Macau Shuts Casinos And Other Businesses To Contain COVID Outbreak

While the government has not imposed the type of citywide lockdown seen in mainland Chinese cities, Macau is effectively closed with most facilities shut. Residents have been asked to stay home and restaurants are only providing takeaway. Residents thronged to food markets and grocery stores on Thursday, spooked that the city would be fully locked down. The government denied the rumours and urged the public not to panic and hoard food, according to local broadcaster TDM.

HONG KONG, July 8 (Reuters) - Macau authorities have added two hotels in popular casino resorts to be used as COVID-19 medical facilities from Friday as they try to ramp up capacity to handle a surge of infections in the world's biggest gambling hub.

Not legally required to pay staff during a mandated closure, casinos have nevertheless continued to do so.
Operators have also tried to burnish their social responsibility credentials by supporting local businesses and offering use of their hotel rooms for quarantine.

"It's a geopolitical, national security issue, because the situation where Americans dominate 50% of Macau's primary industry is probably an unacceptable national security risk," said Ben Lee, founder of gaming consultancy IGamiX.
After a dismal first half of the year, U.S.
stocks started July on an upbeat note, however, market participants fear that upcoming quarterly results could trigger another selloff, with earnings potentially falling short of estimates.

Sealed buildings include the landmark Grand Lisboa hotel on Macau's bustling main peninsula.
More than 500 people were locked inside the hotel for at least five days from Tuesday after infected cases were found there.

But Sands China, Wynn Macau , MGM China, Galaxy Entertainment, SJM Holdings and Melco Resorts face zero revenue for the near future in locked-down, Chinese-ruled Macau - and their operators' contracts expire at the end of this year.

casino operators Las Vegas Sands, Wynn Resorts and Melco Resorts fell between 4.6% and 5.7% after Macau shut all its casinos for the first time in more than two years in a bid to contain the spread of COVID-19. (Reporting by Amruta Khandekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)

While the government has not imposed the type of citywide lockdown seen in mainland Chinese cities, Macau is effectively closed with most facilities shut. Residents have been asked to stay home, public transport is curtailed and restaurants are only providing takeaway.

HONG KONG, July 9 (Reuters) - Macau will shut almost all commercial and industrial businesses including its casinos for one week from Monday, as authorities race to curb a surge of COVID-19 infections in the world's biggest gambling hub.

parent companies. They are also trying to showcase their role in society in Macau, where the industry accounts for more than 80% government tax income, by not firing tens of thousands of staff with no gamblers to deal cards to or otherwise serve.

Having invested billion in Macau over the last two decades, they are soaking up losses as they prepare to bid for new licenses by next month in a business that generated $36 billion in revenue in 2019, the last year before COVID curbs slammed the sector.

Excluding money set aside for rebidding - $600 million - SJM has about one month left in cash reserves if casinos remain closed, according to DS Kim, analyst at JP Morgan in Hong Kong, who expects the company to tap its parent STDM for a HK$5 billion ($637 million) loan.

Frustration is mounting amongst residents at the government's handling of the outbreak. Some residents have had to queue for more than 20 hours to access healthcare facilities, and many are desperate to go back to work again. "There is so much anger in the community," said one casino executive who declined to be named due to company policy.

LOCKDOWN RUMOURS Residents thronged to food markets and grocery stores on Thursday, spooked that the city would be fully locked down. The government denied the rumours and urged the public not to panic and hoard food, according to local broadcaster TDM.

The closely watched casino licence rebidding process comes amid Macau's worst coronavirus outbreak, with the government shutting down casinos for the first time on Monday in more than two years and locking down the city.

The report, which signaled a still strong labor market helped alleviate some fears about an immediate recession, but added to worries about more aggressive monetary policy tightening by the Fed to stamp out soaring inflation.

Sonic 2 is my sentimental favorite, having spent countless hours on it since it came to Genesis in 1992. This game is the perfect sequel, adding layers of sophistication through more colorful levels -- Chemical Plant and Casino Night Zones are a particular favorites -- whose more open design lets Sonic, Tails or Knuckles rip through. I encountered one glitch where Tails (as the computer-controlled secondary character) got caught on some scenery and kept trying to jump out, resulting an irritating bouncing sound until I finished the level. Not game-breaking, but still annoying.

If you liked this article and you would like to get more info regarding Slot Machine kindly visit our web-site.