Shares of Macau casino operators MGM Resorts International MGM, Las Vegas Sands Corp. LVS, Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd (ADR) MPEL and Wynn Resorts, Limited WYNN are all down on Friday after the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) adjusted its visitor estimates for the seven-day Golden Week holiday.
According to the MGTO, Macau hosted 770,000 tourists from October 1 to October 7, well short of the office’s previous estimate of 1.15 million.
Despite the disappointing revision, 770,000 million visitors still represent a 19 percent increase over the number of Macau Golden Week visitors in 2015.
Earlier this month, Macau reported a 7.4 percent year-over-year jump in gross gaming revenue in September. September marked the second consecutive month of positive GGR growth after 26 consecutive months of declining revenue.
A 2014 government crackdown on corruption in Macau drove away a large portion of Macau’s VIP gamblers. The government has also pressured Macau to diversify away from gambling and provide more sources of family-friendly entertainment.
In the past three months, Melco Crown Entertainment and Las Vegas Sands are both up more than 26 percent.
Traders may see the downward revision in Golden Week visitors as an opportunity to take profits on the gains.
At Last Check ...
- Las Vegas Sands was down 0.67 percent at $57.67.
- Melco Crown was down 1.62 percent at $15.51.
- MGM was down 0.92 percent at $25.82.
- Wynn Resorts was down 1.99 percent at $93.06.
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