Goldman Sachs has upgraded Wynn Macau after they admitted there’s too much pessimism being directed at the casino industry in Macau. The investment bank added that VIP and high rollers should be attracted back to the enclave after concerns over the Chinese economy have lessened. As a result Wynn was upgraded from sell to neutral – whether they’re still as buoyant after the revelations about Steve Wynn and a hoe are fully realized only time will tell. Galaxy Entertainment Group saw itself put on Goldman’s conviction buy list with strong second quarter results, to be released soon, the main reason for this. The investment bank fully expects Galaxy to achieve a 12 percent hike in revenue. Goldman thought Galaxy would have been scrabbling around in the dirt for market share by now after Sands Central Cotai opened earlier this year. Instead it’s Sands China that is struggling as it has “failed to create much type” around the venue.
Macau’s largest VIP room provider Asia Entertainment & Resources Ltd (AERL) saw rolling chip turnover drop in June to further illustrate the perceived struggles the market’s experiencing. AERL’s figure was down 9 percent to US$1.365 billion compared with the previous year with a “higher than normal win rate” blamed for the slow down. This was in addition to “lower VIP visitation” as many Chinese citizens decided to stay home and watch Euro 2012 on TV.
The Public Prosecutions Office has placed 14 people suspected of casino fraud into provisional detention. The suspects, aged between 24 and 46, are from Indonesia, Mainland China, Malaysia and Macau. They were detained following a tip off on June 25. The fraud, which is thought to have net the suspects HKD 1 million, was headed by someone with the surname Chan and involved a croupier with the group also bribing an Immigration Department employee for information. It’s thought the group has made around MOP 13 million from similar crimes since 2011.
