American Casino & Entertainment, the Las Vegas company that owns the Stratosphere, Arizona Charlie’s and the Aquarius in Laughlin, announced its second quarter earnings today.
Company: American Casino & Entertainment Properties LLC
Revenue: $89.4 million, up 1.1 percent from the second quarter of last year. The company said in a statement that the increase was driven by hotel and food and beverage revenue.
Earnings: $1.7 million, up from $100,000 this time last year.
What it means: Nongaming sources of revenue remain extremely important, as with other companies in the market. Casino revenue decreased by 2.4 percent, which the company attributed to less volume in slots and tables as well as a bingo hold percentage decrease of 4.7 percent. However, a 1.3 percent increase in sports hold percentage helped offset those losses.
The Stratosphere performed well, boosting revenue by 4.3 percent from last year. Hotel revenue there shot up by 9 percent, an increase the company said was because of a 3.8 percent occupancy increase along with a 1.7 percent average daily room rate decrease. Casino revenue went down by 1.2 percent mainly because of lower slot volume, while food and beverage revenue increased 4.6 percent and tower revenue increased 4.4 percent.
Arizona Charlie’s, on the other hand, saw a revenue decrease of 4.2 percent compared to the second quarter of 2013. Even though hotel and food and beverage revenue increased, casino revenue decreased 5.7 percent.
The Aquarius’ revenue increased by 1.2 percent from last year. Occupancy went from 52.6 percent this time in 2013 to 56.4 percent this year, and casino revenue increased 0.5 percent.