CICC Analyst On Macau Gaming: Worst Is Over

David Bain of Sterne Agee on Wednesday said that mass table revenue in Macau fell 8.0 percent during October, while VIP table revenue fell 30.8 percent during the same time period. The analyst expected a high-single digit mass growth and a mid-30 percent VIP table growth. Chris Kwai of CICC said in a note on Thursday that October's revenue disappointment is unlikely to continue as the impact of the smoking ban will diminish gradually. The analyst adds that he expects the long-term impact will be less than 5 percent of mass revenue. Related Link: Sterne Agee Updates Macau October Expectations Kwai notes that October's decline is not as severe as it seems when normalizing for an “exceptionally high” base of a year ago. Kwai adds that he is seeing increased activity between junkets and casino operators and construction of smoking lounges, both of which bode well for the industry.