to get there.