What’s the most profitable hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip?
According to the Motley Fool, which has tracked Las Vegas casino profitability for the past several years, and excluding Caesars Entertainment properties (CZR doesn’t disclose numbers by individual casinos), four Las Vegas hotel-casinos generate more than $1 billion annually in revenues: Bellagio ($1.36 billion over a 12-month period between 2016 and 2017), MGM Grand ($1.13 billion), Venetian/Palazzo ($1.61 billion), and Wynn ($1.69 billion).
That’s revenues. Motley notes, “In gaming, when measuring cash flow, we look at EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. This is a measure of cash flow from a resort, which is what really matters after you spend billions on construction.”
In terms of EBITDA, the list is a little different, with Wynn again at the top ($532.9 million), then Bellagio ($515.4 million), Venetian/Palazzo ($388.0 million), and MGM Grand ($323.1 million).
Of course, the Wynn company is developing Paradise Park on the old Desert Inn golf course, which will earn a lot more loot for them. It also recently announced Wynn West, another megaresort across the Strip on the vacant Frontier property.
We wrote the first draft of this answer before the Wall Street Journal story alleging sexual misconduct on the part of Wynn was published, and the subsequent serious fallout. In that draft, we said, "Though he just turned 76 at the end of January and he’ll be nearly 80 when the Wynn West opens, the master developer doesn’t appear to be slowing down in the slightest. And he still has the Midas touch."
Since then, though we've been asked for our thoughts on the future of Wynn Resorts without Steve Wynn at the helm, we're reluctant to speculate. We will say that Paradise Park and Wynn West, when/if completed, will almost certainly raise the Las Vegas bar, yet again, for new developments on the Strip.
