Vegas scraping bottom; Caesars fined big-time

Rising numbers of Covid-19 cases “pressured visitation” to Las Vegas last month and a total absence of conventions didn’t help either, according to JP Morgan analyst Joseph Greff. Tourism was down 57%, which drove a devastating 70% decline in revenue per available room ($39/room). Sin City drew 1.5 million visitors, per the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority, with occupancy running at a dire 39%, down 51%. Average daily rates fell 31% to $100/night. Even a 5% reduction in room inventory didn’t help. Occupancy midweek was 32.5% and 55.5% on weekends, numbers that are diluted by the greater amount of rooms that is in play on weekends. Judging by MGM Resorts International‘s total closure of The Mirage, December promises to be even worse, with casinos restricted to 25% of capacity. While auto traffic on all major highways was ever so slightly higher than last year, all-important drive-in traffic from California was down 5%. With Covid-19 vaccines limping onto the market (see “Quote of the Day”), no sign in the curbing of the disease, a mutant Coronavirus strain detected in Colorado and the severe unlikelihood of economic recovery in 1Q21, it’s no wonder that some Vegas pundits are predicting massive retrenchment in the coming year.