Macau’s premium mass segment has continued to surge through September, with a monthly survey undertaken by Citi analysts showing little impact from recent Super Typhoon Saola and strong resilience when it comes to average wager amounts.
According to Citi’s George Choi and Ryan Cheung, total wager observed during the September 2023 Premium Mass Survey was down only 8% month-on-month to HK$8.8 million (US$1.13 million) while the total number of players observed also fell by 8% to 431. This defies historical pre-COVID trends, where both data points would suffer significant declines due to being sandwiched between the summer holidays and October Golden Week.
Average wager per player of HK$20,314 (US$2,560) was 58% higher than September 2019.
Choi and Cheung said this indicates, “Players are not going to be deterred by anything less than a direct-hit typhoon or a ‘black’ warning level rainstorm.” It also shows that wagering “does not seem to be affected by the state of the Chinese economy.”
They added that much of the September strength comes down to the abundance of “whales” – classified as players who bet HK$100,000 (US$12,790) per hand or more. City observed 17 whales in September, more than double the number seen in September 2019, with the largest of these wagering HK$500,000 (US$63,950) per hand at the Chairman Club at Wynn Palace.
Another two whales alongside 15 other players were spotted at Galaxy Macau’s The Horizon Room betting an aggregate of HK$980,000 (US$125,345) on a single table. Galaxy Macau continues to lead the way in terms of total wager amount observed, Citi said.
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