The credit crunch doesn’t appear to have hit the Las Vegas scene too hard. At least not yet. The New Year saw strong crowds drawn to Las Vegas for the holiday celebrations, although spending was down on previous years.
Denis Forst, of KeyBanc Capital Markets, wrote to his clients “At the high end properties, there was a strong international flavour and that would indicate that luck dictated the performance of the holiday at those casinos. This is likely better than had been envisioned and may be a catalyst to get investors’ attention in the new year.”
Spending overall has reduced due to the housing slowdown, reduced credit, increased food costs, and unemployment concerns. Some casino operators have struggled because of this, as consumers have reduced their leisure spending to match their smaller disposable incomes.
Forst noted that while key figures for November gaming have not been released, it is expected that the decline will be much less than the figures for October. He predicted a single digit drop in gaming ‘win growth’ for November.
It is expected that the favourable New Year’s holiday results will be good news for Las Vegas-related stocks such as the Las Vegas Sands Crop, MGM Mirage, and Wynn Resorts Ltd.
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