Posted on: Jun 4, 2021 at 10:47 am
Last updated: June 4, 2021, 11:40 am.
Bill Hornbuckle, CEO of MGM Resorts, says business has returned in Las Vegas – the casino operator’s most critical market.
Bill Hornbuckle, CEO of MGM Resorts, toasted a patron with his elbow last year. The gaming manager says Las Vegas has returned with a vengeance. (Image: Getty)
Speaking at the Bernstein 37th Annual Strategic Decisions Conference, Hornbuckle said he was impressed with the return of visitors to southern Nevada. Tourism numbers were robust during the recent Memorial Day holiday, the unofficial start of summer.
“We’re literally on fire in Las Vegas right now,” said Hornbuckle. “The fascinating thing for me is that people are more inclined to gamble than ever before. We broke slot records in 17 of our 18 houses. “
Hornbuckle announced that MGM’s hotel rooms on the Las Vegas Strip were more than 90 percent occupied during the three-day holiday weekend.
We are back with all our might, ”said the CEO.
MGM is the largest operator of strip casinos. While two of the company’s main competitors – Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts – generate more of their revenue in Macau, Las Vegas remains MGM’s largest source of revenue.
iGaming Cash Cow
Speaking to Bernstein Gaming analyst Vitaly Umansky, Hornbuckle said that sports betting is a marketing gold mine. But it is online casino gambling that is going to prove more taxable to the gambling industry.
“The real value for this business [online gaming] and the economic opportunity lies in iGaming, ”said Hornbuckle. “The sport is becoming and has created a lot of momentum, and we know this has long-term value. But I think iGaming will become the economic secret of this business. “
BetMGM is the iGaming and mobile sports betting app from MGM Resorts. BetMGM’s sports betting is in operation in 10 countries. BetMGM’s online casino operates in each of the five states that have such legal internet slots and table games – Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Michigan.
Bricks and mortar not threatened
Online casinos and mobile sports betting flourished during the pandemic. However, casino managers are not worried that the 2020 mass player exodus to online channels will affect brick and mortar business in the post-pandemic world.
Umansky asked the MGM boss if online games were cannibalizing the revenue from land-based casinos.
I have zero concerns, “answered Hornbuckle. “I’ve heard this argument up to the river boats. Since it has always been based in Las Vegas and has always operated these large resorts, it has largely continued to grow every year for the past 20 years. “
Hornbuckle’s predecessor, Jim Murren, shared a similar opinion on sports betting. He made that clear after the US Supreme Court lifted the federal ban on such gambling in May 2018, which had previously been restricted mainly to Nevada. The former MGM CEO predicted that the expansion of sports betting would be similar to the expansion of casinos in almost every state in the nation.
“People want to become the market leader,” said Murren in 2018. “Las Vegas is the undisputed market leader.”
