Macau Casino Stocks Soar As China Readies To Open Up Travel. Casino stocks spiked Monday as Macau city officials signaled China is set to ease Covid-era travel restrictions, making it much easier for people to return to globe's largest gambling hub. Macau leaders have indicated that China would resume an e-visa program for mainland-China travelers and group tours, with plans to implement the relaxed travel requirements in November. This sent casino stocks with Macau exposure rocketing in Monday's market trading. Wynn Resorts was up 12% and Las Vegas Sands increased 11.7%, easily Monday's top two performers on the S&P 500 index. Melco Resorts & Entertainment skyrocketed 25.5%. Macau, a Chinese special administrative region, is the only place in the country where citizens can legally gamble. Visitors from mainland China account for the overwhelming majority of revenue for casino operators in the city, but that has dramatically decreased over the last two years of Covid restrictions. Throughout the pandemic, there has been tighter border control between China and Macau, which has cut down on tourism and e-visas. Before the pandemic, gamblers used these visas to make quick trips to the city. Tourist from China currently need a visa appointment followed by a weeklong approval process. The individual visa program made up around 50% of Chinese visitors to Macau in 2019 while tour groups accounted for about 25%, according to Reuters. Casino stocks including Wynn Resorts and Las Vegas Sands are far off from being market leaders. They tend to be very sensitive to blips in China that could affect consumer behavior. Both casino stocks have also been in downtrends since the U.S. launched its trade war vs. China in 2018. Wynn is around 65% below its 2018 high. Las Vegas Sands has lost 50%.