Macau poker has lost a key venue, as Wynn Macau has shuttered another of its dedicated poker rooms. With this move, it leaves players just three main venues for poker in Macau. Players now have to look to The Venetian Macao, MGM Cotai, and Wynn Palace if they want to find regular live games in the city.
This closure follows earlier exits by MGM Macau and Grand Lisboa Palace, which both withdrew from live poker last year as operators reassessed how they use limited table allocations on increasingly mass-focused gaming floors.
Strange Timing for Wynn’s Poker Room Closure
The timing of Wynn’s decision is particularly striking given that poker is posting record win numbers in Macau. Official data from the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau shows poker generated around 121 million dollars in revenue in 2025, a 10.4% year-on-year uptick and the highest figure since the regulator began tracking the segment in 2008.
Macau’s major live series only really came back online in 2024, and even then momentum was fragile. A scheduled World Poker Tour stop was canceled, limiting the return of international fields and keeping participation from traveling pros and serious amateurs patchy at best.
At the same time, regulatory changes have made it harder to run third‑party events in the way operators and brands were used to pre-Covid: under the revised concession regime, casinos can no longer share gaming revenue with external partners, a structure many global poker tours traditionally rely on when negotiating festival deals.
Since Beijing ramped up scrutiny of junkets and VIP rolling, Macau concessionaires have been pushed toward mass-market table games and non-gaming projects baked into their new licenses, leaving lower-margin products like poker vulnerable when floor space is tight. Poker rake simply cannot compete with house-banked staples such as baccarat on a per-table basis.
Regional Rivals Booming
Meanwhile, regional rivals are capitalizing: the Philippines has established itself as a reliable stop on Asian tours, while Singapore has leaned on a compact but stable calendar of major series that attract both pros and recreational players from across the region.
Wynn Macau’s exit is another clear signal that if you want regular live tournament action in Asia right now, your default destinations are shifting further toward Cotai, Manila, and Singapore rather than the old peninsula grind in Macau.
Where to play poker in Macau in 2026?
With another of Wynn Macau’s poker room now closed, live poker in Macau has effectively consolidated into three major integrated resorts, all of them on or oriented toward the Cotai side of the market. For players planning a 2026 trip, these are your realistic options:
The Venetian Macao: Currently the main hub for live poker in the city, with the Sands Poker Club on the main floor still spreading Texas Hold’em cash games and drawing the broadest mix of local grinders and visiting players. Venetian also tends to be the first stop for any revived tournament series, so if Macau hosts festival poker again, it is highly likely to appear here first.
MGM Cotai : Home to the MGM Poker zone, which continues to run regular games and caters more to mid-to-high-stakes action. The room has remained open even as its sister property MGM Macau exited poker, making Cotai the group’s focal point for the game.
Wynn Palace: Still listed as one of the three remaining venues offering live poker following the shutdown at Wynn Macau on the peninsula. While the room runs on a leaner schedule than Venetian, it gives Wynn-loyal players a Cotai-side option for cash games and occasional events.
