Strip revenues up 29% thanks to Baccarat

http://www.lvrj.com/business/nevada-gaming-revenues-top-1-billion-in-january-141903973.html

Good numbers overall with a high percentage of the increase coming from Asian Baccarat players. Either way, after all the bad news, it is nice to see some growth.

Quote: Boz

Good numbers overall with a high percentage of the increase coming from Asian Baccarat players. Either way, after all the bad news, it is nice to see some growth.

It was a good month with baccarat winning $194 million on the strip, which handily beat the $141 million from last year (38%). But because Chinese New Year's fell on different months the 29% increase is not indicative. You are comparing this January to the previous January where there was no Chinese New Year's.

Good news, but by the end of the quarter it will be single digit percentage improvement.

But optimism abounds. A single digit increase in revenue is positively pessimistic compared to President Obama is with his estimate of a trillion dollar (40%) increase in revenue over the next three years for the federal government. Considering current revenue are back 5 to 6 years ago, such an improvement in 3 years would be a greater percentage than anything we have seen since Reagan's first year in office over three decades ago.

I fail to see the sense of these comparisons from the Real World of Las Vegas Drop Boxes to the utterly unreal world of Presidential Hot Air in Washington.

Quote: FleaStiff

I fail to see the sense of these comparisons from the Real World of Las Vegas Drop Boxes to the utterly unreal world of Presidential Hot Air in Washington.

Well the drop boxes are hard figures, but the analysis can get just as out of control. While a $50 million dollar increase in Chinese New Year's baccarat is quite impressive, it needs to be measured against the over $15 billion that is yearly strip revenue.

Writers and people can blow the 29% increase all out of proportion. Much of it is just calendar placement of the New Year's Day which floats with respect to the solar year.

Looking at the January numbers vs last January, it's actually not very good. The non-asian table games are stale as are the slots.

If you take Bacarrat and Pai Gow (both forms) out of the mix, you get Revenue for January 2011 at 132,939,000 vs 134,918,000 for the same period a year ago, a drop of 1.5%. Slot Revenue is down 0.5%.

So, despite the boom in bacarrat and Pai Gow due to Gung Hai Fat Choi, the strip did not have a good month.

McCarran air traffic was up 10,500 passengers or 0.3%, with international (terminal 2) traffic up 25% (AeroMexico and Volaris, and general growth from all other airlines).

Quote: boymimbo

Looking at the January numbers vs last January, it's actually not very good. The non-asian table games are stale as are the slots.

If you take Bacarrat and Pai Gow (both forms) out of the mix, you get Revenue for January 2011 at 132,939,000 vs 134,918,000 for the same period a year ago, a drop of 1.5%. Slot Revenue is down 0.5%.

So, despite the boom in bacarrat and Pai Gow due to Gung Hai Fat Choi, the strip did not have a good month.

McCarran air traffic was up 10,500 passengers or 0.3%, with international (terminal 2) traffic up 25% (AeroMexico and Volaris, and general growth from all other airlines).

You can't be that negative. Off strip revenue was up for the month, and you can't just remove Baccarat. It was a good Chinese New Year's (but no better than the 2010 take of $205 million in baccarat). I would call it a solid month, but not a game changer (which you might assume if you just look at the 29%). It just may not be good enough to keep Ceasars Inc. out of bankruptcy.

Quote: pacomartin

It just may not be good enough to keep Ceasars Inc. out of bankruptcy.

Caesars Inc. is getting ready to announce a Reversed Leveraged Buy-Out and yet another Name Change which will result Private Equity Funds issuing several billion in bonds but promising that your Total Rewards points will carry over and be fully usable in the new Bankruptcy Court Casino. All bankruptcy judges will get subordinated debentures, all other employees will get screwed but will have attend fourteen meetings before they know it.

You're telling me I can't be negative. Come on! I removed Bacarrat and Pai Gow. Blackjack and Craps revenue are down. These are the primary indicators for the non-asian population. And slots is down year-over-year.

Passenger air traffic is only up slightly after posting a solid 5% year over year growth in the six month period ending December 2011.

So, sure, I think it's not great news, not bad news either.