Macau casinos to reopen Saturday after COVID-19 shutdown

Macau casinos to reopen Saturday after COVID-19 shutdown

Article brief provided by Wall Street Journal
  • Katherine Sayre, Wall Street Journal
July 20, 2022 7:12 PM
  • Katherine Sayre, Wall Street Journal

Casinos in the gambling hub of Macau will be allowed to reopen Saturday after a nearly two-week shutdown amid a COVID-19 outbreak, according to the government.

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The citywide lockdown that began July 11 was the first shutdown of casinos in Macau since the early days of the pandemic in 2020. The government said most nonessential industries, companies and venues will be allowed to reopen starting Saturday through July 30.

Las Vegas Sands Corp., which operates several casinos in Macau, is scheduled to report quarterly earnings Wednesday, the first of the three U.S.-based operators in Macau to update investors since the closures this month. Industry executives have continued to express confidence in a Macau comeback, but analysts have lowered gambling revenue forecasts for the Chinese territory this year, and some predict a full recovery won’t come until 2024.