LV Strip casinos post ‘same-store’ decline

Friday, Aug. 13, 1999 | 11:33 a.m.

While total Las Vegas Strip gaming win jumped 15.6 percent in June, it was attributable to three new mega-resorts and a higher-than-normal table-game hold percentage, a Wall Street analyst said.

Brian Egger of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette said if results from Bellagio, Mandalay Bay and the Venetian were subtracted from the $322.4 million won at all Strip properties during the month, casino win actually fell 11.8 percent from June 1998.

"Year-over-year (Strip) revenue declines among properties not operated by the industry's larger publicly owned companies probably exacerbated the adverse effect of construction disruptions at the Stardust and Treasure Island casinos, lower table drop at the Las Vegas Hilton and Tropicana and a generally soft showing by the Mirage," Egger said in an analysis of the results.

"We are aware of no weather or calendar anomalies that should have contributed to the year-over-year same-store decline in gaming win," he said.

Egger estimated that Mirage Resorts Inc. posted lower gaming win and room revenue at its Mirage, Treasure Island and Golden Nugget properties. Only MGM Grand and Harrah's Entertainment's Rio and Harrah's Las Vegas resorts recorded double-digit revenue gains for the quarter ended June 30, he said.

While June's drop in same-store revenue at older Las Vegas resorts was the largest so far this year, Egger said, trends in July "may reflect a return to more stable same-store revenue results."

Gaming regulators reported Thursday that statewide gaming win rose 11 percent in June, though downtown Las Vegas numbers were off 8.1 percent. Casinos in North Las Vegas, Laughlin and along the Boulder Strip posted double-digit win increases.