There was definitely some grit in the 4Q14 financial results for Las Vegas Sands‘ Strip properties. Table play was down $102 million, or 16%. And those players who showed up played lucky. Table revenue was down 26%, or $37 million. Coin-in at the slots was healthy, though, up 8%. Looser hold percentages, however, turned the gain into a 2% loss. At $150 million, casino revenue was $38 million down (-20%). Retail, entertainment and F&B almost equaled the gambling haul, grossing $143 million (+2%). And although room rates were up, averaging $222, 81% occupancy and a decline in revenue per available room spelled a 5% decline.
Overseas, Marina Bay Sands came in above Wall Street‘s consensus expectation (amplified by a one-off property tax refund) and the Macao properties were somewhat below. The performance of the Macao retail mall improved, however. “Everything we have invested in Macao to date and everything we will invest in the future is predicated on delivering our promise to help Macao in its economic 
diversification,” said CEO Sheldon Adelson. He boasted that Sands China had more nongaming amenities than all its competitors put together.
The opening date for Parisian Macao has been pushed back from the cusp of 2015-6 to “sometime” in 2016. As you might have guessed, a dearth of labor is responsible for the new timeline. “We don’t have an opening date yet. It will be some time in ’16. The question also comes up as to whether or not there’ll be a partial opening, rooms and some restaurants and maybe entertainment.” He said he’d be flying to China to talk to the new Macanese government about workforce issues. He’s also looking at shifting some of the St. Regis labor force to Parisian and postponing capex maintenance at still other properties.
Wrote Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli, “Our view … has been that as the top layers of the market weaken, specifically the VIP and premium mass segments, the door opens to lower end mass players at properties they had previously been priced out of.” He
found the Vegas results “curious and given Strip RevPAR is up over 5% through November and airport traffic in December was up 1.7%, we would be buyers of MGM [Resorts International] on weakness as we believe a share shift is more likely the reason behind the relative underperformance.”
Despite the vicissitudes of the Macao market, Sands posted a 25% profit increase in the quarter and a 20% growth in profit. “I have every confidence in our ability to continue to grow over the long term,” said Adelson. “We will have invested in excess of $13 billion, an investment that reflects our unrivaled commitment to Macao’s diversification and to its future success.” Whether due to recent political setbacks or a desire to accentuate the positive, the topic of Japan was not addressed.
(For a bull-market take on Sands’ quarter, see J.P. Morgan analyst Joseph Greff‘s breakdown of the numbers.)
* Our own Jean Scott has been sussing out player rewards at Caesars Entertainment, across a variety of properties. The good news is that austerity measures so far are few.
* Penn National Gaming took a hit in its Southern Plains region (down -10%) but gains in the West and East/Midwest more than nullified that, for a 1% gain in net revenue. A one-time charge of $316.5 million pushed the quarterly result from profit to loss. Santarelli 
reports that “management’s tone on the call spoke to an enhanced confidence in the regional gaming customer, relative to prior calls.” Given the relationship between the oil and gas industries at Zia Park, business has been down there, but cannibalization in Indiana and West Virginia is lessening. Year-over-year growth was described as “for the first time in years.”
Given Wall Street’s conservative expectations, Penn came in right in line with stock pickers’ consensus and the numbers would have been still better were it not for $5 million in election-related spending in Massachusetts. The Street’s projections for 2015 are pretty aggressive compared to Penn’s own, so management will be under pressure to perform. Plainridge Park (opening in June) and Hollywood Casino Jamul (mid-2016) were described as proceeding on schedule and budget.
