Nevada biggest casinos reported an overall net loss in their most recent fiscal year, and Caesars Entertainment’s bankruptcy restructuring got most of the blame.
On Wednesday, the Nevada Gaming Control Board (GCB) released its Nevada Gaming Abstract 2018, which covers the fiscal year ending June 30, 2018. The report tracks the performance of the 289 state gaming licensees that grossed $1m or more in gaming revenue during the reporting period.
The report shows these 289 venues generated gross revenue of $27.1b in the most recent fiscal year, around $900m (3.4%) higher than the 12 months ending June 30, 2017. That’s a slightly slower growth rate than the 3.7% reported the previous year but marks the eighth straight year that revenue has posted a year-on-year rise.
However, those 289 casinos reported a net loss of $1.17b in the most recent report, a big swing from the $1.56b profit in fiscal 2017 and snapping the state’s two-year streak of annual profit increases. Total general and administrative expenses shot up by more than $3b in fiscal 2018, most of which occurred in the ‘other’ category.
Caesars’ protracted restructuring of its bankrupt main unit didn’t conclude until late 2017. The Associated Press quoted senior GCB analyst Michael Lawton charitably saying only that “a large company … experienced a very large amount of reorganization expenses due to their exit from bankruptcy.” Since these were one-time charges, Lawton expressed hope that the 2019 abstract will swing back to black.
Gaming accounted for just under $11.6b of 2018’s revenue, up nearly $500m year-on-year. More than three-quarters (76.2%) of this gaming revenue came from just 61 casinos.
Gaming accounted for 42.8% of 2018’s overall revenue pie, up slightly from fiscal 2017’s 42.4%. Las Vegas Strip casinos drew 34.3% of their revenue from gaming, up slightly from 2017’s 34%.
2018’s gaming table revenue was largely flat at $3.36b, slots rose 5.4% to $7.73b, poker gained 5% to $153.3m, race betting fell nearly $5m to just under $49.7m while the sportsbooks were the clear star performer, jumping over one-fifth to $253.3m.
Room revenue rose 1.2% to $6.24b, food improved 3.5% to $4b, beverage spiked 7.7% to $1.94b and ‘other’ was up 3% to $3.3b.
