Casino News: Macau January Revenue Soars

by Bodog Casino | Feb 1 2011

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Land-based casinos are not completely dead.

Macau, China saw another spike in its revenue during the month of January, surging by 33 percent. We have a feeling you can’t get much online gaming in China.

Meanwhile, with the recession and stiff competition from online casinos Las Vegas, Nevada is slowly turning back into a desert.

Gambling revenue for the six companies that run casinos in Macau, the only place in China where gaming is legal, rose to 18.6 billion patacas ($2.3 billion) last month from 13.9 billion patacas a year ago, according to data from Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.

What is amazing about these numbers is analysts expected revenue to drop significantly after having a record-breaking December, due to gambling activity slowing down a bit before the Chinese New Year. However, nothing seems to slow the "New Vegas" down.

Another example of how Macau is thriving in spite of adversity is the ongoing situation with Macau mogul Stanley Ho and his family. He’s still in a bitter family dispute over his Macau casino empire.

The 89-year-old billionaire is trying to regain ownership of the company that is the biggest shareholder of SJM Holdings. His lawyer, Gordon Oldham, says Ho believes his second and third families have "hijacked" his stake in the gambling empire he built. Members of those families say he authorized the transfers.

Either the light in his barn is beginning to dim, or the vultures have been picking on a man who’s nearly on his ninth decade.

Ho's company, SJM Holdings Ltd., remains the largest operator in Macau, accounting for more than 30 percent of the market, which generated four times the revenue of the Las Vegas Strip in 2010.

Casino gambling revenue in Macau rose 58 percent to 188.3 billion patacas last year. That’s more than four times greater than the $5.62 billion for the Las Vegas Strip, according to government data.

Questions remain on what this means for gamers. Will Macau be where all the new slots machines are unveiled or where all the entertainers travel in the near future? If Vegas doesn’t pick up soon we don’t see why not.

Get your Macau flights while they’re still low gamers, this could be the new gaming Mecca soon enough.

Or, stay home and play your favorite games at Bodog’s online casino for free today!