Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING FEB 2019 14 BREAKFAST BRIEFS MACAU VIP BACCARAT SHOWS GROWTH BUT MASS LEADS THE WAY IN 4Q18 MELCO RESORTS TO CEASE VIP PLAY AT STUDIO CITY IN 2020 MELCO Resorts and Entertainment has made the surprise decision to stop offering VIP gaming at Macau integrated resort Studio City in early 2020. In an announcement filed with the SEC, Studio City International Holdings Limited said it had been informed by Melco subsidiary Studio City Entertainment Limited that VIP rolling chip will cease on 15 January 2020. The decision comes just over two years since Studio City introduced VIP play, having originally opened as a mass-only property in 2015. Melco has given no reason for the decision, which comes at a busy time for the property. It was announced in mid-2018 that Melco MACAU’S mass market baccarat drove citywide GGR growth in the three months to 31 December 2018, with mass baccarat revenue rising 18.7% to MOP$27.9 billion. The increase continued the trend seen in 3Q18, when mass baccarat showed stronger growth than the VIP segment, and pushed full year mass market baccarat revenue to MOP$102.4 billion – up 21.5% on 2017 numbers. VIP baccarat continues to contribute over half of Macau’s combined GGR, with the MOP$42.0 billion for the period equal to 53.2% of quarterly revenue. However, the figure represented just 3.4% year-on-year growth from the MOP$40.6 billion in VIP revenue achieved in 4Q17. VIP baccarat GGR through FY2018 rose 10.2% to MOP$166.1 billion. Mass baccarat was also up 9.8% sequentially, while VIP baccarat was again more subdued at 4.7%. Slot machine revenue saw an 8.3% year-on-year increase in 4Q18 to MOP$3.9 billion, with the number of slot machines Macau-wide growing from 15,622 to 16,059. had been granted a deadline extension to 24 July 2021 to complete construction of Studio City Phase 2, set to be a completely non-gaming extension of Studio City’s current offerings.The company also launched an IPO last year, later announcing proceeds of US$406.7 million. Melco said that money was to be used to acquire newly issued shares in its subsidiary MSC Cotai Limited, which holds a 60% stake in Studio City. MSC Cotai Limited would subsequently use those proceeds to repay debt. Studio City saw VIP rolling chip volume of US$5.1 billion in 3Q18, holding steady on the same period in 2017.