The 15 days of the Chinese Lunar New Year are now in full swing and casino operators are not alone in hoping to cash in on the celebrations that commenced yesterday. The Spring Festival heralds a 40-day peak travel period in China, when over 3 billion journeys are expected to be made. This week up to 1.9 million people are expected to pass through Macau’s Barrier Gate checkpoint, up over 5% on last year.

Last week the Macau gaming authority (DICJ) reported that gross gambling revenue in 2011 totalled over US$33.6 billion. Of this casino gambling accounted for 99.55% and the casino baccarat tables for 91.3%. With the advent of the Spring Festival and the newly ushered in Year of the Dragon, the Macau gaming market is likely to see record revenues this month. For only the second time long-time market leader SJM was overtaken; Galaxy recorded higher gross gaming revenue in the first two weeks this year.

In other Macau news, Melco Crown Entertainment is seeking funds for its delayed Macao Studio City project. The company wants to borrow around US$1 billion and also will issue bonds worth US$1 billion. However, so far there is no licence for gaming tables at the development in Cotai and there is presently a cap on gaming tables numbers. The proposed integrated resort will be different from other Melco Crown properties, with a theme and demographic focus. According to the company, it is another initiative to support the Macau government’s direction of diversifying the local economy. (E-01.24.12)

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