A plunge in high-stakes play appears to have turned the tables at Macau casino investor Albert Yeung Sau-shing's Emperor Entertainment Hotel.
For the first time, gaming revenue from the mass-market tables at the Grand Emperor Hotel overtook revenue from its previously dominant VIP baccarat tables for the year to March.
The shift echoes broader trends in the Macau casino market. A credit crunch among high-rolling gamblers and their junket agents - who bring players to casinos, issue them credit for gambling and collect debt - continues to weigh on VIP revenue.
At the same time, revenue from mass-market tables continues to grow slowly but steadily as it depends less on big bettors and does not rely on credit-driven play.
'The VIP market largely depends on our credit control policy and we have been very cautious with lending these days,' said managing director Vanessa Fan. 'At the moment, our strategy is to be safe rather than aggressive. Competition is still very keen.'
Partly as a result of the more conservative credit policy, VIP chip wagers on the company's 10 self-operated high-stakes tables at Grand Emperor plunged to HK$19.4 billion in the year to March, down 60.57 per cent from HK$49.2 billion a year earlier. Attributable net winnings from VIP revenue totalled HK$274.6 million, down 62.16 per cent.