MGM Q4 2023 Results In, Records Set in Las Vegas and China

Article ByDavid Weir

February 14, 2024

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Posted in: US Casino News, Nevada Gambling News, US Gambling News

MGM Resorts International announced its Q4 and full-year 2023 results this week.

The operator posted revenues of $4.4 billion for the quarter. Its Nevada casinos in Las Vegas and its two properties in Macau both hit record highs, with casino revenue accounting for $2.2 billion of that revenue.

Yearly revenue for 2023 was also up 23% on 2022 at $16.2 billion. Casino operations accounted for $8.1 billion of that, compared to $5.7 billion in 2022.

Last week, BetMGM, the operator’s online arm in collaboration with Entain, posted its 2023 reports. It made a $67 million loss, although revenues were up 37% year-on-year.

Clearly, that loss wasn’t anywhere near enough to dent MGM Resorts’ wider financials, as it boomed to a $1.47 billion pre-tax profit.

A boom in visitation to Las Vegas amid big ticket sporting events like the Las Vegas Grand Prix, as well as the final ending of pandemic restrictions in China, helped set the stage for these record figures.

That came despite some not-insignificant challenges, including a $100 million loss during a 10-day, company-wide cyberattack, and a last-minute deal to avert strike action at its Las Vegas venues.

“Our Las Vegas Strip Resorts and MGM China set new all-time records for full-year and fourth quarter Adjusted Property EBITDAR,” said MGM President and CEO Bill Hornbuckle in a press release.

“Our premium positioning and offerings in Las Vegas enable us to capture incremental profit during major events, such as the inaugural Formula 1 race and our first Super Bowl.”

Las Vegas Up, Regional Properties Down

Despite the increasing talk in the business of casinos as entertainment destinations over pure gambling, casino floor revenues remained the biggest driver of the largest U.S. gambling operator in 2023.

Casino gambling made the operator $8.9 billion in revenues for the year. That’s derived from $3.5 billion on hotel rooms, $2.89 billion on food and drink, and $1.64 billion on entertainment and retail.

Las Vegas was the primary driver of all that activity, hitting $8.80 billion in revenues for 2023. That’s roughly half of the total MGM operation’s income.

MGM’s two Macau properties weren’t as profitable, but showed incredible growth figures after finally recovering from COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

MGM’s two Macau casinos, MGM Macau and MGM Cotai, made $3.15 billion for the year. That’s up 368.1%, after pent-up demand from Chinese gamblers finally saw release across the year.

Meanwhile MGM’s U.S. operations outside of Nevada actually saw slight declines in revenues year-on-year. Some $3.67 billion in income represented a 3.8% fall on the full year 2022.

The three-month strike by workers at MGM Boston Harbor and the sale of its Gold Strike Tunica resort would have impacted these results.

Into 2024 and Beyond

Going into 2024, MGM Resorts International has plans to launch in the New York casinos market and in Osaka, Japan.

It also has begun construction on a noncasino gaming resort in the UAE, with the expectation that casino gambling may eventually be legalized in limited resorts in the Arab state.

In New York, MGM already operates the video lottery terminal and horse race betting venue Empire City Casino. However, it plans to apply for one of three upcoming downstate New York casino licenses to open a full gaming venue.

The speculation is that MGM will be grandfathered into one of the available three spots, along with Genting via its Resorts World New York City in another.

However, that is not a foregone conclusion. The licensing process is a also a long and convoluted one, with potential to run into 2025.

“We anticipate submitting our full application to the government by the middle of this year with a decision expected shortly thereafter,” Hornbuckle said. “We’re hopeful that by the end of 2024, something is awarded. But we don’t know any more, unfortunately.

Meanwhile, MGM Osaka is set to start construction in 2025 as the first integrated casino resort in Japan.