The recovery of the Macau games market is very slow due to a year-long COVID-19 pandemic that continues to point to a resurgence. While some progress has been made in controlling the coronavirus and restoring Macau, Robert Goldstein, Chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sand (LVS), is not satisfied with the pace of recovery. During the Bernstein’s annual strategic decisions conference Yesterday Goldstein said he was “disappointed” with how slowly Macau is coming back to life.
LVS was hoping for a faster rebound
Macau has been suffering from COVID-19 for more than a year, with monthly gross gaming revenue (GGR) falling to zero multiple times and staying almost at that level throughout the period. Last April showed some signs of improvement, but Goldstein had hoped more progress would be made. During yesterday’s conference, moderated by Vitaly Umansky of the Sanford C. Bernstein brokerage, the manager said he hoped for a quicker recovery.
Goldstein added that he understands the pressures government, health and casino officials are under to balance the city’s commercial activities with health concerns, which continues to weigh heavily on any decisions made. International travel is still severely restricted, and although a travel bubble has emerged between Macau and China, the city’s largest transport hub, new spikes in COVID-19 cases in China are creating heightened restrictions and travel fears.
LVS takes it on the chin
LVS has had great struggles with the development of the global game industry in recent years. It changed its focus a bit and sold its Las Vegas real estate in favor of new markets. One of those markets should be Texas, and the casino operator launched a massive campaign last year to promote casinos and sports gambling in the state. Despite spending millions of dollars on the cause, the Texas legislature could not be convinced that the state was ready for expanded gambling.
LVS had also determined that Asia would be a key market, of which Macau and Singapore would be the largest parts. However, due to the ongoing pandemic, none of the locations is currently able to support the company. Still, Goldstein is confident that Asia will be a significant region in the long term and that “long term demand” in Macau and expansion into other parts of Asia will give it a boost.
Aside from the land-based casino operation, LVS is ready to tackle something Sheldon Adelson is likely to make flip-flops in his grave. The company’s founder was strongly against online gaming of any kind and spent millions of dollars fighting against it before passing away earlier this year. However, Goldstein doesn’t share the same resentment, hinting during yesterday’s meeting that the company is “committed” to becoming part of the iGaming industry in the US and possibly Canada, Europe or South America.
