Tom Reeg, CEO of Caesars Entertainment, told CNBC on Thursday that the return of corporate conferences to Las Vegas looks promising after a slowdown from a coronavirus pandemic.
“Our advance bookings both for the second half of this year and for [2022] are extraordinarily strong, “said Reeg in an interview with CNBC’s Contessa Brewer about” The Exchange. ” Business groups want to come back. We just have to make sure we can accommodate them, ”added Reeg.
Caesars is approaching future events with more uncertainty than before the pandemic, Reeg said. One on the near-term horizon is the World of Concrete, which will take place at the Las Vegas Convention Center in early June. The concrete and masonry industry event attracted more than 60,000 people in the years before Covid.
“We assume there is more attrition than usual for each group booked. We just don’t know how soon people will come back,” said Reeg.
Shares of Caesars were up nearly 4% during Thursday’s session to around $ 96 each. The stock is up 28% so far this year and around 425% in the last 12 months.
Las Vegas was badly hit by the pandemic as health restrictions designed to slow the spread of the virus led to mandatory closures of hotels, casinos and restaurants in the tourist-dependent city. After a relaxation, Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak took tougher measures to reduce the virus in November in response to increasing coronavirus cases.
“The case studies here were pretty scary, to be honest. As the cases receded, we’ve seen the disabilities diminish and things come back,” said Reeg, adding that he hopes continued improvement in the public health situation could lead to to “further facilitation allowing us to provide full services to all of our future group activities.”
“You will definitely … be wearing masks in the near future,” he added.
As Covid vaccinations have accelerated this year, casino operators are seeing positive signs for their businesses. Last month, Jay Snowden, CEO of Penn National Gaming, told CNBC that he was “seeing revenues and volumes that I haven’t seen in years.”
Caesars – which claims to be the largest casino entertainment company in the country – saw a surge in demand from February, Reeg said. At the regional properties, located in several states, including Indiana, Iowa and Arizona, the recovery was “extraordinary,” said Reeg. “There’s a lot of pent-up demand out there.”
US public health officials continued to stress to Americans that despite advances in vaccines, Covid’s recovery still faces challenges, such as highly contagious variants. The trajectory of the Michigan pandemic is of particular concern.
“This is a critical time in our fight against the pandemic,” said CDC director Dr. Rachelle Walensky last week. “We can’t afford to let our guard down.”