Economy is slow but Nevada casinos are raking it in

[KingRevolver]

The Nevada Gaming Control Board reported on Monday that Nevada casinos collected $984 million from gamblers in May, compared to $847.1 million in May 2010. This statewide total single month revenue figure was the largest since September 2008. The month to month increase was the largest since December 2006.

Good article by Glisan.

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[DJDalamar]

Re: Economy is slow but Nevada casinos are raking it in

I thought it was busier everyone keep telling me Vegas is so slow and I'm just not seeing it.

 

[KingRevolver]

Re: Economy is slow but Nevada casinos are raking it in

I thought it was busier everyone keep telling me Vegas is so slow and I'm just not seeing it.

Las Vegas Strip casinos made $580 million in May, and $450 million a year ago.

 

[Heim]

Re: Economy is slow but Nevada casinos are raking it in

Las Vegas Strip casinos made $580 million in May, and $450 million a year ago.

Hotels are making the majority of their cash on rooms, restaurants and amenitie fees. Gaming revenues are about 30% of their total take. You can walk into any casino Sun-Thur and the floors are empty.

Profits are up yeah but not because of increased revenue. Just about every property has filed Chapter11 and reorganized their debt. If you have half the debt load you're going to be in the black. It's the casino's version of walking away from an upside down venture then getting back in at a reduced rate.

 

[Doughy]

Re: Economy is slow but Nevada casinos are raking it in

Hotels are making the majority of their cash on rooms, restaurants and amenitie fees. Gaming revenues are about 30% of their total take. You can walk into any casino Sun-Thur and the floors are empty.

Profits are up yeah but not because of increased revenue. Just about every property has filed Chapter11 and reorganized their debt. If you have half the debt load you're going to be in the black. It's the casino's version of walking away from an upside down venture then getting back in at a reduced rate.

Agreed. Lets not forget the lavish pools. Those casino pools at the MGM, Cosmopolitan, Hard Rock, etc. are raking in serious cash just like the clubs.

Now here is where I go Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal and propose putting strip clubs inside the casinos a la Lefty and sportsbooks. Talk about a potential revenue boost. Unfortunately, I'm sure there are laws prohibiting it.

 

[DJDalamar]

Re: Economy is slow but Nevada casinos are raking it in

They gone as far as they can I assume with the nudie shows and even Excalibur has a "party pit" now where you can play BJ at high limits and lousy rules while watching bored girls dance to bad music.

 

[vinividivinci]

Re: Economy is slow but Nevada casinos are raking it in

According to the article, this is "gambling" revenue only. Would not include rooms, drinks by the pool or club revenue.


VVV

 

[Heim]

Re: Economy is slow but Nevada casinos are raking it in

According to the article, this is "gambling" revenue only. Would not include rooms, drinks by the pool or club revenue.


VVV

Correct and my point was numbers can be misleading since gaming revenues are only a small part of their volume now.....

Most (casinos) would be on the corner of Wynn and LV Blvd with a tin cup if it wasn't for their ability to restructure their debt. Sorry if I did not make that clear.

 

[Jeff Jones]

Re: Economy is slow but Nevada casinos are raking it in

Speaking of the club scene (obviously, I keep a close watch on that), I noticed on the news that Eva Longoria's relatively new club, Beso, at City Center, is shutting down. City Center just can't catch a break, after the news this week that the unfinished, "The Harmon" skyscraper structure may at any moment fall down on their heads.

With the failure of her new nightclub serving as an example of the struggling City Center, Eva Longoria might want to rebrand herself as "Eva Destruction."

 

[Heim]

Re: Economy is slow but Nevada casinos are raking it in

6 cases of Legionnaires' disease among guests who recently stayed at Aria can't be good either.

I bet the Aria ends up on Hotels.com last minute deals page.

 

[Squarepants]

Re: Economy is slow but Nevada casinos are raking it in

. . . . With the failure of her new nightclub serving as an example of the struggling City Center, Eva Longoria might want to rebrand herself as "Eva Destruction."

That's funny, JJ, LOL.

The RJ was saying the club was shutting down "temporarily," but you know how that goes. The Beso restaurant downstairs still is open according to the article. Ate there a while back and it was pretty good. Really liked Eva's guacamole (nudge, nudge).

Tough for all those properties and businesses that opened right in the teeth of the biggest economic contraction since the Great Depression. Will take more than the current tepid recovery for many of them to make it to when happy days are here again.

 

[Jeff Jones]

Re: Economy is slow but Nevada casinos are raking it in

City Center has to make it. The Hiroshima that is the North Strip can't be duplicated south of Flamingo. Bad, bad romance for Las Vegas. Obama could give them one of those "too big to fail" bailouts maybe.

That being said, Aria has sent me some great offers. I only take the rooms because it provides me ample opportunity to practice my Spanish with the housekeeping mexicanas. They're great.

But when night falls, I return to my small apartment. I have lots better TV.

 

[Heim]

Re: Economy is slow but Nevada casinos are raking it in

Just read that Cosmo lost 56 mil first quarter......25.5 mil was expensed out for comps, nonetheless, a new hotel losing over 30 mil out of pocket first four months!?

Funny thing is that the CEO believes they have found their niche in the luxury hotel market. lol

 

[O'Royken]

Re: Economy is slow but Nevada casinos are raking it in

Laying off 25% of your staff has its rewards.

"PRODUCTIVITY"

They got rid of their shit employees and their best employees got even better.

 

[wantitall4moi]

Re: Economy is slow but Nevada casinos are raking it in

In economies that are not horrendous gambling is a big draw as people have a little income to work with and figure they can double it up. The past few years showed just how bad it really was, because people didnt even have enough money to dare and gamble with. Vegas also was giving away shit for free so some peopel took advantage of the deals and figured they could splurge a little since all the 'experts' started saying the economy was turning around. So vegas got a little injection from a couple groups of people i would say. Once the peopel realize the economy is actually worse than it was and once they stop start seeing the inflation catching up with the mainstream products I suspect Vegas will hit the skids again.

 

[Doug]

Re: Economy is slow but Nevada casinos are raking it in

I agree with wantitall :

Now people seem to be saying F-it and run up the credit cards and take a vacation before I lose my job and house. They figure bankruptcy is coming up sooner or later.

People are getting laid-off all the time here in CT. The state is cutting back big-time, just axed a ton of DMV workers ( who cares about them ! ). Lots of stuff like town hall, library hours getting reduced. Schools laying off teachers, even cops and firemen are reduced.

Everything is for sale and no buyers even look at property, can't get a mortgage.

I don't see Vegas ever being healthy again. There are so many options in other states and countries for casinos. When this mess turns into a 1930's style Depression....Vegas will be hurt the most.

 

[Squarepants]

Re: Economy is slow but Nevada casinos are raking it in

Likely a bit premature to write Vegas' obituary here at 106 years of age.

Back in the 30's -- and even prior to World War II -- the economy and the markets improved, not quickly but improved, up until the point that policy makers went on an austerity and fiscal responsibility kick in the second half of the decade. Sound familiar? As Twain said, history may not repeat itself, but it rhymes.

Who knows what will happen this time and on what timetable. The Fed at least avoided the Second Great Depression -- up to this point -- and the financial bubble that burst this time was much, much bigger than the one in the '20's. I was preparing for the worst, given the amount of highly leveraged bets that were being made on unsustainable premises back leading into 2007. From this point, we're at least as likely to repeat the Japanese experience of prolonged economic stagnation as we are to go careening on one big final white-knuckle decline into the abyss.

Neither the abyss nor a Japanese-style stagnation would be great for Las Vegas.

But I'd wager that the town will survive, and eventually flourish again.

Many places in the United States have gambling, but, to paraphrase Dorothy, there's no place like Vegas.

When happy days are here again, people will be celebrating them in Las Vegas.

I'd put money on it.

 

[Bagiant]

Re: Economy is slow but Nevada casinos are raking it in

When I was there in May the place was jammed. However, it was a "perfect storm" weekend. Saturday was the Kentucky Derby and fight night, and Sunday was Mothers Day. At my casino, they also had the San Gennaro Festival starting on Friday.

 

[Doughy]

Re: Economy is slow but Nevada casinos are raking it in

Here is my prognosis for Las Vegas:

The housing market for areas in a 10-12 mile radius from the Strip will plateau and then be stagnant for maybe a year or so before showing minor improvement. While there are a lot of things that work against Vegas as opposed to Main Street, USA (e.g. there is no industry, no financial district, and an abundance of land for future growth which drives down land values), it has the biggest thing going in its favor: massive bucks already spent on infrastructure.

Those hotels and casinos are not disappearing. Price per square foot on the Strip is still exorbitant. There is so much money pumped into the town that the companies that already spent the funds will protect their investments at all costs. It happens to be the only city where all types of gambling are legal in the U.S., it has great weather, and it's got the name brand. "Vegas". It inspires dreams and provides an allure that no other city in the U.S. does, too.

You can even find some Vegas neighborhoods on Zillow where the bottomed-out prices have already experienced a slight uptick of late. The home prices won't drop much further, if at all. Unless, of course, you're talking about remote areas 20 miles from the Strip that border the desert. Those will be the last homes to see prices level out and then improve.

 

[wantitall4moi]

Re: Economy is slow but Nevada casinos are raking it in

Here is my prognosis for Las Vegas:

The housing market for areas in a 10-12 mile radius from the Strip will plateau and then be stagnant for maybe a year or so before showing minor improvement. While there are a lot of things that work against Vegas as opposed to Main Street, USA (e.g. there is no industry, no financial district, and an abundance of land for future growth which drives down land values), it has the biggest thing going in its favor: massive bucks already spent on infrastructure.

Those hotels and casinos are not disappearing. Price per square foot on the Strip is still exorbitant. There is so much money pumped into the town that the companies that already spent the funds will protect their investments at all costs. It happens to be the only city where all types of gambling are legal in the U.S., it has great weather, and it's got the name brand. "Vegas". It inspires dreams and provides an allure that no other city in the U.S. does, too.

You can even find some Vegas neighborhoods on Zillow where the bottomed-out prices have already experienced a slight uptick of late. The home prices won't drop much further, if at all. Unless, of course, you're talking about remote areas 20 miles from the Strip that border the desert. Those will be the last homes to see prices level out and then improve.

The prices may not go down but they wont sell either. Same as here in California. Prices have stabilized but there are thousands of houses on the market just in the LA/OC/ventura county areas. So just because prices havent dropped doesnt mean too much. A lot of houses in Vegas are also now getting the lease to own treatment, so thatwill also help hide some of the truth about the housing there. Lease to own happens in Ca too but it is a lot more of a scam, and people arent as willing to go past the look and see phase. But in Vegas the lease to own properties are readily available to see and realtors actually have lists, not just scammers like here in So cal.

Another thing that people forget about is the water situation. very dire. I used to have a place in Vegas up off Apache but I sold it in 06. And since I left just 5 years ago the water level at the lake has dropped about a 30 or 40 feet, and what used to be a place where they rented boats is now about 100-200 feet from the edge of the water. So it goes beyond gambling when youre talking about sheer survivability. Once water really becomes an issue and they have to pay to have more rivers diverted through that area, rather than piggy backing of California's flow they will see an even larger drain on funds.

Its a city built in the middle of the frigging desert so what do you expect? Just because it has some make up and some plastic surgery doesnt change that little fact.

 

[Doughy]

Re: Economy is slow but Nevada casinos are raking it in

I think Vegas is a good buyer's market if you are willing to hold onto the home 3+ years. My God, have you seen what the upper 100's will buy you in Vegas these days? Four bedroom, 2.5 bathroom two story homes about 10 years old on a golf course with 6,000 sq. ft. lots. Homes that sold for $350k+ three years ago. Obviously those prices were inflated a few years ago which led to this unenviable situation, but I have a hard time believing some of these homes aren't good deals.

This water issue is not something I was aware of, 4moi.

 

[Squarepants]

Re: Economy is slow but Nevada casinos are raking it in

There's an adage that runs something like the market doesn't discount the same news twice.

Las Vegas has been in a desert -- where water is in short supply -- for quite some time now.

Markets don't go up -- despite what realtors say -- or down forever.

Properties are selling in Las Vegas -- there's just an incredible overhang of bank-owned properties.

In March 2009, the perception was that world was coming to an end and no one was ever going to buy stocks again. Making trading decisions premised upon that perception being correct would not have made money.

The only constant, again, is change.

Five to seven years from now, you'll be seeing all these 20/20 hindsight articles about investors with cash picking up Vegas properties at generational low prices.

Vegas ain't done yet.

 

[wantitall4moi]

Re: Economy is slow but Nevada casinos are raking it in

I think Vegas is a good buyer's market if you are willing to hold onto the home 3+ years. My God, have you seen what the upper 100's will buy you in Vegas these days? Four bedroom, 2.5 bathroom two story homes about 10 years old on a golf course with 6,000 sq. ft. lots. Homes that sold for $350k+ three years ago. Obviously those prices were inflated a few years ago which led to this unenviable situation, but I have a hard time believing some of these homes aren't good deals.

This water issue is not something I was aware of, 4moi.

Just depends on what you define as "worth". If you have alot ogf money and dont mind gambling then yeah maybe. But the age of housing and land being a no brainer investment are over. the facade to that fairy tale was shattered and shattered but good. All aspects of the corruption have been exposed, from the prices, to the bankers, to the lenders, to the agents. basically every aspect of the system was corrupt. Just like every other facet where there is too much money for a single entity to keep track of. The last facade to fall is the medical insurance one. but they are trying to keep it camouflaged as long as possible. But it all comes down to the drug companies who make the new drugs. they are the tip of that ice burg and their trickle down effects everything, but they might be the one triad that can withstand it. Wall Street couldnt, car makers couldnt, banks couldnt, they are the last hold out. Once that shoe falls then maybe the country will fall so deep into a hole they will have to actually do something meaningful to fix the problems rather than the make belive stuff they continue to do.

 

[Doug]

Re: Economy is slow but Nevada casinos are raking it in

Vegas is a nice place to retire to for sure.

 

[Jeff Jones]

Re: Economy is slow but Nevada casinos are raking it in

Now, we're defining "worth" to the Las Vegas real estate market. Can I just have my head blown off right now?

Anonymous poster/gamblers who don't live in Las Vegas, have no intention of ever living in Las Vegas, couldn't buy a house in Las Vegas if it were free, giving real estate advice with their observations on the Las Vegas real estate market..

The message board beat goes on.

 

[Doughy]

Re: Economy is slow but Nevada casinos are raking it in

I can't speak for others here, but I'm much more qualified to discuss real estate matters than gambling matters.

 

[wantitall4moi]

Re: Economy is slow but Nevada casinos are raking it in

Now, we're defining "worth" to the Las Vegas real estate market. Can I just have my head blown off right now?

Anonymous poster/gamblers who don't live in Las Vegas, have no intention of ever living in Las Vegas, couldn't buy a house in Las Vegas if it were free, giving real estate advice with their observations on the Las Vegas real estate market..

The message board beat goes on.

I bought and sold a house there so I think I have an idea as well. And considering what I paid for it, what I sold it for, and what its market value is today I am frigging Nostradamus. But obviously that was circumstances of me wanting to get rid of it and not keep it anymore rather than looking to get out while the getting was good. But regardless, I could, I suppose make it look like I knew exactly what I was doing and that proves how smart I am. But I dont feel the need like some people to impress guys on a forum. I just state what happens good or bad.