Carlo Santarelli and Kelly Knybel, who cover the gaming world from the comfort of New York while glossing over spreadsheets from sources in Macau, reckon we are on track for another record month of gaming revenues in October. Gee, we wonder where they got that idea from. Nevertheless, we concur. All this pain across the border is not showing up in Macau. We have spoken to friends recently who have come back from China more alarmed than before, and yet who walk into the casinos here and are amazed.

We were on the main floor of the Grand Lisboa yesterday and were gob-smacked, to be sure. The few days before October 1 are usually a low period. Nothing could have been further from what we saw last night. And if you don’t believe us, ask Ciaran Carruthers and his mob at www.apgmacau.com to get you the headcounts you need to convince your investment committee that yes, SJM at HK$15.44 is a steal – even before they have figured out their dividend policy and announced details of their Cotai project. Used with permission & copyright IntelMacau.com