GUEST
Howard Stutz, Gaming Reporter, Las Vegas Review-Journal
Several Strip companies have reported less profit than expected and one casino owner is blaming the neighborsfor hurting the industry's profitability by cutting room rates. Reporter Howard Stutz explained why:
"The Sands did their earnings a week ago, they reported like a 120 percent increase in profit, primarily because of their holdings in Macau and Singapore. Those are becoming the biggest markets – huge profits out of there. Not surprising. But then he talked about Las Vegas a little bit and there was a question, because they actually had decent results from the Venetian and the Palazzo during the quarter, and an analyst asked him about that – was it an aberration or is this a sign of good things to come?
Adelson took off on MGM and Caesar’s, basically saying that because they’re both saddled with big debt. Caesar’s has about $23 billion in debt, MGM has about $14 billion in debt – and they each have about 10 Strip resorts – that they’re undercutting the price of rooms, and that means people will go to those properties for rooms rather than pay a premium to stay at the Venetian or the Palazzo, or, as Adelson said, the hotels run by his good friend Steve Wynn. It was kind of weird that he went off on them like that, but it’s Sheldon Adelson -- 120 percent increase in profits is just not enough I guess."