Wynn Macau cleans up with high rollers
MACAU – Wynn Macau and Las Vegas Sands have announced their earnings for the first quarter within a day of each other, and Destination Macau says they show a remarkable difference.
Wynn saw its Macau operations perform very strongly – in fact, so well that it made up for a significant drop in its Las Vegas operations.
LVS, on the other hand, posted a sharp fall in revenues, which has led the company to bring in senior executives from Las Vegas after releasing some of its key staff based in Macau.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) at Wynn Macau in 1Q08 was US$129 million, nearly a third more than the US$99 million recorded in the previous quarter.
LVS, which owns the city’s two biggest casinos (Sands and Venetian) by contrast, was down 10 per cent to US$173 million.
Driving the change is the VIP gaming market, where Wynn has actually thrived in the face of competition from the Crown Macau – VIP gaming revenues rose to US$14.8 billion from US$11.2 billion the previous quarter.
LVS, by contrast, saw its VIP business give up nearly a quarter of its levels in 4Q07, thanks to a bruising war in the junket market.
Neto Valente, managing director of the Venetian Macau, has joined the list of senior executives to depart in recent months. The former legislator, was a key member of the original team that set up shop for the Las Vegas Sands Corp in Macau.
Valente’s departure comes at a time when the LVS upper echelons have been weathering a lawsuit in Las Vegas brought by Hong Kong businessman Richard Suen, who claims he is owed millions of dollars in “finder’s fees” for helping LVS get their concession in Macau.
Ian Jarrett
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