After announcing on January 10, that eligible non-management employees would be awarded a “one-month discretionary bonus” prior to the Chinese New Year, Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited, (NASDAQ: MLCO) announced Thursday that all of its eligible non-management employees would be the recipients of a salary increase.

According to GGRAsia…

Increase details:

The developer, owner and operator of casino gaming and entertainment casino resort facilities in Asia, said in the Thursday press release that effective from April 1, 2019, eligible employees salary will be increased by a range of between 2.5% and 7.5%.

A pay hike of 2.5% will be given to all eligible, full-time non-management employees who earn a monthly “base salary (including tips)” of more than MOP13,000 (US$1616.8), while those whose monthly base salary (including tips) is less than or equal to MOP13,000 will receive a pay hike of MOP600 ($US74per month).

“continued dedication”

In a prepared statement as part of the announcement on Thursday, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for Melco Resorts, Lawrence Ho Yau Lung, said…

“We thank our colleagues for their continued dedication. Together as a team, we strive to bring world-class, memorable entertainment, hospitality and dining experiences to our guests in Macau.”

Bonus payment:

Melco’s announcement on Thursday confirmed that it had already made the bonus payment, however, the number of employees who benefitted was not specified.

According to the news service, Melco was the first of the former Portuguese territory‘s half-dozen casino operators to announce publicly a staff bonus this year. Macau’s gaming operators historically announce the staff bonus, where mandated, either during or around the Asian holiday, which happens to fall on the 5th of February this year. A second round of discretionary bonuses is sometimes also announced by some operators, typically during summer.

Other ops pay:

On January 18 this year, rival integrated resort developer and operator, Sands China Ltd (1928:Hong Kong), announced it had paid all of its eligible employees a discretionary bonus, the equivalent to a month’s wages. The subsidiary of American casino giant, Las Vegas Sands Corporation, saying at the time that all eligible team members could expect to receive a salary increase effective March 1, 2019.

Meanwhile, last month Asian casino giant Wynn Macau Ltd announced that later in the year it would be rewarding eligible employees at its Wynn Palace Cotai and Wynn Macau integrated casino resorts with a ‘winter bonus’ set to be equivalent to a full month’s salary.

The city’s other three casino operators MGM China Holdings Ltd, SJM Holdings and Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd have also reportedly mad similar announcements this month regarding their employees receiving discretionary bonuses.