Macau casinos collect $2.5 billion in February gaming revenues

Macau's casino industry generated about $2.5 billion in gaming revenue for the month in February on the back of lucrative Chinese New Year holidays.

Macau's gaming inspection and coordination bureau reported a 48% increase in revenue on Tuesday compared to February 2010.

In February, Macau patacas' game sales exceeded the record of 18.9 billion Macau patacas collected in December last year. The results came as no surprise to Wall Street, as U.S.-based Macau casino operators all reported seeing strong levels of play during China's New Year festivities.

"This was in line with our expectations following the huge Chinese New Year period," said Grant Govertsen, principal of the Macau-based Union Gaming Group.

February's revenue growth was higher than January's 33% growth.

Analysts estimated that a casino run by Hong Kong billionaire Stanley Ho collected about 32% of gaming revenue, while three properties owned by Las Vegas Sands accounted for 18% of the market share. 바다이야기

The two casinos operated by Wynn Resorts Ltd. accounted for nearly 15% of the market, while MGM Grand Macau was estimated to have accounted for about 11% of the market.

Analysts say double-digit game revenue growth may disappear as the year continues due to the 2010 boom, in which 33 large and small casinos in Macau raised $23.4 billion, up 58 percent from 2009.

"We believe Macau's February casino revenue was in line with market expectations, given that it unofficially shows a trend in the 50% range," said David Katz, a game analyst at Jefferies & Co. "Given the forecast for each of the Macao properties and the operator's (cash flow) exposure to the market, we think the results are bullish given the difficult comparisons every year."

However, Govertsen expects annual gaming revenue at Macau casinos to rise 22% year-on-year to $28.7 billion.

"Based on a variety of factors that are mainly positive, this can prove conservative," Govertsen said.