Of the almost 60 casinos owned or operated by Caesars Entertainment, only one has remained closed since COVID-19 came into the U.S. and began wreaking havoc. The Rio All-Suite Hotel And Casino wasn’t able to return to the Las Vegas gambling scene like everyone else, but could soon join the party. Caesars announced yesterday during its quarterly earnings call that the off-Strip property will be back in business before the end of the year.
Caesars shared its latest financial health details with the world yesterday, projecting significant EBITDAR (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and rent) growth for the third quarter compared to what was seen in the previous quarter. Fiscal Q2 saw the company reporting EBITDAR of $10 million, while fiscal Q3, once the final numbers are crunched for October, is expected to produce EBITDAR of $50 million. As a result, the company is ready to push forward and get its entire portfolio of casinos back in operation, with Rio’s opening closing out that list.
Several casino operators have recently cut back their operating hours in Las Vegas because of COVID-19’s continued threat. Both MGM Resorts International and Wynn Resorts announced recently that they would shut down a few days each week because of slower traffic, but Caesars is apparently not seeing the same declines. CEO Tom Reeg said yesterday that the company has no plans to retreat and added, “Business continues to get stronger (in Las Vegas). We’re not going to be talking about closing properties midweek. We’re opening properties.”
Caesars said in its update that its hotel occupancy levels are hovering around 50% during the week and around 90% on the weekends. These figures are based on reduced capacity limits ordered by the state and Governor Steve Sisolak, but Reeg believes that changes will be made soon that will allow capacities to be increased, and that these changes could come by the beginning of next year. Those updates can’t come soon enough for any business in Las Vegas or elsewhere in the state.
Caesars reported net revenue of $1.4 billion for Q3, which represents a 52% increase on a GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) basis. However, after all expenses and deductions were removed, the end result was a net loss of $926 million. By way of comparison, Caesars saw net income of $37 million in the same period last year. Reeg added, “55 out of our 56 properties have now reopened and operating results continue to improve sequentially. Regional markets continued to outperform destination markets and we remain optimistic regarding an eventual recovery of travel and tourism in the U.S. and especially in Las Vegas.”
