Macao casinos could see their chances of a recovery further diminished after national and local Chinese ministries issued travel advisories warning mainland residents against visiting the enclave during the Chinese New Year beginning in February. As new cases of COVID-19 start to erupt in areas of China, the government is seeking to limit travel as a precaution against spreading the coronavirus further. But Macao, which has reportedly not seen a new COVID-19 case in 200 days, suffered a debilitating 80% decline in monthly gambling revenue in 2020. Although revenue improved marginally in December, dropping 66% compared to the low-70% range of October and November, and the mid- to high 90% range in the preceding months, it was still going to be a long slog for casinos. Now it might be even longer. Image source: Getty Images. Bad moon rising The Chinese Lunar New Year holiday is a key period for the gambling industry in Macao because it can account for as much as 5.5% of the industry's annual gross gambling revenue. Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS), MGM Resorts (NYSE: MGM), and Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN) had all been anticipating big results last year before the pandemic struck and Macao was subsequently closed for two weeks. Over the first nine months of 2020, Sands saw $2.4 billion in adjusted property EBITDA at its Macao properties turn into $478 million in losses. MGM's adjusted property EBITDAR of $550 million became losses of $235 million, and Wynn generated $1 billion in adjusted EBITDA losses compared to $652 million in profits. Travel restrictions to and from Macao over the holiday will lead to extended losses for the resort operators into 2021. 10 stocks we like better than Las Vegas SandsWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Las Vegas Sands wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of November 20, 2020 Rich Duprey has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source