Macau Casinos Open Monday Later Devastating Typhoon Mangkhut Floods That the City

The 33-hour shutdown throughout the weekend is estimated to lead to a revenue loss of around $186 million for operators.

Packing winds of about 200 km per hour (124 miles per hour), Mangkhut is the strongest storm around the world for this season. It left destruction in its wake, such as at least 59 sufferers in the Philippines and significant floods in neighboring Hong Kong. More than 200 people are injured in the city, while in Guandong, China’s most populous province of 100 million people, yet another four victims are reported. On Saturday, Chinese police issued the greatest alert and all of 42 casinos across Macau were forced to shut down for the very first time ever.

The planet ’s largest gambling hub was left partially flooded and enormous power cuts have been reported in many parts of the city. The 24-hour casinos needed to close as people were ordered to remain inside. Last year, Typhoon Hato killed 10 people when it struck Macau, so with Mangkhut, local authorities and casinos chose to take precautions. The measures, however, which included a 33-hour shutdown of all casinos, would probably cost gambling operators $186 million, the South China Morning Post reported.

This is the very first time Macau casinos have been shutting down because 2002 when gambling licensed were issued. This would lead to a revenue reduction between 1.1 billion patacas to 1.5 billion patacas (US$185.6 million) for operators, the South China Morning Post writes, citing Union Gaming Securities Asia analyst Grant Govertsen. According to him, the revenue growth for September will fall by 7 per cent, eventually causing a slower, 12 per cent revenue growth in the third quarter.

Typhoon Hits Markets, Reasons Fall in Gaming Stock

Following casino closures at 11.00 pm on Saturday night, gambling stocks fell in Hong Kong, with Bloomberg Intelligence index falling 2.1 per cent in the first trading. The benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 1.8 per cent, while stocks of numerous gambling operators endured bigger declines — Galaxy Entertainment Group stocks fell 4.6 per cent, SJM Holdings dropped 3.9 per cent, followed by Wynn Macau, which was down 3.2 per cent. Shares of Melco International Development dropped up to 5.7 percent in the morning session. Meanwhile, technology stock declined 3.3 per cent, with a remarkable effect by Chinese tech giant Tencent experiencing a 3.1 per cent fall.

Nearly all casinos across Macau reopened for business Monday morning but there continue to be closed locations due to the flooding. Both Macau and Hong Kong are now clearing up following the so-called super typhoon led to fallen trees, streets submerged under water, shuttered windows, and roadblocks. While this past year, 10 people were killed and hundreds were injured throughout Hato, the whole shutdown this season was meant to guarantee the protection of casino employees and patrons.