Macau gaming companies fall on September results

NEW YORK—Shares of casino operators with Macau properties slid Wednesday on lackluster September revenue results.

Macau gaming revenue appears to have come in flat at 3.6 billion patacas (US$456 million) for the first half of September, according to Lusa News Agency. The results are very different from the 44 percent increase in August and the 42 percent July rise.

Jake Fuller of Thomas Weisel Partners LLC points toward visa restrictions, economic conditions and stock market malaise as possible reasons for the slowdown. While Guangdong visitors used to be able to hit Macau twice a month before June 1, they are now limited to once every two months. The beginning of September also marked a clampdown on mainland China residents, who may no longer use a Hong Kong visa to enter the Chinese enclave.

Macau is the only area in China with legalized gambling.

Fuller said the potential revenue stall is a concern for Las Vegas Sands Corp. and Wynn Resorts Ltd.

Las Vegas Sands runs the Sands Macao and Venetian Macao, while competitor MGM Mirage has the MGM Grand Macau and Wynn Resorts has the Wynn Macau.

Elsewhere in the sector, Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. dropped after the company abandoned its proposal to run a Kansas casino and analysts cut estimates on hurricane closings.

Most gaming stocks fell more than the broader market, which was rocked this week by Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.'s bankruptcy filing, Merrill Lynch & Co.'s swift sale and a government bailout for American International Group Inc.

Shares of Las Vegas Sands declined $4.70, or 13 percent, to $31.43 in afternoon trading, while Wynn Resorts shed $3.35, or 3.9 percent, to $81.99. MGM Mirage's stock dipped $1.70, or 5.9 percent, to $27.30.