Through the first 6 days of January, average daily table revenues (ADTR) were HK$889, an increase of 14% over the first week of January in 2012. We did hear that the favorable luck in the VIP has continued from December but there hasn’t been an noticeable impact from the smoking ban, yet. The weekly comps get much more difficult in the 2nd half of the month, partly due to the timing of Chinese New Year in February of this year versus January of last year. Moreover, January of 2012 contained 10 weekend days versus only 8 in January of 2013 – reversing the favorable December 2012 calendar impact. In the 2nd half of January of 2012, ADTR increased 58% over January of 2011.
Our full month GGR projection is for +7% to +12% YoY growth – still solid considering the tough comparison.
Market shares mean little this early in the month but Wynn’s continued struggles are notable and derived from more than just hold. MPEL is off to a strong start in January, no doubt at least partially due to higher than market VIP hold.
