Wynn Resorts registered an all-time quarterly record for property EBITDAR in the first quarter of 2024, aided by Las Vegas’s first Super Bowl and the Lunar New Year. The result surpassed the previous record set in the fourth quarter of 2023, bolstered by November’s Formula One race in Las Vegas.
Wynn Las Vegas delivered $246 million of adjusted property EBITDAR, a first-quarter record and up 6% year over year on a difficult comparison.
“Most of the action in the first quarter was concentrated in February with the Super Bowl and Chinese New Year,” said CEO Craig Billings. “The quarter was characterized by strong performance in our non-gaming businesses, with revenue growing 16% year on year, led by 21% growth in hotel revenue, along with healthy volumes in the casino.”
The trends are continuing. Drop, handle, and revenue per room were all up in April compared to last year, Billings said.
Wynn generated $340 million in EBITDAR in Macau and gaming revenue above the prior quarter and 2019 levels. In the casino, the mass drop in April increased 30% versus April 2019 and on the non-gaming side, hotel occupancy was 99%.
On the development front in Macau, Wynn began demolition for the construction of a food hall and is in the process of designing other concession-related capital expenditures, including a new event and entertainment center and theater.
Encore Boston Harbor generated $63 million in EBITDAR during the quarter and navigated poor weather in January and inflationary pressure for revenue and EBITDAR to show stability. The Boston-area property generated record slot handle and strong hotel revenue during the quarter and demand has remained healthy through April, especially for slot handle and revenue per room, Billings said.
Wynn’s development across Boston Harbor has been put on hold; the company has been unable to reach an agreement with local authorities on financial terms, Billings said. “While disappointing, we have numerous other development projects globally where we can redirect the capital we intended to deploy in Boston.”
Among them is the hotel tower at Wynn Al Marjan Island in the UAE that’s well underway and Billings said they’re confident the multi-billion-dollar resort will be a must-see tourism destination and high ROI project. The fourth floor of the hotel is under construction this week.
Wynn is also eyeing development opportunities in New York City and potentially Thailand.
“In New York, we believe a full-scale Wynn integrated resort in Hudson Yards will drive meaningful tax revenue, tourism, and employment,” Billings said. “Despite the enlargement of the (submissions process) in New York, we remain intrigued by the prospect of a Wynn Resort in Manhattan.”
Billings called a potential casino in Thailand in its “early days,” as they have yet to see the regulatory and licensing instructions.
“Thailand is already a major tourism destination with significant tourism infrastructure and a world-class service culture,” Billings said. “We will closely monitor the advancement of the legalization process.”
Other U.S. operators have recently said the same.
Billings remains bullish about the company, whose properties in Las Vegas remain “at the pinnacle of the market with tremendous demand for what we offer.” In this inflationary environment, Billings said they have the ability to reprice hotel rooms every day to take advantage of that demand.
“If you think about what’s happening in Vegas and those who have deployed capital over the course of the past five years, it hasn’t been so much the industry but Sphere, the Raiders, and other smaller but impactful deployment,” Billings said. “Those have added all kinds of demand to the market. But from a pricing-power perspective, we feel great relative to the rest of the Strip.”
As for Las Vegas group bookings, the Wynn expects to have its best year ever and 2025 and 2026 are going well, the company said. Bookings are back to normal 2019 levels.
In Macau, Wynn continues to “punch above our weight” for revenue per hotel room and generates what Billings called “meaningful market share.” Billings said they focus on products and services and attracting the best guests in the competitive market.
