COVID-19: Two Separate Reports Offer Bleak View for Las Vegas Gaming Operators
By Daniel Behringer for LVSportsBiz.com
Down, down, down.
The shutdown of Nevada casinos in May because of the new coronavirus led to a statewide decline of 99.4 percent in gaming win. No regions were spared:
— The Las Vegas Strip was down 99.3 percent.
— Downtown Las Vegas was down 96.4 percent.
— The Boulder Strip was down 99.9 percent.
— Laughlin in far southern Nevada was actually down 100.07 percent.
Across the state, Nevada collected a mere $5.8 million in gaming win. That compares with $982 million in May 2019 when the national and Las Vegas economies were humming.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board released the figures in a statement dated June 30.
In an email, Michael Lawton, senior research analyst in the administrative division, said gaming win for April ($3.6 million) along with the May win are the lowest reported since records were kept going back to 1983.
In the email, Lawton said June figures “will be a good barometer of what our baseline will be.”
Gaming win is what casinos collect in cash, ticket-in/ticket-out slips, markers and chips compared with what they pay out. It is sometimes referred to as gross gaming revenue.
Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak ordered casinos and other nonessential businesses to close on March 17 to slow the spread of the coronavirus, which has been attributed to more than 500 deaths in the Silver State. All gaming operations except interactive poker and mobile sports wagering were suspended.
Some casinos began reopening June 4, and a select few others followed.
The Nevada report was followed on July 1 with a similarly bleak report on Macau gaming win. Las Vegas gaming operators depend on Macau, an autonomous region of China, for a hefty portion of their revenue.
Macau gaming win was down 97 percent in June, according to a July 1 report at Casino.org. Macau casinos won slightly less $90 million last month. During June 2019, the six licensed operators collected nearly $3 billion.
Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau reports the figures.
Mandatory 14-day quarantines are still in effect for Guangdong province and Hong Kong, the website Seeking Alpha notes.
Both Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts derive about 70 percent of their total revenues from Macau, according to Forbes. Former Wynn Resorts Chairman and CEO Steve Wynn once floated the idea of moving the company’s headquarters from Las Vegas to Macau.
