The average wager per player at Macau premium mass rooms during the National Day Golden Week increased by 94 percent compared to the same period in 2019, according to the latest Table Survey conducted by Citigroup.
This also translates into an improvement in player quality at the grind mass areas, as per their calculations, the average minimum bet has also increased by 11 percent in October 2023 compared to October 2019.
The Premium Mass survey took place on October 5th, the second-to-last day of Golden Week, and it revealed that a total wager of HK$15.1 million ($1.93 million) was achieved with 44 percent fewer players observed.
Analyst George Choi from Citigroup notes that the wager per player in the premium mass rooms across Macau reached an all-survey high of HK$29,633 ($3,784). The total wager observed, HK$15.1 million ($1.93 million), is only 3 percent less than the all-survey high of HK$15.5 million ($1.98 million) observed in February 2019 during the Chinese New Year holiday.
High Rollers
The investment bank reports that it has observed a record 33 ‘whales’, where a ‘whale’ is defined as players whose bet size ranges from HK$100,000 to HK$500,000 ($12,800 – $64,000) per hand or more.
This number of 33 whales is six more than the previous high of 27 seen in February 2019 during the Chinese New Year Golden Week that year. The research team concludes that the quality of these whales has significantly improved, with the average wager increasing by 21 percent this Golden Week compared to the same period in 2019.
‘During our October 2023 survey, we identified three players wagering more than HK$500,000 ($63,840), compared to just one in October 2019. The Player of the Month emerged at the recently opened Chairman Club of Wynn (on the Peninsula), wagering HK$580,000 ($74,000). Two honorable mentions were observed at the Qilong Club at City of Dreams wagering HK$530,000 ($67,700) and the Horizon Room at Galaxy Macau, wagering HK$500,000 ($63,840).’
The analyst also notes that the market share split in total premium mass wagers observed was quite evenly distributed among Galaxy (25 percent), Melco (23 percent), Wynn (20 percent), and Sands (19 percent).
