Typhoon Hato can’t snap Macau casinos’ 13-month winning streak

Typhoon Hato wasn’t strong enough to stop Macau’s casino industry from posting its 13th straight month of year-on-year revenue gains in August.

Figures released Friday by Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) show the special administrative region’s casino generated revenue of just under MOP 22.7b (US $2.8b) in August, a 20.4% rise over the same month last year.

This marks the 13th consecutive month of gains since Macau snapped its 26-month revenue losing streak last year. For the year-to-date, Macau’s total gaming revenue stands at MOP 172b ($21.3b), a 19.1% improvement over this same point in 2016.

The carnage wrought by last week’s Typhoon Hato, the worst storm to hit Macau in over half a century, was expected to negatively impact August’s revenue figure after some casinos were forced to shut down due to power outages and water supply disruptions. Pre-Hato, some analysts had suggested August’s growth rate could top 25%.