Las Vegas Casinos Learn Key Covid Mask Decision
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The National Football League draft in Las Vegas was one of the biggest crowds in the city since the covid pandemic. The pandemics had literally shut down the Las Vegans and even when it reopened, things were not normal. Now the pandeman has flared up again and some venues in Vegas are considering bringing back indoor mask mandates.
Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, had its covid-19 designation raised to high from moderate on June 9. The designation comes with a general Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation that people wear masks. The University of Nevada, Las Las has suggested that students and staff wear them on campus but has stopped short of making it a requirement.
Las Vegas has returned to pre-crisis visitor levels. Caesars and MGM Resorts have both commented on the city's improving visitor counts. A mask mandate may not halt that momentum fully, but it likely would cause some cancellations and could cause the convention business to push pause again.
Las Vegas Casinos had an all-time first-quarter record of $411 million. Ebitda improved 140% versus the first quarter of 2021. The total occupancy for Q1 was 83%, with weekend occupancy at 95%, and midweek at 77%. As of April 1, 2022, all occupancy caps in Las Vegas will be lifted.
In Las Vegas, we maintained strong margins in the first quarter. Strong weekend occupancies and average daily rates were driven by a robust event calendar. For mid-week occupancy is still behind 2019, but improving mix of business and a growing group base will allow us to ramp in remainder of the year. We expect convention room nights to reach 90% of 2019 levels in back half of 2022.
