A quick-and-dirty answer would be that most are treading water. Monthly revenue reports from around the country show a stagnant casino economy, characterized by small upward or (usually) downward ticks. Nowadays, a 2% upturn in Nevada gambling revenues is considered great news. Casino-stock analyst Andrew Zarnett recently put forward the thesis that casino expansion in the U.S. is basically maxed out. State-by-state numbers tend to support his contention.
Since very few casinos – if any – outside Atlantic City post their operating profit/loss numbers, it’s difficult to say how many individual properties nationwide might fall into the "struggling category." In some cases, they may be doing very well – Bellagio, for instance – but belong to companies that are dragging large amounts of long-term debt behind them. MGM Resorts International is carrying $13.5 billion while Caesars Entertainment is lumbered with $20 billion and continues to borrow.
As far as the income-vs.-expense question you pose, we come down on the side of expenses. In the third quartet of this year, the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City (formerly Trump Marina) post an operating profit that was up 13%, to $2.4 billion. Compared to Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa ($34.4 million) that may seem like chicken feed. However, Borgata is an expensive, newer property, while Trump Marina was a failing casino that Tilman Fertitta picked up on the cheap ($38 million, plus $150 million in renovations). So, from the perspective of money invested, the Nugget’s not doing as badly as one might think at a glance.
In Las Vegas, the Cosmopolitan booked revenues of $126.6 million during the same time period. Good, right? Wrong. The Cosmo cost an astronomical $3.9 billion – just imagine the interest payments! – takes many a pretty penny to operate. That $126 million-plus influx, once filtered through the balance sheet, turned into a $58.5 million loss.
So, how well one’s casino is performing is always relative to one’s operating and construction costs. Of course, every so often you get a casino that costs a bundle and does poorly. Revel, Atlantic City’s new, $2.4 billion megaresort seems almost certain to go bankrupt not only due to its price tag: Customers are avoiding it like the plague. Its best month, July, saw it gross only $17.5 million. Nine-year-old Borgata routinely grosses three times that amount.
