Gaming operator Melco Resorts is looking to open the House of Dancing Water for a relaunch late in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Speaking in an earnings call with analysts, David Sisk, Melco’s Chief Operating Officer – Macau Resorts, said they are currently doing shows in the theater and will start the remount for the House of Dancing Water in mid-November.
“We’re just now going through the process of the remount. We’ve been doing a lot of work on the House of Dancing Water theater to get it up and ready. We just started doing our first shows there,” he said.
“And towards the middle of November, we’ll get back out of that and get started back on the remount for the House of Dancing Water,” he added.
Back in 2020, amid the pandemic, the gaming operator announced the House of Dancing Water show at the City of Dreams Cotai property would be suspended, to be redesigned by creator Franco Dragone.
However, towards the end of the year, the City of Dreams said the pandemic had had a major impact on the entertainment industry. Thus, given the travel restrictions, the House of Dancing Water show hiatus would be longer than previously anticipated.
In the same earnings call, Sisk said the group has started to advertise a little more in markets including Hong Kong or in China to “let people know we have these assets out there.”
Solid October performance
Macau’s recovery continued to grow from strength to strength into the third quarter of 2023, especially during the summer months with our property visitation and casino player hours benefiting from this growth.
Lawrence Ho, chairman and CEO of Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited, said the company “had solid performance over the October Golden Week and saw a robust recovery during the remainder of October, with gross gaming revenue (GGR), excluding junkets, reaching close to 2019 levels.”
“October was the best month in Macau and the best month for us since the reopening. So we’re feeling very good. […] It has not been soft and November has started off strong as well,” Ho added.
In October, the city recorded another post-pandemic record high GGR, buoyed by the National Day Golden Week, where nearly a million tourists flocked to Macau during the eight-day holiday.
Data released by the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau yesterday revealed that GGR exceeded analysts’ estimates of 392% growth, with revenues growing 400% to MOP19.5 billion. This marks a return to 74% of pre-Covid revenue levels.
Meanwhile, in response to a question about the below-average industry GGR levels, Sisk said the lack of junkets and the presence of larger VIP players had created more volatility in their business.
The executive expected continued volatility in the VIP market, but long-term, they expect to surpass the 2019 levels in the premium direct VIP business.
Studio City relaunch
Studio City has been the center of entertainment for the group in Macau.
According to Ho, the opening of Phase 2, the addition of the Epic Tower and W Macau hotels, the Residency Concerts and an ongoing schedule of events drove gaming volume and contributed to a 65% increase in adjusted property EBITDA quarter-to-quarter.
“I think we’re very excited about Studio City Phase 2. But at the same time, the reason we’ve opened this kind of piece meal is we’re gradually rolling more and more product into the market,” explained Ho.
Amid a continuing major retail renovation, “over the next two or three months, most of those retail tenants will be open.”
“Probably sometime in the first quarter of next year or early second quarter, we will try to do a major property relaunch Phase 2 opening,” Melco’s top official revealed.
Melco’s losses narrow to USD16.3. million in Q3
Melco Resorts’ total operating revenues for the third quarter were USS1.02 billion, representing an increase of approximately 321% from USD241.8 million for the comparable period in 2022, the group announced in its financial results.
The increase in total operating revenues was primarily attributable to the improved performance in all gaming segments and non-gaming operations following the relaxation of Covid-19 related restrictions in Macau in January 2023 and the opening of Studio City Phase 2.
Operating income for the third quarter of 2023 was USD94.7 million, compared with operating loss of USD198.5 million in the third quarter of 2022.
Meanwhile, its losses narrowed to USD16.3 million, compared with USD243.8 million, in the third quarter of 2022.
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