The lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have impacted Studio City, the Hollywood studio-themed casino resort in Cotai, Macau.
Studio City’s gaming revenues were down sharply in Q3 2022, the company announced in its latest earnings release. Gross revenue dropped 75% year-over-year, with the casino generating $20.6m compared to the previous year’s $85m.
This drop was caused by government-mandated casino closures in Macau, which took place in July. Covid-19-related travel restrictions in both Macau and mainland China also contributed to the drop in revenue.
Rolling chip volume faced an even sharper decline compared to the previous year, dropping more than 91% from $472.2m to $41m.
The revenue drop can be seen across both slot machines and table games. Mass market table games drop was down 75%, with gaming machine handle down 64%.
The resort’s non-gaming revenue was also down, though not as sharply as gaming revenue. Studio City brought in $15.4m in non-gaming revenue for Q3 2022, compared to $27.3m the previous year – a drop over 43%.
According to the report, Studio City expects Covid-19 to continue impacting the resort’s revenue due to travel restrictions, visa restrictions, and quarantine requirements.
Despite these obstacles, Studio City states that it’s progressing on schedule for phase 2 of the resort’s construction. This phase features an additional 900 luxury hotel rooms, a state-of-the-art MICE space, and the creation of an indoor/outdoor water park that is expected to be one of the largest in the world.
