There was mixed news last week with respect to operations on the Las Vegas Strip, as Caesars announced a July 23 reopening for Bally’s Las Vegas while Las Vegas Sands announced that it will temporarily close its Palazzo hotel tower during weekdays.
The moves sent mixed messages to the investment community about the comeback of Strip properties. “I think demand signals are mixed, and probably will be for some time,” Union Gaming analyst John DeCree told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “Right now, Las Vegas is mostly reliant on drive-in visitation and gaming customers… That midweek piece of the business (is) much harder to come by without big groups coming to town.”
Caesars CEO Tony Rodio said in a press release that the decision to reopen Bally’s followed “solid customer interest in visiting Las Vegas this summer,” while Las Vegas Sands announce the closure as “a response to travel demand for the summer” that “better reflects occupancy patterns.”
“Weekend traffic continues to show recovery as you see additional properties open for the regional market and limited air travel that is coming in from other parts of the country,” Brendan Bussmann, director of government affairs for Global Market Advisors, told the Review-Journal
