Macau's casino revenues rose 48 percent in the second-quarter, driven largely by growth in VIP baccarat play.

The popular Chinese enclave's 30 casinos brought in 28.89 billion patacas (US$3.6 billion) in the three months through June, compared with 19.57 billion patacas in the year-ago period, the territory's Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau revealed on its Web site in figures seen Thursday.

Higher VIP baccarat revenues, up more than 52 percent to 20.1 billion patacas (US$2.5 billion) compared with a year ago, were the biggest factor. New casinos such as the Sands' Venetian Macao, which opened August last year, also helped.

Revenue for the three months through June, however, fell 3.1 percent from 29.82 billion (US$3.7 billion) in the first quarter.

It was the first quarter-to-quarter decline since 2005, analysts said.
Fewer visits from mainland Chinese — who account for the majority of Macau's gambling patrons — after the May earthquake in Sichuan province have been partly to blame, analysts said. The 7.9 magnitude temblor killed 70,000 people and left 18,000 missing.

The number of visitor arrivals from mainland China softened from around 1.55 million in May to nearly 1.36 million in June, a decline of around 12 percent, according to Macau's tourist office. Year over year the number of mainland visitors rose in June.

Last year, Macau casinos took in US$10.3 billion, according to the government. In 2006, the former Portuguese colony surpassed the Las Vegas Strip as the world's top gambling center.