New $3.4B Casino From MGM Opens In Macau

Las Vegas-based MGM Resorts on Tuesday opened its newest casino in the Chinese gambling hub Macau. The casino, MGM Cotai, came at a price tag of $3.4 billion.

Per a report from Reuters, MGM’s second casino in the special administrative region of China brings its total gaming table count there to more than 550. It has nearly 2,000 hotel rooms as well. The casino giant’s first Chinese gambling facility, dubbed MGM Macau, is by far the company’s most successful casino in terms of revenue. The Bellagio in Las Vegas comes in at a distant second.

MGM, like its competitors in the Macau market, faces the expiration of its license for casino gambling in the coming years. “Macau authorities have provided little information about whether, and how, the licenses will be renewed,” reported Reuters.

MGM Cotai’s opening, previously delayed, follows a robust 2017 for the local casino industry. The roughly three dozen gambling dens reported gaming win of $33 billion last year, the first year-over-year increase since a downturn that followed a record $45 billion in gambling win in 2013.

In January, the casinos won a whopping $3.3 billion from gamblers, an increase of 36 percent compared to January 2017. It was the largest month-versus-month gain since early 2014.

The winning streak for Macau could be short-lived, however. Chinese officials are considering allowing casinos on the island of Hainan. Macau is currently the only Chinese-controlled jurisdiction with legal casino gambling. MGM has a resort with no gambling on Hainan.

Prior to MGM Cotai, the casino operator opened a $1.4 billion Maryland property in 2016.

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