Representing Wynn Resorts, CFO Julie Cameron Doe showed the flag at the J.P. Morgan Gaming, Lodging, Restaurant & Leisure Management Access Forum, meeting with lead J.P. Morgan analyst Joseph Greff. Her remarks dealt predominantly with the Macau market.
Doe reported a major appetite for gaming in the enclave, “a market that has inflected sharply after three years of restrictions that drove pent-up demand.” Wynn Resorts considers itself “well positioned,” thanks in part to Wynn Palace being one of the newest casinos in Macau. Even prior to COVID, Greff said, it was “well positioned to target a premium-mass customer. Post-concession, it should benefit even more.”
Rated players are anticipated to return sooner than unrated ones, though the latter segment is showing some movement. Even without any junketeers, Wynn’s Macau casinos have achieved a 15 percent market share, a considerable increase since the reopening of the enclave, “which management thinks is being driven by its premium room offering.”
Wynn also kept all its Macanese employees on tap, avoiding post-pandemic labor squeezes. “As such, while there will be some ramp in [operating expenses] to correspond with higher demand,” Greff chronicled, “WYNN should see a more meaningful EBITDA inflection as revenues step up.”
Macanese resort management has also been unified, discarding a silo-style of operation that pitted Wynn Macau and Wynn Palace against each other. The company has also hired a chief marketing officer for the region, “which should help drive programming and visitation across both properties.” Wynn is optimistic that it can convert legacy-junket to direct-VIP players, much as Sands China is doing.
As for the Las Vegas Strip, the company anticipates improved business over 2019, thanks to its new convention center and the upcoming Formula One race in November, part of “a stronger events backdrop” this year.
“Importantly, the midweek ramp is helping WYNN drive yields and compression nights,” Greff added.
As for Formula One, Wynn is expecting premium room rates, higher spending, and increased foot traffic for Wynn Las Vegas and Encore. “In short, more events support more visitation to the market,” Greff concluded.
Touching briefly on other Wynn markets, Doe said that Encore Boston Harbor looks to pick up business from sports betting in Massachusetts, expansion of the resort, and new parking capacity. In the United Arab Emirates, Wynn anticipates breaking ground on its casino next week, a development in which it is both an equity investor and the manager, which Cameron Doe likened to a Four Seasons-style relationship.
