Galaxy Entertainment Group, which runs five Macau casinos, said its share of the enclave's booming gaming market reached a record 22 per cent last month, second only to Stanley Ho Hung-sun's Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM).
Galaxy's casinos, including the newly opened StarWorld hotel and four franchise-style 'city clubs', won HK$1.29 billion of Macau's HK$5.86 billion gaming revenue for the month, said the company held by the family of property and construction tycoon Lui Che-woo.
The HK$3 billion StarWorld, which opened on October 19 as Galaxy's first fully owned and operated property, averaged daily gaming winnings of about HK$70,000 per table.
Its 205 tables raked in about HK$450 million in revenue last month, accounting for about 8 per cent of the Macau market.
'While the overall market share number is impressive, what really matters to Galaxy is StarWorld's market share,' UBS analyst Grant Chum said. 'StarWorld is the key driver to Galaxy's profitability at this stage.'
The company said rival operators' market shares for last month were 46 per cent for SJM, 18 per cent for Las Vegas Sands and 15 per cent for Wynn Resorts' newly opened casino. The figures are rounded estimates and do not add up to 100.
Galaxy's business model for city clubs, introduced in July 2004 with the launch of the Waldo casino, relies heavily on outside gaming operators and marketing agents. For the six months to September, Galaxy's margin on HK$2.2 billion in casino winnings from city clubs was only 4.2 per cent.
