You’re right, there have been a number of high-profile casino bankruptcies, including Revel, Trump Entertainment Resorts, and the cataclysm that is Caesars Entertainment. And other prominent gambling companies like Boyd Gaming, Penn National Gaming and – despite its lucrative pipeline of Chinese revenue – MGM Resorts International, have suffered losses.
However, Wynn Resorts did well last year, posting a $731.55 million profit. It’s no wonder that Steve Wynn’s company trades at an industry-high $105/share on the New York Stock Exchange. That was nothing, however, to the $2.8 billion banked by Las Vegas Sands. Isle of Capri Casinos, thought to be vulnerable to a takeover, swung from a series of losses to a $5 million profit. Pinnacle Entertainment, which is being aggressively courted by newcomer Gaming & Leisure Properties, finished last year with a $38.3 million profit.
Station Casinos pivoted dramatically from an $104 million loss in 2013 to an $83 million profit last year. "Consumer spending during the fourth quarter was very encouraging and led to the largest quarterly year-over-year same-store Las Vegas net revenue growth we have experienced in the past eleven quarters," said Chief Financial Officer Marc Falcone. Carl Icahn’s Tropicana Entertainment regularly posts a profit and Stratosphere-owning American Casino & Entertainment properties reported a slim profit last year, in another turnaround scenario. So there are plenty of profitable casino companies … just not always the marquee-name ones.
