The spending trend of Macau’s biggest high rollers, or “whales”, seems to be accelerating in 2024 with more players spending more money through the first nine months of the year, according to Citigroup.
In a Monday note recapping the investment bank’s monthly Macau premium mass survey, Citi analyst George Choi noted that his team had already observed 228 whales wager a total of HK$43.3 million during its survey periods year to date, up from the 224 whales wagering HK$39.7 million through all of 2023.
Average session wager of HK$655,000 is also 43% higher than last year, but even higher over the past five months at HK$728,000, suggesting spend is accelerating.
“These stats continue to show that these affluent players are still able and willing to spend in Macau, despite the current state of the economy in China,” Choi wrote.
“On the other hand, the 42% higher premium mass player count from our survey likely implies that the more casual players are also returning. Although their return dilutes the average wager/player by ~5% year-on-year, it is a major driver to the 36% year-on-year increase in total wager observed, which we view as a leading indicator on GGR.”
Choi said the total number of premium mass players seen during Citi’s September 2024 survey was 613, up 42% on the same month last year.
“In our view, this shows that the quality of Premium Mass players in general remains robust. Despite the weak economy in China, Macau is still getting players who are still very much willing and able to spend,” he said.
Citi’s whale watch counted 21 whales in Macau’s premium mass gaming rooms in September, four more than a year earlier, with the player of the month sighted at Galaxy’s StarWorld Horizon room placing a HK$640,000 bet. There were also five whales betting HK$100,000 to HK$250,000 per hand at Galaxy Macau’s Horizon Room, including for the second consecutive month a Korean whale.
MGM Cotai and Melco’s Studio City also saw some big action, however Choi said that Sands China was the top performer for the month with a 26% share of total wager observed, up from 22% in August.
“We saw some solid gaming volumes at The Londoner casino despite the ongoing renovation works at the other half of the property,” he wrote.
“Melco has recently launched a rebranding program on its premium mass products, and our survey this month shows a 17% share in total wager observed. This is significantly higher than the average of 13.5% share in total wager observed in [the previous eight months combined].
“Based on the quality of the whales we saw at Studio City this month, we believe the rebranding program is already yielding some early success.”
