Las Vegas‘ casino industry seems to be behaving counterintuitively, reopening casinos and hotels (Vdara is the latest) at a time when visitor demand is softening. JP Morgan analyst Joseph Greff reports today that, for the July 11-18 period, Clark County casino visitation levels were at 56% of where they were pre-Coronavirus and lower than they had been for the previous month (62%). Las Vegas Strip casino companies seem more than willing to trade hotel capacity for the appearance that things are Better Than Ever. Outside of Nevada, the regional sector also slipped, down by 4% over the same comparison periods. Wrote Greff, “Results, to us, reflect, the resurgence in COVID-19 cases, and while the data in NV doesn’t clearly illustrate this, we believe the LV Strip is underperforming the LV Locals segment.”
Greff continued, “We assess demand levels at casinos by analyzing both the number of visitors and the duration of their visits. We still are seeing median visit length at/above February levels in certain jurisdictions, which we believe is indicative of higher quality, more dedicated players.” Clark County was up 7% (Mississippi did even better, at 9%) while Louisiana players are cutting their visits short, 11% briefer than normal. Time on device in Missouri and Iowa is pretty much the same as before. Explained Greff, “We view this most recent batch of visitation data as a modest step backwards, though not entirely surprising given the continued increase in COVID-19 cases (which has resulted in certain casinos/card rooms re-closing) and a slower/decelerating recovery in credit card spend.”
Um yes, Los Angeles is seeing a surge, its very serious… But our COVID testing positivity rate ticked up to 10%, Nevada’s is at 20%, and its a very important indicator of community spread. If that rate is 5% or lower your area is doing relatively well. If California went up to the 20% number that Nevada is currently suffering through we would completely shut down everything but grocery stores, Governor Newsome is not hostage to tourism like Sisolak is in Nevada. A 20% rate is not sustainable, something is going to have to happen to get that lower…
Hi David, We have issues with Caesars, they want us to automatically apply for a position with William Hill to see if we get a job or if not severance for the years with Caesars Sports Book. I want no part of it, I want accrued vacation pay and severance for the 28 years I worked for Caesars, nobody up here at Lake Tahoe wants to work William Hill, a shady operation at best. We have to apply and I don’t want to work for a third party company and lose my seniority and vacation time with the company. The only way I can get severance is to apply and get rejected. This seems very unethical. I’ve sent two letters to Mario Heidke, the head of HR and no returned communication. Can you help? no one at the lake wants to work for that company, but we’re forced to apply, we’ve seen what goes one with that company since we’ve had three of those books at the lake. I asked for a series of questions answered in writing for a nevada employment lawyer, nothing returned. Thanks,