Tony Rodio says Caesars was having a record year until closure

tony-rodio-says-caesars-was-having-a-record-year-until-closure

It could have been a record year for Caesars Entertainment. In January and February 2020, revenues were better than they had ever been before. But as CEO Tony Rodio revealed in a April 6 Youtube company update, COVID-19 brought all of that to a sudden halt.

tony-rodio-says-caesars-was-having-a-record-year-until-closureIn the video, which Rodio produced from his home in Las Vegas, Rodio noted that “February seems like ancient history, but I did want to take a moment to let everybody know that the company was off to the best start, and maybe through its history, through the first two months of 2020.”

In his address, where he acknowledges U.S. President Donald Trump’s extension of quarantine recommendations to April 30, Rodio commends Caesars staff, and the efforts of frontliners to combat COVID-19. But more than anything, he wanted to make clear that when things return to normal, he’s confident the company will be able to “hit the ground running.”

But how fast they will be running is a different matter. “I think it will be a slow ramp, but I’m confident that our company will do as well as anybody in the industry,” he said.

That caveat is important, because whenever casinos are allowed to re-open, they likely won’t be able to open at full capacity. In Macau, when casinos were allowed to re-open after a mandatory 15-day closure period, they had to maintain strict social distancing policies. But speaking to staff, Rodio emphasized: Please know that we are prepared to do whatever it takes to reopen when appropriate in a way that prioritizes not only your health, but the health of our guests.”

Those staff are going to have to stay safe and healthy for a while. Caesars announced last week that up to 90% of its domestic U.S. staff would be furloughed, only receiving pay up until April 3. While exact numbers weren’t given, that could be up to 50,000 employees.

All the same, while Caesars hasn’t released numbers for the first quarter of this year, Rodio’s claims lend credence that the operator might be in a good position to capitalize when things do start returning to normal. Rodio noted he was hopeful the company would “get through this quickly and emerge stronger than before.”