How could they possibly lose that much money?

The losses for fiscal year 2009 were $6.8 billion .

How is it possible to lose more money than you're entire payroll? For instance the Boulder Strip has a payroll of $385,490,984 yet they lost $($823,397,865).

I'm looking for an accounting type of answer. This is something way beyond amortization depreciation or loan interest or normal operational expenses like bad debts or the electric bill. This is some kind of write down on the property.

On the itemization the expense shows up as a massive number in other General and Administrative costs. Normally this line item is 6% or 7% of expenses. Very frequently it is the largest line item on the expense list (either that or loan interest). Suddenly this year it is as much as 70% of overall expenses. In the case of the strip it is almost 4 billion dollars.

Statewide	-30.8%	($6,778)
Clark county	-33.9%	($6,508)
SS Lake Tahoe	-60.7%	($260)
Carson Valley	-5.6%	($9)
Washoe County	-3.0%	($47)
Elko county	+9.0%	$36
Balance Counties	+4.1%	$10
CLARK COUNTY
Laughlin	-19.5%	($159)
Boulder	-68.4%	($823)
Balance	-53.9%	($1,309)
Downtown	-5.6%	($54)
Strip	-30.2%	($4,163)

here is one quote

"casino companies took more than $5 billion in non-cash write downs or impairment charges on their operations."

so 5 billion out of the nearly 7 billion is accounting tricks? I'm not sure why companies do this other than the idea that the stockholders are just as angry at 1 billion as 7 billion so let em have it, meanwhile it will be easier to report profits when it is time to do that ???

Quote: odiousgambit

"casino companies took more than $5 billion in non-cash write downs or impairment charges on their operations."

I saw that quote from Frank Streshley. I am not sure exactly what it means. The quantity of money is more like asset quantities (property buildings furniture etc.). Not operational money.