Gaming revenue is apparently at 9.6 billion MOP through 9/27. At that pace, gaming revenue would grow 40% year over year off of the 7.1bn MOP recorded last year. That could disappoint some that are expecting 60% growth but let's face it: 40% is very strong and October could be even stronger.
As we stated in our 9/22 note last week, most of the gain is coming from the VIP segment and higher hold, particularly at SJM on both counts. The VIP centric properties clearly grew market share, as can be seen in the table below, while LVS and MGM lost share. A note of caution: VIP is very volatile and sensitive to the China stimulus and liquidity drivers. A bubble could be forming in this roller coaster business so attention should be payed more to the Mass trends. The good news is that the Mass outlook looks favorable.
