Macau's November gambling revenue surged 42% from a year earlier, but fell short of the record monthly high set in October when patronage climbed during the week-long Chinese National Day holiday at the beginning of that month.

November revenue totaled MOP17.35 billion (US$2.2 billion), up sharply from MOP12.22 billion a year earlier but 8.1% below October's MOP18.87 billion, according to data from Macau's Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.

The figure was in line with Wells Fargo analyst Carlo Santarelli's MOP17.2 billion forecast Monday based on the first 28 days of the month, but much higher than the house's original 29% year-on-year growth estimate for November. November's slowdown compared with the previous month was in line with the average sequential dips in November 2008 and 2009, he said.

In addition to the Golden Week holidays, an extra weekend in October also boosted gambling revenue. There were five weekends in October.

Macau gambling revenue in the January-November period rose 57% from a year earlier to MOP169.46 billion.

Separately, a person familiar with the matter said Wednesday that MGM China Holdings Ltd., MGM Resorts International's (MGM) joint venture with a daughter of Macau gambling tycoon Stanley Ho, is targeting an initial public offering ahead of a listing in Hong Kong in the first quarter of 2011 at the earliest.

The person added that a final date for the offering hasn't been determined yet.

During MGM Resorts' second-quarter earnings conference call on Aug. 3, Chief Financial Officer Dan D'Arrigo said the company hoped to list by the end of this year.

In September, MGM China said it had filed an application to list its shares in Hong Kong.

People familiar with matter told Dow Jones Newswires earlier that BNP Paribas (BNP.FR), Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Morgan Stanley (MS) are the bankers on the deal, which seeks to raise about US$500 million.

The listing would follow last year's Hong Kong listings of Wynn Resorts Ltd.'s (WYNN) Wynn Macau Ltd. (1128.HK) and Las Vegas Sands Corp.'s (LVS) Sands China Ltd. (1928.HK).

The three other casino operators in Macau, the only city in China where gambling is legal, are SJM Holdings Ltd. (0880.HK), Galaxy Entertainment Ltd. (0027.HK) and Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (MPEL).

-By Kate O'Keeffe, Dow Jones Newswires; 852-2802-7002; kathryn.okeeffe@dowjones.com
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