All of Macau's world famous casinos were ordered to close for indefinite time on February 5. It resulted to be the longest shutdown of casinos ever for this Asia's largest gambling centre.
MGM Macau, a 35-story, 600-room casino resort in Sé, has already declared a loss of USD1.5 million per day; Wynn Resorts, Macau's luxury hotel and casino resort, lost even more at USD2.5 million a day.
Casinos were forced to close after 10 confirmed coronavirus cases were reported in Macau before February, 5. Since then no new cases have been found hence Macau decided to re-open the casinos.
According to Lei Wai Nong, secretary for economy and finance in the Chinese territory of Macau, re-opening the casinos can help boost the country’s economy which has been given a blow because of the life-threatening virus. An American credit rating agency estimates that due the virus crisis in China, the six Macau operators, including Las Vegas Sands Corp. and MGM Resorts International will most probably be some USD3.3 billion short in cash flow.
While the re-opening of casinos might come as a relief, the move is likely to have little impact on business given the restrictions on visas and transportation in China.
Macau to Re-Open Casinos
News in Asia
Macau casinos shut down earlier due to the coronavirus threat are preparing to re-open today after getting clearance from the government.