* Adj EPS $1.38 vs Street view $0.74
* Net revenue rises 39 pct to $1.26 billion
* Shares rise 3 percent (Adds company comments, updates share price)
By Deena Beasley
LOS ANGELES, April 19 (Reuters) - Wynn Resorts Ltd posted a higher-than-expected sixfold increase in first-quarter profit as revenue at its Wynn Macau business rose 47 percent and results in Las Vegas improved.
Spurred by robust demand from mainland Chinese, gambling revenue has been on the rise in Macau, the only place in China where gambling is legal.
"Macau continues to do unbelievable," said Morningstar analyst Chad Mollman, adding Wynn grew slightly faster than the overall Macau market during the quarter.
With most costs fixed, the additional revenue goes to the bottom line.
Wynn's shares were up 3 percent in after-hours trading.
Adjusting for one-time items, Wynn earned $1.38 per share, beating the average analyst forecast of 74 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Wynn operates two casino-resorts in Macau and two in Las Vegas, which is still grappling with a glut of new hotel rooms and casinos that were built or planned before the recession.
"They had a much higher-than-normal win percentage in Vegas -- 30.5 percent vs. last year's 23 percent," Mollman said. "That's basically pure luck."
Wynn was also able to raise room rates in Las Vegas by about 10 percent.
First-quarter net profit rose to $173.8 million, or $1.39 per share, compared with $27 million, or 22 cents per share, a year earlier.
The company has approval from the Macau government for a third resort in the Chinese enclave, and permission to begin construction is expected "any day now," Chief Executive Steve Wynn said on a conference call.
He estimated the cost of new casino-hotel at between $2 billion and $3 billion.
Quarterly net revenue rose 39 percent to $1.26 billion. Analysts had expected $1.15 billion.
CEO Wynn said the company continued to evaluate opportunities in online gaming following the dissolution of its alliance with PokerStars, one of three Internet poker companies accused last week by federal prosecutors of violating U.S. online gambling laws.
Democratic legislators, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, have been pushing for legalization of Internet poker, but a law passed in 2006 bars credit cards and banks from accepting online gambling payments.
"We are trying to figure out what the hell the public policy is and then we can have a corporate policy," Wynn said.
Wynn shares, which have nearly doubled over the past 12 months, closed at $138.93 on Tuesday and were higher at $142.99 in after-hours trading. (Reporting by Deena Beasley; editing by Andre Grenon and Ted Kerr)