Macau Casinos Hit Record Revenue

The gambling industry continues to boom in Macau, as casino revenue rose 50 percent in October 2010 on the figures from the same period 12 months earlier.

Total gambling revenue for the Chinese territory's six casino operators reached $2.4 billion for the month, up from $1.6 billion in October 2009, the Gaming Inspection and Coordinate Bureau announced. The figures were aided by China's Golden Week holiday.

This brings to more than $19 billion overall revenue for 2010, 59 percent up on the first 10 months of 2009.

The strong figures were derived mostly from the large number of arrivals from mainland China, which constituted some 53 percent of total visitors to Macau from January to September of this year. That figure rose to a 70 percent during the Golden Week, when some 685,000 people overall visited the peninsula.

Stocks in most of the gambling operators rose as the good news came in: Sands China rose 1.2 percent to HK$17.10 just before the data's release, while SJM Holdings rose 3.1 percent to HK$11.88.

Shares in Wynn Macau, Galaxy Entertainment, Melco International Development and Crown Ltd. Also rose as the date was made public.

Although Las Vegas still has the reputation, Macau is now well and truly the world's biggest center for gambling, having taken over from its American counterpart statistically as long ago as 2006.