Macau turns in a strong performance for October

Casinos on the island of Macau off the Chinese coast generated the strongest revenues so far this year in October, up 3.2 percent to 27.7 billion patacas ($3.5 billion), according to numbers from the Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau released Thursday.

The percentage rise was 1.5 percent higher than analysts had predicted for the month.

The Reuters news agency comments that lower economic growth in China and heightened political scrutiny as the country prepares for a generational power shift have been keeping many cash-rich Chinese gamblers away from Macau’s high roller baccarat tables, with growth rates falling substantially over the past six months.

Bloomberg business news noted that promotions over the eight-day Golden Week holiday attracted more Chinese tourists to the world’s biggest gambling hub, with October revenues overtaking the record 26.85 billion patacas achieved in the same month in 2011.

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