Riviera hit hard by slowdown, loss widens

Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2001 | 9:45 a.m.

Riviera Holdings Corp. today reported a 6 percent increase in its loss for the quarter ending Sept. 30, as a Las Vegas-wide slowdown took its toll on the company's flagship north Strip property.

Riviera reported a loss of $2.5 million, or 71 cents per share, compared to a loss of $2.36 million, or 61 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Cash flow, however, increased 5 percent to $7.4 million, and revenues rose 3 percent to $51 million.

The tourism slowdown that followed Sept. 11 severely hurt the Riviera. It reported cash flow of $3.75 million, a 37 percent decline over the year-ago period. From Sept. 11 to Sept. 30, slot revenue was down 15 percent, table game revenue was off 28 percent, room revenue fell 24 percent, food and beverage revenue declined 25 percent and show revenue was off 40 percent, the company said. Riviera said it is seeing recovery on the weekends, but "midweek occupancy rates vary significantly from day to day."

The Las Vegas hotel-casino's numbers were offset by a strong quarter from the company's casino in Black Hawk, Colo. It reported cash flow of $3.65 million, up 257 percent from the year-ago period.