HONG KONG, May 4 (Reuters) - Macau casino operator Galaxy
Entertainment Group posted a 31 percent rise in
adjusted EBITDA in the first quarter as wealthy Chinese gamblers
flocked back into the world's biggest gambling hub.
Galaxy, one of six listed casino operators in the Chinese
territory of Macau, said adjusted EBITDA for the first three
months of the year was HK$3.2 billion ($411.24 million) compared
with HK$2.4 billion a year earlier.
The former Portuguese colony, now a special administrative
region belonging to China, is the only place in the country
where citizens are legally allowed to gamble.
Business had dried up in the special administrative region
after Chinese President Xi Jinping's campaign against shows of
wealth by public officials in 2014 but the opening of new
resorts in the second half of last year has helped revive demand
from high rollers as well as casual gamblers.
($1 = 7.7813 Hong Kong dollars)
(Reporting by Farah Master; Editing by Muralikumar
Anantharaman)