Analysts at Moody's Investors Service in New York have become more optimistic about business conditions
for hotel-casino operators on the Las Vegas Strip.
Hotel numbers in particular are looking better, Moody's said in a report Monday titled "Las Vegas Strip
Gaming Recovery Brightens."
The report notes several improving trends in 2011, including a 4.3 percent rise in Las Vegas visitor volume
from 2010 thanks largely to the improving U.S. economy. Nearly 40 million people visited Las Vegas in 2011,
close to the city's 2007 peak.
Moody's noted that in 2011 there was a 3.5 percent increase in slot machine revenue and a citywide 3.4
percentage point increase in hotel occupancy, to 83.8 percent, the first increase since 2007.
With no megaresorts in the development pipeline following the December 2010 opening of the Cosmopolitan,
owners of existing hotels now face less competition from new capacity.
''The improvements are supported by low growth in hotel room supply, which gives (existing hotel) operators
more pricing power,'' Moody's said in its report.
"After suffering through a deep trough during the recession when visitor volume declined as new capacity
came online, the Las Vegas recovery is under way," Peggy Holloway, a Moody's vice president - senior credit
officer, said in a statement. "Hotels are benefiting from increased visitor numbers that permit higher room
rates, while gaming revenues are recovering, albeit more slowly."
Monday¶s report confirms year-to-year trends for January reported earlier by the Las Vegas Convention and
Visitors Authority.
The LVCVA said that citywide, visitor volume for January was up 0.9 percent and the average daily hotel
room rate improved 6.2 percent to $113.82 — the 23rd consecutive month of increases for these categories.
Also, Nevada regulators said gaming revenue on the Las Vegas Strip in January advanced 29.16 percent on a
year-to-year basis to $623.5 million.
While that increase was driven largely by volatile baccarat play, less-volatile slot machine play is showing slow
but steady growth on Strip.
Through January, it was up 2.69 percent comparing the previous 12 months to the same 12-month period
ending in January 2011