The Encore Says It Lost $41.7 Million in Its First Full Quarter
In the three month period, it reportedly cost $1.45 million a day to run the casino.
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The Encore is spending a whole lot of cash keeping things running at the state’s newest casino.
In a conference call with its analysts this week, Wynn Resorts acknowledged that it costs roughly $1.45 million a day to pay its blackjack dealers, tend to its tens of thousands of flowers, polish the multimillion dollar Popeye statue and so on. In the three-month period ending in September, which is the first full quarter its been in operation, the casino says it lost about $41.7 million.
The day-to-day costs are likely too high, according to Wynn CEO Matt Maddox, who said, after its first full quarter since opening this summer, that the casino will be looking to cut costs, according to Commonwealth. Much of that he attributed to the growing pains of a brand new gaming facility, which hasn’t been around long enough to find efficiencies. That may mean it won’t need all of the estimated 4,800 people who currently work there.
“Clearly when you open a property you have more staff than you end up needing when you operate in a very efficient way,” Maddox said on the call. “I would think the $1.4 million will definitely be on a downward trajectory in 2020.”
In the three month period ending in September, the Encore reported $175.8 million in revenue, about $115 million of which came from gambling.
Maddox also addressed the fact that slots appear to be underperforming at the casino, but said he expected interest to trend upward over time, particularly once Encore gets a rewards and marketing program off the ground to entice slots gamblers to come back.
Still, the Encore, like the state’s other relatively new casinos, appear to be off to a slower than expected start, at least for now.
