Macau’s premium mass wager per player hit an all-time high during Golden Week, at an average of HK$29,633 (US$3,785) according to a monthly survey conducted by Citi.
The survey of multiple premium mass rooms across Macau, conducted last Thursday, found that the total wager amount observed of HK$15.1 million was only 3% lower than the all-time high of HK$15.5 million observed in February 2019. However, it took just 508 premium mass players to generate this month’s survey total versus 928 players in 2019, meaning a similar figure was achieved with 44% fewer players.
“This translates into a whopping 94% increase in average wager per player to HK$29,633 versus National Day Golden Week in 2019 of HK$15,242 (US$1,945),” wrote Citi analysts George Choi and Ryan Cheung.
“Average min bets across Macau were also 11% higher in October 2023 at around HK$2,348 (US$300) versus October 2019 at HK$2,122 (US$271) implying that player quality at the grind mass areas is also improving.”
On the average wager per player, Citi said this was “easily the highest figure we got since we started this survey six years ago.
“The wagering we observed at some of the major premium mass rooms struck us, and not until then did we realise that the whales we saw were no ordinary whales. They were blue whales!”
A total of 33 “whales” – players who bet at least HK$100,000 per hand – were observed during Golden Week versus 27 in February 2019, while there were three players seen betting more than HK$500,000 per hand.
Market share split in total premium mass wager was evenly split among those observed with Galaxy accounting for 25%, Melco 23%, Wynn 20% and Sands 19%.
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