Crosstown traffic: Las Vegas demand and visitation numbers look set to continue rising this Summer, with Deutsche Bank this week saying visitor traffic numbers on the Strip for June were improving. Despite being down 27% vs. Jun19, that was an improvement on the 38% drop in April and 32% drop in May compared with the same months in 2019. The locals market however was softer than in recent months, June traffic was down around 49% vs. Jun19. Truist Securities said same-store regional-gaming revenues, excluding the Strip, were tracking 11% higher in May 2021 compared to May 2019 (13% when including Strip revenues). Truist said
“these figures and Nevada’s recent release lead us to believe the older core customer has returned, with a portion of the younger unrated player sticking around as other entertainment options return.”
Pump up the volume: If player spend patterns are maintained, Deutsche expects the Strip to record GGR growth of c.34.2% in June vs. Jun19, with visitor volumes running much higher than anticipated. The Strip’s propensity to attract higher spending players will mean more volatility when comparing visitor numbers and gaming spend, although “the two-year improvement in daily traffic trends in June likely helps slot and domestic table trends,” Deutsche Bank said. Visitation numbers are lower than two years ago, but if spending patterns are maintained DB expects GGR at Las Vegas locals to be up 15.9%. For other states, DB modelled GGR growth of 7.9% and drops of -4.3% for Louisiana, -3.6% for Missouri and -3.9% for Indiana.
By the book: Meanwhile a JP Morgan report revealed that Strip booking rates for the last week of July are 12% higher than Jul19, which translate as 52% higher weekend rates vs. 2019 and midweek rates lower by 13%. MGM’s weekend rates were up 56%, Caesars’ rates were up 26%, Wynn Resorts’ weekend rates were up 100% and Las Vegas Sands’ weekend rates were up 107%, the report stated.
Today’s additional articles on Earnings + More:
