As you probably know, Macau set a record for monthly GGR: HK$27.4 billion, up almost 20% YoY. You may recall that we thought December would be up a still strong 12% before the month started and that estimate proved conservative. We should have the detail in the next day or two but we’ve heard consistently that VIP hold was likely higher than normal which may have contributed significantly to the YoY growth.
Market shares were mostly unchanged from last week with the exception of Wynn gaining some share back, mostly at the expense of MPEL. For the full month, LVS and MGM were the winners relative to trend while Wynn and SJM were the losers.
We’ve got some initial feedback on the smoking restrictions that went into effect on 1/1/12. The Macau government is taking the restrictions seriously and had some Dep’t of Health officials on hand. It’s only been 2 days but our sources on the ground have indicated that traffic remains strong and while there have been some fines issued to players, the implementations have gone fairly smoothly. It is very early and we suspect the real impact will be seen in the productivity and efficiencies and hold percentage.
