MGM Resorts has spent much of 2020 and 2021 in the same tenuous position as every gambling operator with a large portfolio of land-based casinos. That position, unfortunately, was challenging on a good day and horrific in its darkest hours. That position also resulted in their recent announcement that they’re down $246.7 million from Q1 2020 (which was the last normal period of business they saw).
Company officials announced the bad news earlier this week during an earnings report. But Bill Hornbuckle, chief executive and president of MGM Resorts International, painted an optimistic picture for the company’s future and pointed out a clear path to recovery.
On the Las Vegas Strip, the MGM Grand and the Bellagio brought in combined revenue of $544.9 million. That number is down 52 percent from Q1 2020 and had an obvious impact on earnings. Hornbuckle pointed out multiple ways MGM Resorts has slashed expenses in an effort to keep losses to a minimum.
Despite the losses at the key Vegas properties, Hornbuckle noted that tourists are returning to Las Vegas and that the losses were almost certainly an anomaly. In a statement to the press, reported on by iGB North America, “We are pleased with the meaningful progress we’ve made on multiple fronts this quarter,” he said. “Las Vegas operating results improved sequentially, leisure demand is improving, and we now have a tangible path to bring conventions and entertainment back at scale. MGM China continued to outperform the broader Macau market’s gradual pace of recovery.”
Hornbuckle’s note of optimism is backed by anecdotal evidence and the company’s US properties will almost certainly benefit from pent up consumer demand from a populace that’s eager to leave their quarantine bubbles.