John Locher / AP
This June 17, 2014, file photo shows the Sands Expo and Convention Center and The Palazzo in Las Vegas.
Published Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021 | 4:22 p.m.
Updated Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021 | 4:48 p.m.
Executives of a major Strip resort company see more short-term pain but long-term optimism for Las Vegas, especially in the convention sector.
Las Vegas Sands CEO Rob Goldstein said today he doesn’t buy theories that the Las Vegas tourism market will be forever altered by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has sent shock waves through the industry for most of the past year.
“There’s been recent commentary that’s been fun to read about how Las Vegas will never return to pre-pandemic levels,” Goldstein said. “Some are saying Las Vegas’ best days are behind it. I’ve heard all this before over the past 20 or 30 years. There’s no question that this town is struggling now, but we believe Las Vegas has plenty of gas in the tank.”
Goldstein, named CEO after the death of Las Vegas Sands founder Sheldon Adelson earlier this month, made his comments during a quarterly earnings conference call.
Goldstein said the company’s convention bookings for 2022 through 2027 in Las Vegas have been “unbelievable,” but it could “take until the end of this year for visitation to spike.”
Convention visitation in Las Vegas was all but nil for the last half of 2020 because of the pandemic and health and safety concerns about large crowds, especially at indoor spaces.
For the three months that ended Dec. 31, Las Vegas Sands properties on the Strip posted net revenues of $150 million, down significantly from the $475 million posted in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Overall, the company showed net revenues of $1.15 billion for last quarter, a drop of 67% from the fourth quarter of 2019.
Though Strip visitation has been down since the start of the pandemic, Sands officials pointed to positive signs in recent months for weekend hotel occupancy at the Venetian and Palazzo.
That’s despite the Palazzo being closed for part of December because of a lack of demand.
“We think there’s a huge amount of potential pent-up demand (for Las Vegas),” said Patrick Dumont, the company’s president and chief operating officer. “Really, the restrictions in Las Vegas now are based on the capacity constraints set by the government. On weekends, we’re actually doing quite well.”
Late last year, the company acknowledge it might be interested in selling its Las Vegas assets — the Venetian, Palazzo and Sands Expo and Convention Center — though officials said today there was nothing to report on any potential deal.
Dumont hinted during the call that the company may choose to wait until business in Las Vegas rebounds before seriously exploring any possible sale.
“We remain very bullish on the return of Las Vegas, post-pandemic,” Goldstein said. “This is a unique town. Demand will be there. You can have all the digital products out there you want, but people will still want the visitation, and this town has a lot to offer.”
Along with its Strip properties, Sands also holds major casino and resort developments in China and Singapore.
Sands employs about 9,000 people in Las Vegas.
