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Operator
Good afternoon, andwelcome to the Wynn Resorts third quarter 2011 earnings call.
Joining the call on behalf of the Company today are Steve Wynn, Marc Schorr, John Strzemp, Matt Maddox, Marilyn Spiegel, Scott Peterson; and on the phone, Ian Coughlan, President of Wynn Macau, and Robert Gansmo, CFO of Wynn Macau.
After the remarks there will be a question and answer session.
(Operator Instructions).
I would now like to turn the call over to Mr.
Maddox.
Please go ahead, sir.
Matt Maddox - CFO, Treasurer
Thank you, and thank you for joining us today.
Before we get started I just need to remind everybody we will be making forward-looking statements under the Safe Harbor federal securities laws, and those statements may or may not come true.
With that I am going to turn it over to Steve Wynn for some opening comments.
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
Well, I think the numbers speak for themselves.
The only comment I would make is that we had a lower hold percentage in Las Vegas.
If we normalize it, it would take us up over 100 instead of 85.
And things get back to normal in October, which is sort of a landmark month for us in both markets.
Business seems terrific.
I know that everybody's studying market shares since Galaxy opened, and my comment is the same as it has been in the past.
It isn't so much about market share, which in our case, depending on hold percentage goes between 13% and 14%, if you normalize hold percentage, but our bottom line keeps climbing.
And about the dividend, we are doing our budgeting on the work that is going to unfold in the next few years in Macau, and we have alternative investments, and we -- you can count on the $0.50 a quarter dividend, but I think special dividends are in fact special and there is no certainty about what the Board will decide to do about that going forward.
I think we can take questions.
Operator
(Operator Instructions).
Your first question comes from Joe Greff of JPMorgan.
Joseph Greff - Analyst
Good afternoon, everybody.
Obviously a big topic for investors is whether or not tightening of liquidity in Mainland China is going to have an impact on the Macau market's VIP segment.
And I know it is early, but maybe I will a leave it open-ended.
But maybe with respect to credit, if you can tell us what you are seeing thus far, either on the direct side or the [junket] operator side or in terms of repayment lengthening, are you changing anything with respect to reserving?
I know you are likely very conservative with respect to reserving, but if you can answer those topics, I'm sure investors would love to hear that.
Thank you.
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
Okay, Joe.
First of all, we don't at the present time see any change.
That being the answer to the first part of the question.
The second part of the question is I acknowledge that in fact we are conservative, and we were -- we have never had to increase our reserve, because in the 40 odd years I have been doing this we have never had a special charge because your reserves were inadequate, and if that were to happen it would be the first time in 43 years.
So I think that is about all there is to say on that subject.
As you and other investment community professionals are keeping an eye on China and the American economy, so are we.
And you view these things with varying degrees of optimism in China and pessimism in America.
Joseph Greff - Analyst
Okay, great.
And then maybe these are questions for Matt, quick ones.
With respect to potential project financing on Cotai, and Matt, how are you thinking about the timing of that?
And then if you can maybe help us understand the breakout of cash on the parent's balance sheet between Las Vegas and Macau?
Matt Maddox - CFO, Treasurer
Sure, the $1.8 billion, it is $1.1 billion offshore and $700 million onshore at this point in time.
And in terms of financing, we have excess cash in Macau, more cash than debt.
And so we will go through a very typical investment grade style bank financing, probably sometime next year to finance Cotai, and it will be a combination of cash flow and bank debt.
Joseph Greff - Analyst
Great.
Thanks, guys.
Operator
Your next question comes from Carlo Santarelli of Deutsche bank.
Carlo Santarelli - Analyst
Thank you, guys.
If you guys wouldn't mind commenting maybe on some of the trends you're seeing more recently in October, both in Macau and Las Vegas,I think that would be helpful for everyone.
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
Well, October is gangbusters.
We always tell you about the month when we are doing it, and what are there, 17 days down, Marc?
Marc Schorr - COO
Yes.
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
We've got 17 days?
Marc Schorr - COO
I have 18 days in Macau and $73 million.
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
18 days, $73 million, how does that sound?
Carlo Santarelli - Analyst
That sounds very good.
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
Okay.
And in Las Vegas it's just close to $1.5 million a day or something like that.
$1.25 million?For the year we are operating at about $1.25 million a day.
Our best year was $420 million, and we got a shot at $450 million here in Las Vegas, which sounds great.
And that means that instead of losing $200 million or $300 million, including depreciation, we will lose less, but we have got a ways to go before we start reporting real taxable profits in Las Vegas.
We have -- we have lived through 2009 and 2010 and this much of 2011 with $0.75 billion s in operating losses, I mean in losses including depreciation.
And I know that we don't use all of our depreciation by any means in any given year, but in this business we really do ultimately use the number.
On the current period it may be a third of $240 million in Las Vegas, but eventually it catches up with itself.
And we don't have a lot of interest, which you know, because we have got a very fancy balance sheet.
Both of our bonds and our debt, although she are nonrecourse in the Peoples Republic of China in Macau and in Las Vegas, as you all know, our debt in both companies is investment grade.
So we like being in that position to take advantage of future opportunities.
And we protect that status jealously.
Carlo Santarelli - Analyst
Thank you very much.
Operator
Your next question comes from Shaun Kelley of Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Shaun Kelley - Analyst
Hi, good afternoon.
Just to follow up on October a little bit more.
Steve, I think you said the competitive environment in the market shares were relatively stable, but I wanted to dig in a little bit, because we have heard a little bit about particularly a couple of your competitors trying to move around some market share, maybe getting a little bit more aggressive on the junket side.
Have you seen that activity, and kind of how are you thinking about the promotional environment in Macau right now?
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
Well, it always happens what new place opens up.
They get very aggressive to try and dig in.
We get a little migration for a few months, and then it comes back.
And it has, and it is.
The things that put us in the position we are in in the first place have not changed.
You can't buy business and in Macau.
Nor can you by business in Las Vegas, Pennsylvania or anywhere else.
Most casino companies that are managed professionally and well are dispensing promotional allowances at a level that is pretty much maximum, or as much as they can dispense consistent with prudent long-term management of the enterprise.
So that means that it stops maybe who is mature and intelligent from coming in and redefining such things.
It can't be done.
Not intelligently, and not without being self-destructive on different levels of service levels and other things.
So we give and share our revenue with our customers at a level that is consistent with our service levels and the security of our employees.
Now, if every once in a while you get a new executive with his head up his butt and says a-ha, we can to do this or we can do that, and they get over it or they get replaced.
We feel secure in our position at Macau.
Take a look at Macau.
You can look at anybody's profit after interest and depreciation, and our thousand rooms makes more money than anybody.
Even if they have more hotels.
Shaun Kelley - Analyst
That is helpful.
And then I think I just wanted to maybe switch topics real quickly and get your thoughts on domestically there are some really interesting opportunities that have started to kind of boil up both in probably, Massachusetts, which seems like it is virtually a done deal and then also in Florida, which is probably a little further out.
But your thoughts about domestic expansion, given kind of the investment environment in the United States today, and how you weigh that against kind of the money that you are probably very committed to spending in Cotai when it becomes available to you?
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
Well, you're right, there are some very pregnant opportunities presenting themselves in Massachusetts and Florida.
Neither jurisdiction has made a final decision that we can measure quantitatively in order to make a determination for ourselves, but those are very interesting markets.
When we sit here in Las Vegas and look at these things, we ask a couple of questions.
First of all, what is the deal that that state has put on the stable?How strong is the invitation?How serious are they?Are they motivated strictly by tax revenues or by employment or a balance of the two?
Do they want capital investment and long-term growth and job security for their employees, or is this a quick down and dirty how much can we grab?Those jurisdictions usually have a dim future.
But I'm sensing that Florida, for example, and Massachusetts are acting in a more stable way.
I remember once in Illinois they had a meeting and changed the tax rate overnight by 15% to 20%.
That wouldn't even happen in China.
I mean, that is really rough.
But they had ten riverboats and they didn't care.
In Massachusetts and Florida I'm sensing a much more serious and mature and political approach and long-term economic growth approach to jobs as well as the construction and all the rest.
And so we are looking at it.
The second thing that we look at, besides the invitation that the jurisdiction puts on the table, is does our brand fit?Can we really be value added to Massachusetts or Florida, and can we be value added to our shareholders?Those are not always the same thing.
It is the reason why we are not in the riverboat business.
It is not consistent with what we do best.
I'm feeling very positive in a very preliminary way about Massachusetts and Florida.
I think those jurisdictions have potentially a great deal of promise, and we will look at them seriously, as we have been for the last several months.
And hopefully there will be a business opportunity there, in which case we will step up and put our credentials on the table and try to satisfy the political leaders and other decision makers there.
I hope that answer is helpful.
Shaun Kelley - Analyst
It does.
Thank you very much.
Operator
Your next question comes from Mark Strawn of Morgan Stanley.
Mark Strawn - Analyst
Hi.
One quick question on Las Vegas.
Have you guys seen any change to the base of -- sorry, the pace of leisure and group demand in Vegas at all as you look ahead?
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
Marilyn?
Marilyn Spiegel is on the call for us and she runs the show here.
Marilyn Spiegel - President, Wynn Las Vegas
So between leisure and transient demand you say?
Mark Strawn - Analyst
Just more leisure broadly.
Leisure as a whole and group as a whole.
Marilyn Spiegel - President, Wynn Las Vegas
Leisure has been pretty stable for us.
We have seen big improvement in ADR for the leisure market.
Actually in the third quarter we saw a 21% improvement in our leisure ADR.
And when you think about convention, we had another great quarter in convention.
So we've booked strongly, and we are strong again in the fourth quarter, and ADR is up in convention also.
Mark Strawn - Analyst
Great, thank you.
And you haven't seen any disruption to that booking pace, say, on the group side where you have a little more visibility?
Marilyn Spiegel - President, Wynn Las Vegas
First quarter is still coming in.
We think we will be similar to last year.
January is pretty close.
And the financial markets sometimes, the CNBC and analysts can cause some shaky consumer confidence, and so that impacts us.
We have seen people who are waiting for their 2012 budgets to be approved, and so they haven't committed to January.
March for us in Las Vegas is a challenge because Con/Agg-Conexpo is not going to be here this year.
It is on a rotation, and so we have a hole.
So with less compression in the market we may see the same or a slight decline in ADR in convention rooms for the first quarter.
But for the year we project a stable amount as we have seen this year.
Mark Strawn - Analyst
Great, thank you very much.
Operator
The next question from Harry Curtis of Nomura.
Harry Curtis - Analyst
Hi.
Steve, really back into the late '90s, if you built something really inspired in Vegas, demand in Vegas increased more than the supply.
And I'm wondering if you still think that is the case in Macau, and how long this runway is where if you build an inspired property, that demand is going exceed capacity growth?
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
Harry, congratulations on your move.
It was a good one.
Harry Curtis - Analyst
Thank you.
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
Matt, you want to answer that?
Matt Maddox - CFO, Treasurer
Yes, his question was will Macau -- will continued supply in Macau generate more demand?
And, Harry, our opinion is I think Macau is probably in the third or fourth inning of development, and if you look at what is going on in Cotai, there continues to be excess demand for the current supply.
In fact, if you tried to book a room at Wynn Macau on any weekend between now and the end of the year it would be almost impossible.
So if you look at it today I think that there could easily support Wynn Cotai property, and five years from nowwe think that the markethas continued growth underneath it.
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
Sheldon is going come online in 2012.
Matt Maddox - CFO, Treasurer
Yes.
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
With those two new hotels.
And they have some casino space.
They're not enormous, but it is an additional capacity of tables and slot machines, as well as rooms.
Marc Schorr - COO
And the retail.
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
And the retail as well.
Our retail business in Macau, we've got 40 -- I see [$45] million in revenue, right?
When you look at our reports?
You know that's $30 million a quarter profits.
We have $120 million (inaudible -- skips in audio).
Our retail business is high end (inaudible).
We get these very advantageous (inaudible) is going be $120 million (inaudible).
It is really quite phenomenal, the desire for the good life [the] folks of the Peoples Republic of China are demonstrating when they go on vacation.
They love to shop.
Harry Curtis - Analyst
So, Steve, if you parse the depth of the markets between the mass side and the VIP side, how close are you to the early innings in each of those markets?
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
Good question.
Matt, youand Marc going to --And I know that is one of your [favorite] subjects.
Is Ian on the call?
Matt Maddox - CFO, Treasurer
Yes, Ian is on the call.
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
Hey, Ian?
Ian Coughlan - President, Wynn Macau
Yes, Steve?
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
Hi.
What is your take on that question?
Ian Coughlan - President, Wynn Macau
I mean, we can only look at history.
Every time a new resort has opened in Macau it has being fully absorbed, and visitor arrivals continue to grow quarter to quarter.
There is plenty of business out there in all aspects of the market.
Every single source of business we have is strong, so we are not the concerned about that at all.
Matt Maddox - CFO, Treasurer
And one thing is, Macau, while it says 25 million visitors or so, that is really probably 4 million or 5 million unique visitors coming multiple times a year.
So if you think about where the growth of the market could go with new unique visitors, that is why we think Macau, with all of the infrastructure improvements, could continue to grow pretty quickly.
Harry Curtis - Analyst
Okay, thanks, guys.
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
Probably 1% or less of the upscale citizens in the PRC.
There are 300 million [of a billion] 300 million people that are enjoying what we would call amiddle class or better standard of living in China, [and] we are way less than 1%.
Operator
Your next question comes from Robin Farley of UBS.
Robin Farley - Analyst
Just curious, your comments about the special dividend, and maybe keeping your powder dry until final Cotai approval or until your project financing is done next year, or is there -- are you keeping the powder dry until something else?
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
I think the comments about the dividend stand as I said them, Robin.
I don't think there is much point repeating it.
I'm not evading your question, but I think I covered the ground.
There are a number of reasons why --Cotai, other opportunities -- that the Board considers special dividends as special.
And I don't think that we should take it for granted that there are going to be any.
Nor should we take it for granted there won't be any.
It is a changing, fluid situation.
Robin Farley - Analyst
Okay.
And then just if we could return just for a moment to the issue of the credit in the VIP market in Macau.
So not a question at all of you not being reserved enough or anything about collectability, but I'm just wondering if you are seeing anything, just anecdotally out there, just with credit -- with collectability just being out there for more days, and maybe people asking for more days than they normally have in terms of repayment?
Anything along those lines?
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
Yes, I understand the question completely, robin, and the answer is, in a word, no.
Robin Farley - Analyst
Okay, great.
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
If it were to change it would be I think a relevant and appropriate discussion to have on a call like this, but the answer has to be no at this time.
And we consider the question very seriously, so there is not much point in skirting the issue or shilly-shallying on something like this, but we don't see it now.
Robin Farley - Analyst
Okay, great.
That's very helpful, thank you.
Operator
The next question from Janet Brashear of Sandford C.
Bernstein.
Janet Brashear - Analyst
Thank you.
A quick question about the -- a follow-up to the Miami business opportunity.
As Florida looks at more integrated resorts, and they're talking about a $2 billion minimum investment, isyour view that the market deep enough for three new concessions, or is that too many from a return perspective?
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
Well, that is a very good question.
Florida has always been one of the places in the world that was most perfectly suited -- South Florida -- Miami -- to -- and Miami beach -- to becoming a vastly expanded destination resort, not just for Latin America, but for Europeans, Eastern Coast Americans and for people from Texas and all over the United States.
Florida, its climate, its ancillary offerings of beaches and restaurants and shopping.
Miami is a fabulous place, and if it were done right, in my opinion Miami would take off and become one of the two or three greatest destination resort cities in the world.
I remember as a young man going to college in Philadelphia, and my parents moved to Miami Beach.
And we lived on Pine Tree Drive, and my folks had a cabana at the Fontainebleau in the 1950s and early 1960s, before my dad died.
And everybody came to the Fontainebleau from all over the world.
It wasn't just New Yorkers.
It was everybody.
The hotel redefined destination luxury and fun.
The greatest entertainers.
The wealthiest people, the greatest shopping all took place between the Fontainebleau and Eden Roc and the Americana hotels.
The destination was created because of the development, not in spite of it.
I had a conversation with my neighbor, [Sheldon Adelson] who was a little bit more conservative in his view, but I think both of us agree that Miami has the opportunity of becoming something quite extraordinary.
It won't happen with racinos.
That doesn't even get on the radar.
It is a false start, and it has been a false start everywhere they tried it.
It's regressive.
It's homely.
It may make a buck or two for the operators, but it does nothing really for the local economy.
If they soak the tax rate, it generates a few bucks for the government.
The fiction that it helps the horsemen is exactly that, a complete fiction, and that's has been proven over and over again.
But the existent of large employment based destination resorts has the capacity to change the economies of the communities in which they exist on several levels.
Primarily by the huge payrolls of such places, theyhit the economies like a freight train.
And secondly, by the people that it brings from outside the region into the region.
So I am, on a macro economic level, highly positive about the implementation of large destination resorts in Miami and Miami Beach, however that comes down politically.
It is very, very important that the government decide to do it in intelligently, and they have numerous case studies to examine.
Mississippi, where the tax rate was low to ensure courage big capital investment.
Las Vegas.
And Florida has everything going for it.
Massachusetts has the population base.
Both places would be great.
On the other hand, in New York City it was a racino at Aqueduct.
All together different story.
In my view it produces an entirely different result.
So that is the basis of -- butthe core question is, can they support three of them?
If they are done well, if they are positioned properly, if they are managed intelligently, absolutely.
It could become a two or three -- a $3 billion market, Matt?
Matt Maddox - CFO, Treasurer
I think, yes, that is probably about right.
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
Maybe more over time.
Janet Brashear - Analyst
Thanks for that.
Could I follow up on a question with Ian for Macau as well?And that is, as demand continues to grow is the capacity at your resort becoming a constraint now?
And how much can you continue to improve your yields from here?
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
That is a Marc Schorr question.
Marc Schorr - COO
We're pretty -- it is pretty constrained right now.
I mean, we are at maximum table limits right at this moment, so now it is just getting the best customer into the facility.
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
Is Linda on the call?
Not, but Ian is.
Ian, what is your take on that I can.
Ian Coughlan - President, Wynn Macau
I think we are fully formed after ramping up Encore.
There is still opportunity to increase business, as Marc said, optimizing our products and game mix.
Looking at table and slot yields, we continue to be very active in making sure that every table is yielding as much as it can.
We manage table limits very effectively.
And there is still opportunity for growth during the week and at certain times on the weekend.
So we are building a bigger customer base.
Our players are coming and playing longer.
So there is still room for growth.
We're also looking at (inaudible -- multiple speakers) operations, andwe continue to tweak where we can.
Marc Schorr - COO
Year-to-date we are up 47%.
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
Look, let me put it to you this way.
Can I have my glasses?
I'm going to read you a number.
Hold on for a second.
I got to put on my glasses.
Here is an up to the minute.
Year-to-date in Macau.
$956 million.
Last year, $651 million.
An increase of $304 million or 46.7% in EBITDA.
What does that sound like to you?
I mean there you are.
You are looking at the same thing I'm looking at right through yesterday.
So I don't know what the rest of the month will look like, and we will discuss that in great detail when we review the fourth quarter.
But I look at these numbers every morning when I wake up I get them before 7.30.
And that is what I'm looking at.
And that is in spite of the competition.
If I look at the month --
Marc Schorr - COO
With the competition you're up 30%.
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
And even for the month we're up 30%.
Another $17 million.
And that is with -- on $73 million for this month.
We are headed for another one of those $100-plus million months, and that is all I have to say.
Janet Brashear - Analyst
That's great, thanks.
Operator
Your next question comes from David Katz of Jefferies & Company.
David Katz - Analyst
Hi, afternoon, all.
I wanted to just ask about the Cotai development project.
We have certainly read the announcements that you have put out, and I think Steve commented earlier are about expecting to start to spend a little bit.
And there certainly has been some commentary gathered in the press, which can add to some confusion about what the next steps are in the process for moving this project forward.
Can you talk about, A, the amount of spending that we should reasonably expect the next year or two?
And to the degree that you can arm us for what next steps along the way for this project we should look out for it,I hope that would be helpful.
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
The government issues a draft contract.
You approve it, discuss it and then you sign it.
We have done that.
That is usually associated with the final stages of the choreography in Macau.
And they set a premium.
They did that.
You then wait for its publication in the Gazette.
At that point the land process, the land concession grant is completed, and during this process you are free to -- you are encouraged, as we have already done, to submit your plans.
And we have done that.
So you get very far down the line, but you have to always be mindful that the government of Macau follows a very set procedure.
They do not vary, and you don't get to rush it or change it.
You live with it and respect that process, and it moves along at the speed that they think is appropriate.
And then you respond.
And we are encouraged, but we are part of that choreography, we are part of that schedule and the march to completion.
All that is taken into account,
And really there is little more to say to that except that you know when the Gazette publication takes place, and you are ready to hit the ground with actual foundation of work.
Hopefully it will have been approved for your foundation drawings.
There is a great deal of work that does -- that takes place on a subterranean basis in a landfill.
I remember studying a chart two months ago with my colleagues that showed, for example, if you are interested in this, the high-rise has columns on 36 foot centers.
And there are 40 of them.
There are 40 structural bays that are used for suites and rooms.
A regular bay is two rooms and sometimes two structural bays were used for super-deluxe seats.
The building is 98 feet wide.
It is extremely deep, because the rooms are 45 feet deep with an 8-foot hallway, which is -- youonly see eight foot hallways in villas.
Well, in Cotai our the typical is eight foot wide and 11 foot tall.
What happens is we is 40 columns -- 40 structural bays, and we have four of them across the building.
One on each outside window and two on the interior.
So thatis 160 major columns that support a high-rise.
Those things are caissons.
Those are eight to 12 foot holes that go down until they get 6 feet into rock, on which -- onthe top of which there are caps that we rest the columns of the heavy hotel.
Those 160 caissons alone, I looked at a chart that shows how deep they go to get through the fill of the land and into the six feet into rock, and in some cases we are as deep as 92 meters and as little as 78 meters.
You can imagine the work --
And then you have the rest of the public area involves 15, 20, 25 acres.
And those -- therest of the podium building, which is three or four stories tall, that houses the casino, restaurant, VIP rooms, show rooms, spa, swimming pools, villas and all the rest -- garage -- those things rest on pile caps.
Pilings are nails or spikes that go down as far as I just described in clusters of 6 to 8 like if you put your fingers on the table and the top of your hand was the cap and you rest the columns that support the steel columns that support public area on the pile caps.
So between caissons and pile caps you have ten months or a year of work.
Now that is exactly the way Wynn and Encore were built, and all of the other hotels that you're familiar with that belong to our associates and other companies.
But subterranean work in Macau is quite a bit different than, for example, building in New York City, where the entire island of Manhattan rests on solid granite, and you can erect huge skyscrapers with a [mat] foundation.
Not so on land fills.
So when you take that into account, you spend a lot of money on foundations.
Once you get up out of the ground and you are up at grade level then the buildings are pretty much traditional and they go very fast.
A floor a week, stuff like that.
Is that too much information for you?
David Katz - Analyst
No.
All interesting.
I guess, if I may follow it up by asking from -- if you can recall last time, from the time you signed your agreement with the government as you have now, until the time it appeared in the Gazette, how long was that period of time?
And then I did want to get a sense for how much spending -- CapEx on this project there might be on this year and next year as well.
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
Well, it's a very interesting question, and it changes from time to time.
We first started, Macau was -- the profile of Macau as a community, both private works and public works was in one shape.
And today, as that city -- as that special administrative region has matured and grown, and the needs of its citizens and its businesses increased, the load on the public works department to process properly such applications, building permits and the like has become geometrically great.
Exponentially greater.
So the lead times have quite understandably extended.
And so comparing it to the past I don't think is relevant any more.
I meet with Secretary Lau, under whose authority such matters are prosecuted, and he shares with me the amount of public works.
There is alight rail, a monorail system going in, that incidentally, we are the first stop from the ferry terminal.
The monorail circles two sides of our property, which is very nice for us.
And it circles two sides of our hotel on the peninsula, the Encore in Wynn, and has a stop right at our door.
These kinds of projects are new and have placed a terrific demand on the government's staff.
They rise and grow to meet that demand as best they can, but its definitely created more traffic in public works and the building department.
And I -- they don't share with me the details such loads, only in general description, and I know it could be true.
So I can't answer your question definitively.
But I will tell you this, with regard to the last part of the question, it is possible on foundations to spend hundreds of millions of dollars.
David Katz - Analyst
Okay.
Thank you very much.
Operator
Your next question comes from Dennis Forst of KeyBanc.
Dennis Forst - Analyst
Yes, good afternoon.
First wanted to ask Matt about corporate expense.
It was about $10 million above the recent trend line.
What was in there, Matt, this quarter that moved the needle?
Matt Maddox - CFO, Treasurer
What happens is, if you look at our corporate expense every year, it is very choppy.
So one quarter will be up more than another, and it is usually just various development projects we are working on and other initiatives.
Where we are pacing to for the year is similar to last year.
So I think that is the way you should think about it.
Dennis Forst - Analyst
Okay.
And then the next question had to do with promotional allowances.
I have seen promotional allowances be very steady as is a percentage of win, although the second quarter -- not the third quarter you just reported, but the second quarter was well below trend, and I was expecting maybe that trend to continue, but it looks like we are back to normal.
Was there something unique about the second quarter's --
Matt Maddox - CFO, Treasurer
I have to be honest with you, Dennis.
I am going to have to go back and look.
That was [a long time ago].
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
You know what, Matt -- Marc and I are sitting here.
Marc Schorr - COO
I don't know the reason.
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
Ian, do you know -- can you answer that question?
Marc Schorr - COO
Or Marilyn?
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
Are you talking about Las Vegas?
Ian Coughlan - President, Wynn Macau
I don't have a did definitive answer.
I'd have to look it --
Dennis Forst - Analyst
I think both, Steve.
I'm just looking atcorporate Wynn was down $60 million sequentially, and promotional allowances were up $6 million.
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
First I all, I can answer part of the question, I just realized.
We have been holding very well.
We had a huge influx of Chinese business in Las Vegas, and that would account for it.
Matt Maddox - CFO, Treasurer
In the second quarter, right.
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
We are winning more money, so we are giving away more.
We have this rather dramatic increase in business in Las Vegas, right?
Dennis Forst - Analyst
Right.
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
You saw that, in both quarters.
Dennis Forst - Analyst
Okay.
And talking about Vegas, I was going to ask --
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
And the percentage -- excuse me -- the percentage can go up depending on how that increase in casino revenue is structured.
When it is high rollers, then discounts to losers and stuff like that.
Dennis Forst - Analyst
Okay, I don't know whether Marilyn is the right person to ask or you the right person to ask --
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
I am in this case, because I do know the answer.
Dennis Forst - Analyst
Okay.
The low hold in the quarter, was that associated with maybe one group or one month or one event?
Or was that pretty much across the board?
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
No, it was baccarat.
Dennis Forst - Analyst
Obviously baccarat, but was it one specific time period, or kind of throughout the whole quarter?
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
No, they come in groups of five and six and three and four.
And we had guys win $7 million and $6 million.
A casino that can win $200 million or $300 million in baccarat can do that.
Our baccarat percentage overall is wonderful.
It holds up the casino.
But you do get these kinds of fluctuations.
This month it was off by 3% or 4%, if you take it the way we usually look at it.
And that would have been about $15 million to $20 million in Las Vegas.
Dennis Forst - Analyst
Yes, but I guess I wasn't asking the question (inaudible -- multiple speakers).
Was it all at one time?
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
Everything was normal outside of baccarat.
Dennis Forst - Analyst
But was the baccarat low hold over a short period of time or spread out --
Matt Maddox - CFO, Treasurer
Dennis, you have seen the August numbers for the entire city, so you clearly saw that was down in August and also in July.
So it was each month, but it wasn't one event that caused this quarter.
We have too much volume for one group to come in and cause five points of swing.
It was really throughout the entire quarter.
Dennis Forst - Analyst
Okay, good.
That is what I wanted to hear.
Thank you.
Appreciate the answers.
Matt Maddox - CFO, Treasurer
Sure.
Operator
Your next question comes from Janet Lu of Goldman Sachs.
Janet Lu - Analyst
Good afternoon.
I have several questions on the Macau business.
First of all, you've said that the October trend looks still good, but I just want to understand a little better on the second week of October, which is after the Golden Week holiday, what is the turn of our market share and revenue?
And also, -- yes?
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
Up.
Janet Lu - Analyst
Okay, go ahead.
Sorry.
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
I just answered you.
Up.
The second week after Golden Week, up.
Janet Lu - Analyst
Oh, okay.
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
Okay.
What is the next question?
What was your other questions?
Janet Lu - Analyst
Well, actually in the first week we noticed that some pickup in the market share in your -- in Wynn Macau.
Is that because of [win rate] or is there any -- or did you [get] more aggressive in marketing, or --
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
You are paying too close attention.
You are too close to the sheet of paper.
In a week to look at a casino like Wynn Macau is a mistake.
We have a lower hold percentage one week, a higher percentage the next week.
I answered you about the turn, about the level of activity.
It's up.
But looking at the place week by week is a waste of your time really.
Don't do that, even though they publish the numbers, you seeing gross market shares, they mean -- gross market share means nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
What good is gross market share when you have four hotels or three hotels or two hotels, and you have three sets of payroll, three sets of depreciation, extra interest expense?
It is a totally worthless number.
And wasting time on this call is probably not productive.
Janet Lu - Analyst
Sure, sure.
Thanks.
And my second question is regarding your Cotai project.
[Cause] the government has [read] for its intention not to increase it's table cap until [this starts work] and keep the growth at [certain] percent.
So on your Cotai project how are you going allocate the tables of [around like 500] tables for the project?
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
If your interpretation of the table cap is that the current table cap is going to apply to future hotels, then you misunderstood the government's position.
The current table cap has to do with the current tables.
Operator
Your next question is a follow-up from Harry Curtis from Nomura.
Harry Curtis - Analyst
Hey, Steve, the topic at least here in New York is Occupy Wall Street, and I was going to ask a wiseass question about whether or not you are going to contribute to that cause.
But I do think it raises an interesting political question, which is the -- how do you see the landscape politically now?Is there any reason for optimism given the current slate of candidates to give you hope for the regulatory environment improving for your business?
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
We had the debate here last night, and we had a focus group that actually took place in [Tris] last night with Frank Luntz on television.
It's very interesting about the folks who are occupying Wall Street.
That group is quite diverse.
There are people in there that think the government should give them more just because they are alive, regardless.
There are people there who are opposing government spending.
There are people there that are opposing bailouts.
That group is not homogenous by any means.
What you do have on Wall Street is a reflection -- a real reflex reflection in my opinion -- of the anxiety, the insecurity and the fear that is endemic in the United States of America about the way the government has gotten into the business of managing everyone life and the [inability] of the government to managing the economy intelligently by increasing these deficits and government spending [irrationally] to the point (inaudible -- skips in audio) everbody's financial security.
I am watching my employees' standard of living drop like a rock because of deficits.
I think that the American public is beginning to make a connection between deficits and their own loss of living standard.
People that work for me are being paid in [80-cent] dollars on their way to [70-cent] dollars, and even though I have given two cost of living increases to my employees in spite of operating losses in America, because I've been able to [use] money from Macau, I have not been able to keep up with the effect of deficits on the living standard of my employees.
The net result of all this is frustration, anxiety, and anger.
You are seeing that on Occupy Wall Street.
You can see it taken to the next level in Greece, where people are trying to break into a parliament, primarily controlled by the unions, and the very kind of government that the people who are trying to break down the fences elected.
There comes a moment when the population realizes that it has to stop.
And sometimes it takes a form of tax of the rich people, which is a reflection more of a lack of understanding of how the economy works.
Rich people are now being defined by the administration as people who make $1 million.
Well, most of the businesses in America, other than giant corporations are paying taxes under chapter S, partnerships or individual proprietorships, so somebody shows that they have made $3 million or $2 million this year, and they pay personal taxes tax on that money.
They subtract the cost of living, and then what is left after -- and that does not show that probably 25% or 30% of their profits are tied up in accounts receivable or inventory, stuff that they can't spend or get their hands on, but to support their business and their employment.
And then they take whatever is left, these so-called millionaires, and they open up another shop or another office, and that is the only known engine of growth in the United States of America.
And we have an administration that is fanning the fires that this is somehow undeserved profligate millionaires, and it is worse than hypocrisy.
It is totally dishonest.
It represents by young people who don't know the difference simple misunderstanding and lack of understanding of how the economy works or what is going on in America, but if it is a politician who does it or a union leader, then it represents something much more pernicious.
It represents a deliberate misleading of the public.
And I think Americans are waking up to this, and it is taking the form of anger and dissatisfaction with the government.
And I think that is probably just right.
Because until there is a change, until this all stops, it is only going to get worse, no matter what anybody says in some fancy speech, even if it is a president, it is going to get worse.
People say we are angry at the government for not compromising both sides.
Well, we don't really have a situation that lends itself to what reasonable people would call compromise.
We have got a situation that requires a change.
That is to say one side is right here and the other side is wrong.
You cannot sustain these deficits.
You cannot undercut the people that form the jobs and create the employment in this country.
I will give you an example of Las Vegas and my own industry.
Across the street from me is an empty piece of property that is 34 acres.
It is owned by two Israeli gents that are friends of mine that bought it at a high price and are sort inform a difficult position now.
They even owe money against that property.
They have come to me on a monthly basis to say go ahead, Steve, you take it, build something, connect it to Wynn and Encore, your golf courses and convention facilities, and help us get out of this.
We are willing to take a very long-term approach, and we will turn the property over to you even if we have to pay off the loan.
Well, that is a very attractive offer, especially since they are willing to pay us for management, design and supervision as well as inviting us to invest.
But I have to tell both of these men who are friends of mine, look, I can't give you a reasonable projection of what this return on investment will be even if we spend $2 billion and create 10,000 direct jobs and another 30,000 indirect jobs for a total of 40,000 jobs.
That is how many jobs I could create if I broke ground on the frontier property in the next six months or a year, and we would know how to do that.
But I can't tell the men who are willing to sacrifice any short-term benefit in exchange for a long-term opportunity, because I cannot predict what healthcare costs are going to be, what regulatory load they are going to heap on us, what new taxes or other burdens this insatiable government appetite for money from the citizens will take us to.
That is simply a statement of fact.
It isn't a partisan political pitch.
It's simply a statement of fact from a businessman who has supported probably more Democrats than Republicans.
But I say right now that the Democratic agenda of spend and bribe the public has bankrupt this country, and until it stops the citizens of this country are in for more hard times.
And fancy speeches aren't going to change that, only a fundamental realization that citizens going to have to take real sophisticated responsibility for how we allocate the resources of this country.
Harry Curtis - Analyst
Steve, we have to get you on the slate.
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
Only if I could take my pillow to Washington.
I'm not qualified, but I am qualified to say what I just said.
I stand by it.
Harry Curtis - Analyst
That's great.
Thank you.
Operator
At this time there are no further questions.
I will turn the conference back to management for closing remarks.
Steve Wynn - Chairman, CEO
Nice talking to you.
See you in 90 days.
Matt Maddox - CFO, Treasurer
Thanks, everybody.
Operator
Thank you for participating in today's conference call.
You may now disconnect.