Caesars Reports Quarterly Loss of $271M Despite Strong Las Vegas Performance, Revenue Increase

Casino industry giant, Caesars Entertainment, has publicly declared that it suffered a net loss of $271 million during this year’s first quarter, as millionaire, Carl Icahn’s, rising stakes acquisition pushes the company towards sale, in spite of a very strong performance in Las Vegas.

A bit of good news for this behemoth is that its revenue rose 7.3% on annual level, to a total of $2.12 billion…

…which is achieved through positive business results in the home state of Nevada, as well as purchases of Hoosier Park Racing and Casino and Indiana Grand Racing.

No Place Like Home

The two aforementioned properties were bought last year, and they’ve both contributed to Caesar’s wider US performance which was, overall, its best-performing segment as it rose 9.1%, to $1.01 billion.

It wasn’t significantly marred even by the cost of the said $1.7 billion Centaur Holdings purchase. Also, Las Vegas operations gained 5.8% since last year – with key contributors identified in a good hold, improved slot volumes and higher hotel revenues – making a leap from $903 million to $955 million.

The US boost was crucial…

…because without it there would be a severe $42 million decrease which would be taken away from the company due to Atlantic City competition and longer periods of closures due to inclement weather across some regional venues.

All Eyes on California

Later this month, Caesar’s latest property, Harrah’s Northern California, is set to open its doors…

…which will almost immediately led to a big boost in all of these segments, including the “all other,” which incorporated international financial figures for the first quarter, and which has reached $150 million, which is a 4.9% leap from $143m from last year.

Comments Eric Hession, chief financial officer and executive vice president of Caesars:

“Caesars delivered another solid quarter of revenue and EBITDAR growth, as well as margin improvement. We realised strong contributions from the Las Vegas gaming and hotel businesses, and Centaur, in addition to further operating and corporate efficiencies.

These results were partially offset by the impact of competition in Atlantic City, and weather-related property closures. In addition, we generated strong cash flow from operations, which allowed us to pay off our $100 million revolver balance.”

Breaking New Ground For New Generation

The Group, which recently named their new CEO replacing Mark Frissora – Antony Rodio – has announced last week that it has stepped into a strategic partnership with University of Nevada, Las Vegas, for the purpose of devising a special project.

The two will be coming up with patents and ideas for a new set of solutions that could change the way we perceive casino gambling and sports betting. Most of their revolutionary solutions will be integrated into the Black Fire Innovation, the 43,000 square foot property with eSports arena and virtual reality that should open sometime this year.

Caesars’ EVP and Chief Information Officer, Las Ottolenghi, said of this endeavor:

“We intend to accelerate innovation in a way that is truly unprecedented within the gaming and hospitality space, bringing together top researchers and industry experts in a unique collaborative environment.”

Source:

“Strong Las Vegas gains masks $214m Caesars loss”, casinobeats.com, May 2, 2019.