At the end of last year, Las Vegans wanted to know the same thing they want to know every year. How is the state’s biggest industry going to do? Almost to a man, the sages of gaming said “slower, maybe, but steady.” Whoops.
American consumers could spend as much as $750 million of the tax stimulus package on gambling, which would add 1.3 percent to the gaming industry’s expected revenue growth.
— Bill Lerner, Deutsche Bank analyst. Feb. 3, 2008 (Review-Journal)
Analysis: Let’s look at the year-to-date figures from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, all of which are down: gaming revenue (7 percent), the economic impact of conventions (7.3 percent), the number of visitors (1.5 percent) and the average daily room rate (7.7 percent).
We feel very good about 2008.
— Jonathan Halkyard, Harrah’s Entertainment chief financial officer. Dec. 14, 2007 (Sun).
Analysis: Harrah’s reported losses of $285.4 million for the first half of 2008
It’s not going to be a record year, but it will be a solid year.
— Jefferies & Co. analyst Lawrence Klatzkin, Ibid.
Analysis: Nope.
If employment stays steady and consumer spending holds, conventions and tourism should see moderate growth in 2008. It may be smaller growth than in 2007 but still positive.
— Michael Hughes, associate publisher of Tradeshow Week magazine, Ibid.
Analysis: Unemployment is up and consumer spending is down. Still, he did have an “if.”
I think we’re going to have a very difficult ’08 in our business.
— Terry Lanni, MGM Mirage chief executive officer. Ibid.
Analysis: At the time, Lanni was suspected of saying this to evoke sympathy while he campaigned against a proposal by the teachers union to raise the gaming tax. Now? MGM Mirage’s third quarter profits are off by 67 percent. Give the man a cigar.
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