Cosmopolitan has reported their first ever profit, earning just over $15 million in the second quarter of 2015.
It looks like the strong results were fueled by two things: increased casino revenue and cost cutting in other areas.
Revenues:
Casino +20.94%
Hotel -0.63%
F&B -10.12%
Entertainment, retail and other -22.65%
Expenses:
Casino +23.73%
Hotel -2.46%
F&B -20.20%
Entertainment, retail and other -39.19%
Sales and Marketing -34.19%
Blackstone is the new owner of Cosmopolitan and it appears they are shifting the focus away from food, beverage, entertainment and retail and putting more of an emphasis on the casino, something the previous owners didn't do.
Another interesting thing in the quarterly report: the company is spending money to complete unfinished rooms. I had no idea that rooms were still unfinished, so that was kind of surprising. Given Cosmopolitan's ultra high room rates I would have thought the previous owners would have wanted to finish the rooms as quickly as possible.
Saturday, August 08, 2015
Friday, August 07, 2015
MGM Arena Construction Taking Shape
I was looking at Las Vegas maps the other day and came across the new MGM-AEG Arena construction and The Park development. You can see where arena is located behind New York New York. The space between NYNY and Monte Carlo will be a pedestrian walkway back to the arena. There is also curve in the road where you can tell where the new Monte Carlo theater will be located.
Image: Google Maps.
The official MGM arena website also has some construction webcams up. The exterior camera and time-lapse video shows the progress of the arena so far. You can see how much work has been done in the 15 or so months that construction has been going on.
The interior camera gives a glimpse inside the arena. It looks like they might already be installing a hockey rink, which supports rumors of a hockey team moving or expanding to Vegas. You can see how much natural light is used, which I believe is pretty unique. The interior also has a time-lapse video.
Also, Vital Vegas posted this picture on Twitter of the interior of the arena from a different angle. It looks like the upper deck sections will have their entrances at the top of the section, instead of having tunnels at the bottom of each section.
Photo: John Kompare via Vital Vegas on Twitter.
Image: Google Maps.
The official MGM arena website also has some construction webcams up. The exterior camera and time-lapse video shows the progress of the arena so far. You can see how much work has been done in the 15 or so months that construction has been going on.
The interior camera gives a glimpse inside the arena. It looks like they might already be installing a hockey rink, which supports rumors of a hockey team moving or expanding to Vegas. You can see how much natural light is used, which I believe is pretty unique. The interior also has a time-lapse video.
Also, Vital Vegas posted this picture on Twitter of the interior of the arena from a different angle. It looks like the upper deck sections will have their entrances at the top of the section, instead of having tunnels at the bottom of each section.
Photo: John Kompare via Vital Vegas on Twitter.
Thursday, August 06, 2015
New Caesars CEO Mark Frissora
Caesars Entertainment reported second quarter earnings earlier this week. By all accounts it was a good quarter. The stock was up 9.7% the day after the earnings release, and another 10.6% the next day.
Revenue increased 17.4% year-over-year "mainly due to strong performance at Caesars Interactive Entertainment ("CIE"), the openings of Horseshoe Baltimore and The Cromwell, the renovation of The LINQ Hotel & Casino and continued growth in hospitality amenities in Las Vegas."
Those numbers don't include the bankrupt subsidiary CEOC - so it's hard to have a direct year over year comparison, but strong Las Vegas results seem to go along with recent trends reported by the other gaming companies.
The general fate of Caesars Entertainment seems to hinge on whether the parent company will be able to avoid bankruptcy by negotiating with creditors. Forbes had an article today breaking down those possibilities.
Mark Frissora is the new President and CEO of Caesars Entertainment. He spoke to investors for the first time on the second quarter earnings conference call. I was looking forward to hearing what Frissora had to say, but he pretty much stuck to the script and didn't provide much commentary outside of the official company statements.
Revenue increased 17.4% year-over-year "mainly due to strong performance at Caesars Interactive Entertainment ("CIE"), the openings of Horseshoe Baltimore and The Cromwell, the renovation of The LINQ Hotel & Casino and continued growth in hospitality amenities in Las Vegas."
Those numbers don't include the bankrupt subsidiary CEOC - so it's hard to have a direct year over year comparison, but strong Las Vegas results seem to go along with recent trends reported by the other gaming companies.
The general fate of Caesars Entertainment seems to hinge on whether the parent company will be able to avoid bankruptcy by negotiating with creditors. Forbes had an article today breaking down those possibilities.
Mark Frissora is the new President and CEO of Caesars Entertainment. He spoke to investors for the first time on the second quarter earnings conference call. I was looking forward to hearing what Frissora had to say, but he pretty much stuck to the script and didn't provide much commentary outside of the official company statements.
Wednesday, August 05, 2015
Mayweather vs Berto - September 12, 2015
Floyd Mayweather will be fighting Andre Berto at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on September 12, 2015. Mayweather posted the promo image on his instagram account to announce the fight.
Initial reactions to this boxing match aren't overwhelmingly positive. Many people feel this is a lopsided match-up. Others still have a sour taste in their mouth after what was perceived to be a boring Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight in May.
That being said this is huge news for Las Vegas. Mayweather fights are great for the economy as high rollers from around the world will fly in for the weekend. Although this fight won't be as big as the Pacquiao match-up it will still be a huge economic hit for Las Vegas.
Initial reactions to this boxing match aren't overwhelmingly positive. Many people feel this is a lopsided match-up. Others still have a sour taste in their mouth after what was perceived to be a boring Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight in May.
That being said this is huge news for Las Vegas. Mayweather fights are great for the economy as high rollers from around the world will fly in for the weekend. Although this fight won't be as big as the Pacquiao match-up it will still be a huge economic hit for Las Vegas.
Tuesday, August 04, 2015
MGM Weighs Real Estate Options
MGM Resorts International reported second quarter 2015 earnings results earlier today. The theme this earnings season has been stronger Las Vegas trends offset by a softer Macau. Revenue at MGM's wholly owned domestic resorts was 1.7 billion, an increase of 4% compared to the prior year quarter. Average daily room rate and revenue per available room both increased more than 6%. MGM China revenue decreased by 33%.
During the company's earnings conference all Jim Murren hinted at the possibility of a REIT conversion. He said the company has been weighing all options when it comes to real estate and a definitive decision would be announced by the end of the year.
As for the rumors that The Mirage was being sold - Murren said "The Mirage is not on the market." Some people are seeing this as a sign that The Mirage is definitely not being sold. Others think that Murren chose his words carefully, and the property isn't on the market because it has already been sold. With MGM looking at all real estate possibilities I wouldn't be surprised at either outcome.
Murren also talked about how The Harmon is almost completely dismantled now, and MGM is trying to decide what to do with that two acre property. The leading candidate seems to be an expansion of The Shops at Crystals. I wouldn't be a huge fan of that plan, but Crystals seems to be doing quite well so it probably makes sense financially.
During the company's earnings conference all Jim Murren hinted at the possibility of a REIT conversion. He said the company has been weighing all options when it comes to real estate and a definitive decision would be announced by the end of the year.
As for the rumors that The Mirage was being sold - Murren said "The Mirage is not on the market." Some people are seeing this as a sign that The Mirage is definitely not being sold. Others think that Murren chose his words carefully, and the property isn't on the market because it has already been sold. With MGM looking at all real estate possibilities I wouldn't be surprised at either outcome.
Murren also talked about how The Harmon is almost completely dismantled now, and MGM is trying to decide what to do with that two acre property. The leading candidate seems to be an expansion of The Shops at Crystals. I wouldn't be a huge fan of that plan, but Crystals seems to be doing quite well so it probably makes sense financially.
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