A Citigroup survey, as reported in , has revealed that Raffles Hotel, a luxury hotel part of casino resort Galaxy Macau had a “solid debut” of its premium mass room, despite it being open only to selected guests. A is planned for on August 16 for the new all-suite hotel, which is the seventh hospitality brand at Galaxy Entertainment Group’s integrated resort.

The report reveals that the hotel’s new Premium Mass room Horizon is already bringing in some formidable volumes, and more importantly, it does not seem to be doing it at the expense of other Premium Mass rooms within Galaxy Macau.

According to the report, Horizon is engaging a sizeable number of Grade-A players in the market. Tthe research team counted 56 players at Horizon, wagering a total of HK$1,534,000 (almost $200,000).

Minimum bets at the 63 baccarat tables (all open with dealers) averaged HK$4,365 ($560), a 73 percent increase from July 2019, when the Horizon room was previously located in Galaxy Macau Phase 2 with only 30 baccarat tables.

Thirty-five tables were in use, and players were betting more than six times the normal minimum bet. Citigroup observed five whales, or high rollers, at Horizon, meaning that their bets were HK$100,000 ($12,800) or more per hand.

Wagers per player increase by 16%, month on month

The same Citigroup survey uncovered promising facts about wagers. Comparing total bets played to the number of premium mass gamers, the analysis reveals that wagers per player increased 16%.

The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau in Macau announced remarkable results for the first quarter of 2023. Gross gaming revenue (GGR)  increased 450% year on year from 2.68 billion patacas (US $0.33 billion) to 14.72 billion patacas (US $1.82 billion). Albeit GGR is not at par with pre-COVID results, Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan analysts forecast a full recovery of the sector in Macao by 2024-2025.

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