As a result, most Macau operators now have more cash than debt, says Mr. In the years since the financial crisis, new resorts including the Venetian Macau, Stanley Ho’s Grand Lisboa and the Galaxy Macau have begun generating a lot of cash for their owners as the mainland Chinese economy averaged annual growth of more than 9 per cent and the number of mainland visitors rose nearly 50 per cent over the past three years. However, a repeat of that scenario is unlikely, says Grant Chum, gaming analyst at UBS, because in 2008 many of Macau’s largest casinos had only just opened their doors. Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands flirted with bankruptcy, lacking sufficient cashflow to meet debt obligations, and along with other cash-strapped rivals, halted construction projects in Macau. The 2008-09 global financial crisis showed what can happen to the gaming industry when the economy sours.

The main reasons for the hesitation are the sheer size of the market – last year’s revenue was equivalent to seven Las Vegas Strips – and decelerating economic growth in mainland China.īut there are other issues causing disquiet, including the potential for new restrictions on mainland Chinese gamblers travelling to Macau, which has its own borders, and burgeoning competition in the region. Wynn Macau and Melco International are both trading at record low price-to-earnings ratios. Macau gaming stocks have slumped as that slowdown has become evident, with Sands China down around 30 per cent since April – falling 11 per cent in the past month alone – and MGM China down 02 since May. That is a far cry from the blistering pace of expansion that fuelled a seven-fold increase in gross gaming revenue between 2004, the year the first foreign-owned casino opened in the city, and 2011, when casinos made $34billion in revenue. Total gaming revenue rose 12 per cent in June from a year ago, following paltry 7 per cent growth in May.

Yet both are raising their stakes in Macau just as the market is losing steam. Personal Loans for 670 Credit Score or Lower Personal Loans for 580 Credit Score or Lower Best Debt Consolidation Loans for Bad Credit

Wheel of fortune 2012 logo