The three largest U.S. casino-resort operators all reported improved first-quarter financial results this week on a combination of rising demand in Macau and one-time charges.
Las Vegas Sands' net income rose 15% from a year earlier, to $572 million, largely on the three phases of its Sands Cotai Central project that have opened in Macau since last April. The project generated $587.2 million in first-quarter revenue. That offset the effects of a drop in profit from the company's Las Vegas properties, as a 7.3% increase in revenue per available room (RevPAR) was more than canceled out by lower table-gaming winnings. Overall, revenue rose 20% to $3.3 billion.
MGM Resorts International, which last year overtook Caesars Entertainment as the No. 2 U.S. casino-resort operator to Las Vegas Sands, had net income of $6.55 million, compared with a $217.3 million loss a year earlier, when the company took certain one-time charges. Revenue rose 2.8%, to $2.35 billion, while hotel, casino, food and beverage, and interest expenses all either fell or were little-changed.
Additionally, results improved at the both the company's Macau resort and at its Bellagio and Aria hotels on the Las Vegas Strip.
Caesars, which was the most impacted by Superstorm Sandy last year because of its Atlantic City holdings, narrowed its first-quarter loss by 22% from a year earlier, to $217.6 million, primarily because of a year-earlier asset-impairment charge from a halted project in Biloxi, Miss. Caesars' Las Vegas hotel revenue fell 3.4% from a year earlier, while revenue at its Atlantic City resorts was down 16%.
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