Chinese play called Nevada Baccarat

An analyst at Union Gaming Group LLC told GGRAcia that baccarat wins at Nevada casinos fell 23% year-over-year in July, part of a recent "pattern" related to easing demand in China.

The "win" for the baccarat segment, defined by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, fell 23.1% year over year to $140.8 million, compared with a statewide drop of about $108.8 million in April. Nevada's total baccarat wins in the three months from May to July were just under $272.36 million, down 38.2% year over year, according to data released by the Nevada Gaming Commission on Friday.

"The July trend is a continuation of a pattern that has been around for some time. In MGM Resorts [International]'s second-quarter earnings report, we specifically pointed to weakness in China demand," Grant Goverson of Union Gaming Group told GGRAcia on Monday.

Data on Friday showed Las Vegas strip baccarat's July revenue fell 20.8% year-over-year, while total payments to baccarat fell about 35% year-over-year during July. Streep's total "win" revenue was $525 million, down 2.1% year-over-year.

"We note that the Baccarat comp [compare] becomes easier in the fall [fall]," Cameron McKnight of Wells Fargo Securities LLC said in a note on Friday. "In our view, the weaknesses of [Las Vegas] strip baccarat play are partly related to China's anti-corruption initiatives and the monitoring of Chinese visitors in Las Vegas," Mr McNight added.

In MGM Resorts' second-quarter earnings call on Aug. 4, the company's chief financial officer, Dan D'Arrigo, said the casino operator "sees a persistent weakness in China-funded play."

"It is not offset by some other recovery in other Asian markets that we are seeing, and it is not fully offset, but we are seeing recovery in some other markets in Asia," the executive added.

Sales of slot machines across Nevada rose 5.5% year-on-year to close to $643 million in July. In July, the Nevada Game Management Board said casinos across the state made $922.9 million in revenue, down 1% from the same month last year.

William Scott, corporate strategy and special adviser at MGM Resorts International, which owns 51% of Macau casino operator MGM China Holdings Ltd at the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia in Macau in May, said 80% of Las Vegas' VIP gambling revenue came from Chinese customers. 바다이야기

Las Vegas relies more on ordinary and current Macau gamblers than investors and markets understand.