City of Dreams nets $80.9M

Macau casino giant Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. has reported strong growth in net revenue from integrated gaming resort City of Dreams (COD) Manila in the quarter ending December 2015.

For the final quarter of 2015, net revenue at COD Manila—the second integrated resort to open at Pagcor Entertainment City—jumped to $80.9 million compared to only $7.6 million in the same period a year ago, Melco reported to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Cash flow amounted to $15.5 million in the quarter compared to a meager $0.1 million in the same period in 2014.  The improvement was attributed to the full operation of COD Manila in the final quarter of 2015, based on the report, which was likewise disclosed by the Philippine unit of Melco to the local stock exchange Friday.

COD Manila started operations on Dec. 14, 2014.

Rolling chip volume amounted to $1.3 billion in the quarter.  Win rate was at 2.1 percent while the expected rolling chip win rate ranged between 2.7 percent and 3 percent.

A casino’s “win” or “hold” rate is based on the element of luck but is also affected by the spread of table limits, a player’s skill and resources and amount of time spent in the casino.  It refers to the ratio of how much the house wins in relation to total drops or bets.

Mass market table games “drops” amounted to $106.3 million while the mass market table games “hold” percentage stood at 27.5 percent in the quarter ended December.

Gaming machine handle for the quarter amounted to $420.9 million.  There were 1,700 gaming machines in operation during the period.

Meanwhile, total nongaming revenue at COD Manila also surged to $25 million from $1.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2014.

The financial results reported by Melco to US regulators, however, may differ from the figures which may be reported by its Philippine unit to the local stock exchange.  Doris Dumlao-Abadilla