Macau approves 150 gaming tables for new Sands resort

no operator Sands China has confirmed that the Macau government has granted a quota of 150 gaming tables for its new resort, the Parisian, which is scheduled to open on 13 September.

Located on the Cotai Strip and boasting a half-size replica of the Eiffel Tower, the Parisian will open with 100 new table games, receiving a further 25 tables in 2017 and 25 more in 2018.

The table allocation matches that of Wynn Palace, which opened its doors on 22 August, but is significantly lower than the 250 gaming tables granted to both Galaxy Phase 2 and Studio City in 2015.

In a note following the official statement on the allocation, Grant Govertsen, Managing Director at Union Gaming, said: “We were expecting Parisian to get the ‘full’ allocation of 250 based on its family-style non-gaming offerings”.

However, Govertsen did not predict that the lower than expected allocation would have an adverse impact on the Parisian.

He added: “The Parisian won’t miss a beat given the company’s ability to harvest unutilised or under-utilised tables from its other properties.”

Macau’s 26 month run of year-on-year declines in gross revenue from games of fortune came to a halt in August, with a return of 18.84bn patacas representing a rise of 1%.