The average wager in Macau’s premium mass market grew by 16% month-on-month in July, according to investment bank Citi, bolstered by the presence of additional gaming supply – most notably the new “Horizon” premium mass room at Raffles at Galaxy Macau.
In a Monday note, Citi analyst George Choi said the investment bank’s monthly table survey had revealed a fast uptake of the new Raffles offering, despite it still being for invited guests only with soft opening not due until 16 August. Based on Choi’s observations, “Horizon” had 56 players across its 65 tables wagering a total of HK$1.53 million (US$196,350) – the most of any room observed on that day – while the average bet of HK$4,365 (US$560) was 73% higher than previously observed average bets in the old “Horizon” room in July 2019.
Players were betting, Choi added, six times higher on average than the table minimums, with five whales – players betting HK$100,000 (US$12,800) per hand or more – spotted in “Horizon” and two more in the “Pavilion Room”.
“Our survey is telling us that the opening of Horizon does not seem to be cannibalizing the other Premium Mass rooms at the same property,” he wrote.
According to Choi, the total wager observed in July was flat month-on-month at HK$9.1 million, however there were also 14% fewer players on the day (357 versus 414 in June), suggesting a 16% increase in wager per player.
“In terms of recovery versus pre-COVID levels, total wager observed in July 2023 implies an 88% recovery versus July 2019,” Choi said. “The number of premium mass players seen in July 2023 was 58% of what we saw in July 2019. Thus, the average wager per player is 52% better versus July 2019.
“The … rise in average wager per player continues to show that visitors to Macau are still demonstrating some higher than pre-COVID spending power.”
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