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What Happens Here Stays Here: The New Gambling Mecca
By Ian Cooper
According to The New York Times, the Chinese are being unified by one goal: “a hot stock tip.” The article suggests that China is now stock-happy and is now leaving real estate for hot stocks. If they were smart, they’d invest in Macau, too.
Sure, blame me for trying to beat a dead horse, but this story is just too hot to ignore every day. Yep, I’m talking about Macau again because I don’t want you to miss out on the gangbuster Vegas-type growth that the region will see over the next few years.
The other day, I told you about Virgin’s possible move to the Macau region. Today, Casino City Times reports, “Macau offers the largest international expansion opportunity, with the potential for 50,000 new slot machines by 2010. With the $2.4 billion Venetian Macau, the $1 billion MGM Grand Macau and an expansion to the $1.2 billion Wynn Macau all expected to open by the end of the year, slot makers are racing to fill orders for games that will appeal to Chinese gamblers.”
Even better for the region, the unemployment rate at the close of 2006 was 3.5% as compared to the 4% posted for 2005, according to Macau’s Statistics and Census Bureau. Most of that improvement is thanks to the large numbers of jobs now available in gaming, hotel and restaurant sectors, which are strengthened by substantial visitor growth to the region.
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We’ve been bullish on Macau since early 2006, a year where Macau visitor growth soared some 12% partly due to a raft of casino openings in the region. But here’s the best part: That number is expected to soar even more as casino developers rain down on the region where 1.3 million people live within a three-hour flight of Macau and another 100 million people are within a radius of a three-hour drive, according to Macau Business News. It’s such an explosive region that “From January through November, Macau casinos took in $6.485 billion from slots and table games, beating the Vegas' $6.079 billion… according to Macau's Statistics and Census Service and the Nevada Gaming Control Board,” as quoted by USAToday.com.
Do yourself a favor. Buy stocks associated with Macau. Early Alert Trader has a whole report on it and a few regional picks in the “Special Reports” section of the Early Alert Trader site.
Take care,
Ian L. Cooper, Editor, Early Alert Trader
P.S. Just a heads-up: The American Capitalist site is going to look a bit different within the next few weeks. If you like what you see -- or even if you don’t -- please let us know what you think.