Citigroup: Downwardly revised Macau's February gaming revenue forecast to 19.5 billion Macau patacas.

Citigroup released a research report stating that, according to industry sources, the total gambling revenue in Macau for the first 22 days of February may have reached approximately 14.3 billion Macau patacas. This means that the average daily revenue last week was about 7.86 billion, which is approximately 8% higher than the average daily gambling revenue on January 26 (about 7.3 billion) and about 45% higher than the average daily revenue on the week of February 9 (about 5.43 billion). The bank pointed out that although gambling revenue was strong on the fourth to sixth days of the Lunar New Year, reaching around 1.2 to 1.3 billion daily, the win rate in VIP rooms was significantly lower than normal during the first four days of the week. According to industry sources, VIP room gambling volume decreased by about 8% to 10% compared to the previous period, and mid-tier gambling revenue decreased by about 10% to 12%. Due to the weaker-than-expected trends before the Lunar New Year, the bank has revised its February gambling revenue forecast from 20 billion to 19.5 billion, a decrease of 1% compared to last year. This means that the average daily gambling revenue for the remainder of the month will be around 8.67 billion. The bank's forecast for total gambling revenue for January and February (excluding factors related to the timing difference of the Lunar New Year between this year and last year) is now 42.1 billion, an 11% increase compared to the previous year.