Red Rock Resorts said it will not reopen three of its suburban Las Vegas casinos or the off-Strip Palms until Southern Nevada is able to put the Covid crisis behind it.
Speaking February 9 at Nasdaq-listed Red Rock’s fourth quarter and year-end conference call, CEO Frank Fertitta III said the company’s eight operating properties are enjoying an increase in patronage from a younger demographic, but state-imposed capacity restrictions and customers’ ongoing concerns about the health risks of the pandemic necessitate caution.
As a result, Texas Station, Fiesta Henderson and Fiesta Rancho, which generally cater to an older neighborhood clientele, will stay closed indefinitely, Fertitta said.
As for The Palms, which Red Rock acquired four years ago for $360 million and spent another $690 million to renovate, he said it’s “unlikely to reopen until the tourist market returns.”
“Any properties we open must be accretive,” he said.
Red Rock posted fourth quarter net income of $29.7 million, compared to $4.8 million a year ago, although total revenues declined by 35.5 percent to $343.4 million, which included a 27.8 percent drop in Las Vegas revenues.
For the year, the company declared a net loss of $174.5 million on net revenues that fell 36 percent year over year to $1.2 billion.
On a positive note, the company said it was moving toward a groundbreaking by the end of June for a long-stalled tribal casino project near Fresno, California, in partnership with the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians.
CFO Stephen Cootey said plans for the resort include a 100,000-square-foot casino, two restaurants and a food court on 213,000 square feet of total space.
