MACAU (CHINA) – Casinos dotting the gambling haven of Macau are staring at a bleak future in the wake of heavy losses for Q2. There appears to be not much hope for a near-term recovery as the second wave of the pandemic has overshadowed the prospects of China issuing visit visas.
More than 90% tourists in Macau are from mainland China. But it has stopped following the outbreak of the virus. Morgan Stanley warns casinos could rack up losses of $1 billion over April to June.
The Las Vegas Sands, said it drifted into the red clocking a loss of $549 million.
Despite lifting restrictions for some visitors, the gambling hub only witnessed 2,000 visitors a day in July compared to the daily average of 108,000 in 2019.
“Without the individual visitation scheme being resurrected, there’s not much hope for the casinos to come back,” said Rob Goldstein, president of Las Vegas Sands, which owns properties including the Venetian and Parisian in the former Portuguese colony.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field