Broken down by market, Downtown was off 21.5% ($35.5 million), North Las Vegas ($20 million) nudged up 2% and the Boulder Strip swelled 29% to $71 million (promising news for still-shuttered Eastside Cannery), while miscellaneous Clark County enjoyed a 1.5% blip up to $104.5 million. Laughlin slipped 9.5% to $35 million while Mesquite was up 9.5% to $10.5 million. Thank god for gaming-starved Mormons. They didn’t spread the love to Wendover this month, however, down 8% to $17 million. Reno had a bad month, slipping 15% to $55 million, while Lake Tahoe‘s $22 million was only a 7.5% concession. Regarding Downtown’s poor showing, Derek Stevens is pushing back with an ad buy for Circa that will air during MLB‘s Wild Card playoff games:
“There is pent-up demand for Las Vegas experiences and this commercial hints at the ‘wow’ moments we plan to introduce,” Stevens said. If you emphasize “experiences,” he’s right on the money. An S&G pen pal recently canceled a three-day/$150 stay at a major Strip hotel because there’s almost nothing on offer currently but gambling—and most Americans can do that close to home. (Can the experiential focus of Circa elevate other Downtown resorts? They sure must be hoping it does but it’s going to be a heavy lift.) Yup, Vegas definitely needs to offer some experiences, as the weak August gambling numbers indirectly affirm. Remember that, in April, Jeff Hwang predicted in The Motley Fool a 12-18 month window for a Strip recovery. Based on three months’ revenue, his prediction appears to remain on target. You can revisit his elaborated prognostication and decide for yourself.
Finally, to end on a positive note, Beau Rivage‘s poker room will reopen tomorrow—with precautions. Play will be spread across nine tables, six players apiece. Masks yes, smoking no, table side food no. But it’s a start.
