Macau casino operator MGM China Holdings Ltd still has "a lead of at least a few years" in the implementation and use of "smart tables" compared to its five market rivals, a senior executive claimed on Wednesday.

Hubert Wang, president and chief operating officer of MGM China, was talking about MGM Resorts International's first-quarter earnings release, which is MGM China's majority shareholder.

"Everyone is trying to implement" the use of these tables, but "I think we have at least a few years of initiative in implementation and we can also leverage this technology to run different programs," the COO said.

MGM China owns MGM Macau properties in the urban peninsula and MGM Cotai (pictured) in the new Cotai casino district.

Furthermore, these tables have enabled game chip tracking and authentication, making it "very difficult and almost impossible to cheat games," enabling casino operators to provide customers with "much more data."

"We can do precision marketing based on the level of play of various customers, and we can also provide real-time rewards," Wang said.

MGM China COO said these table technologies "allow us to develop new games as well."

"For example, we've already rolled out insurance [betting] baccarat in this market and this is impossible to do manually," he said

This was understood as a reference to a complex pay table system involving so-called baccarat "insurance" bets, a hedge bet favored by some players.

Wang also added that the technology was "seen very favorably by regulators in this environment." It was understood to refer to Macau's Game Inspection and Coordination Bureau, which has recently been discussing the usefulness of "smart" technology in the local market with Macau operators.

Kenneth Feng, president and executive director of MGM China, also noted in a Q1 call that the Macau unit "already had this technology in 2016."

He said, "What sets us apart in the market is ... We have a deep understanding of our customers, especially the premium public, from their culture, habits, behaviors, background profiles, and even from their hometowns and dialects," he added.

The latter was a reference to mainland Chinese customers, a key source market for the Macau casino industry.

Bill Hornbuckle, chief executive and president of MGM Resorts, said on the call that Macau "particularly for us... It's really booming," he said.

"We continue to hold a significant portion of our [total gaming revenue] share, and we're at 17% for the quarter," he added. Record EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, amortization and rent]

The group CEO also said, "We paid our first dividend since 2019.

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