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 may24 The Macau Judiciary Police has revealed the arrest of five mainland Chinese men and seizure of 585 fake casino chips worth a combined HK$5.85 million (US$748,260). The men are also accused of defrauding a casino of at least HK$1.8 million (US$130,235). Police received a report from a casino in Cotai on Tuesday that fake chips had been detected. The police carried out an investigation and arrested five men aged between 21 and 28. They seized 585 chips, each with a denomination of HK$10,000. The five suspects admitted to committing the crime after their arrest and confessed that they had been recruited by a criminal syndicate on the mainland to commit crimes in Macau. The police said it is believed the criminal syndicate has been in operation since March. The police also revealed the syndicate had a clear division of labor and the fake chips were so well made that it was “difficult to distinguish them with the naked eye”. It is believed there are still three suspects at large, and

may24 MGM China President and Executive Director Kenneth Feng says the company’s incredible resurgence post-pandemic results from a “deep understanding” of its premium mass customers. In comments made during the 1Q24 earnings call of parent company MGM Resorts, Feng acknowledged that MGM has a head-start when it comes to smart RFID/AI tables – which it first installed as far back as 2016 – but added the company has also worked hard to refresh its product offering to better suit an evolving player market. “People are always asking how we are leading this market, why we are recovering in this way after COVID,” he explained. “I just want to make a little bit of comment on that. What differentiates us in the market is really company-wide, from the senior management, we possess a deep outstanding of our customers, particularly the premium mass [customers], from their culture, their habits, behavior, background profile, even their home province and dialects. “China is a vast country with a h

 may24 A new ‘Small 6/Big 6’ baccarat side bet with  attractive payout to winning customers  but that is likely to boost house edge overall, was in use in the Macau market on Thursday, during a GGRAsia spot-check of some of the city’s main casino floors. The new side bet can be offered by Macau casino operators without them needing to utilise so-called ‘smart’ tables. Also, so-called ‘baccarat insurance’ bets –  a hedging wager  favoured by some players but with a high house edge – were in evidence at MGM China Holdings Ltd’s properties. The company says such bets are hard to offer without use of smart tables, and MGM China describes itself  an early adopter of such technology . Thursday was the second day of mainland China’s five-day May holidays, and large numbers of tourists were in evidence downtown and in the newer Cotai casino district. https://www.ggrasia.com/macau-new-baccarat-side-bet-on-offer-amid-may-hols/ may24 A number of Macau’s concessionaires have been preparing to roll

may24 Melco Resorts & Entertainment leadership has warned of the potential negative effects of an overheating competition among casino operators. In an earnings call with analysts following the release of its  first-quarter result , Melco revealed that it had already placed orders for a “small set” of smart tables on a trial basis. However, as Geoff Davis, Melco’s chief financial officer, pointed out, the initial deployment is just part of an ongoing learning process, with full roll-out expected to take place gradually over the next year. During the phone call, Davis also told analysts that a “fairly intense competitive environment” had started to play out, illustrating his point with the example of “freebies” being dished out to mass players. “And if you see what’s happening on the mass floor that obviously is continuing on into our premium areas in terms of people competing for that premium mass player in improving their game in terms of product and services,” he said. https://ww