LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — With recent openings of high-profile restaurants facing the Las Vegas Strip, executives at Caesars Entertainment are expecting a good year ahead. Investments in Las Vegas are paying off.
Talk surrounding the company’s performance often veers away from the old reliables on the Strip, but Flamingo Las Vegas, Caesars Palace and even Planet Hollywood were topics of conversation during Tuesday’s fourth quarter/year-end earnings call.
And the Flamingo, in particular, was in the spotlight.
“We opened Gordon Ramsay’s Burger and Pinky’s at Flamingo, activating the Strip frontage at Flamingo for the first time since we’ve owned Caesars,” Chief Executive Officer Tom Reeg said.
Anthony Carano, Caesars president and chief operating officer, said, “We’re getting ready to open a brand new pool at Flamingo that’ll be one of the nicest resort pools on the Strip.”
At Caesars Palace, new high-limit gaming areas are paying off for the company. “That came out beautiful and it’s had great response from our customers in there as well,” Carano said.
“We opened Carmella’s at Planet Hollywood,” Reeg said, talking up the new brands and the recent renovations at hotel towers at Paris Las Vegas and Caesars Palace. “There’s a number of food and beverage product that’s come online. We’ve still got returns from our hotel product. We have an anniversary, the opening of the balcony rooms at Versailles. So we feel very good about what 2025 looks like.”
At the Flamingo, Gordon Ramsay Burger opened in January, about six weeks after the debut of Pinky’s by Vanderpump. In between, Carmella Italian Restaurant & Lounge opened at Planet Hollywood on Dec. 29.
Caesars Entertainment reported net revenue of $2.8 billion in the fourth quarter, and $11.2 billion for all of 2024. Both numbers were down — but just slightly — from the previous year. Las Vegas resorts produced about half of the company’s revenue.
“In Las Vegas, we posted roughly flat year-over-year results despite a tough comparison vs. last year’s inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix F1 race,” Carano said. Benefits from the Super Bowl, which helped Las Vegas in 2024, moved to New Orleans this year as the game was played in the Caesars Superdome. The stadium is just four blocks away from the Caesars New Orleans Hotel & Casino.
A record win on slot machines helped boost numbers in the fourth quarter, as well as increasing iGaming business. “We’ve been seeing the slot business grow for a couple years now at our Strip properties,” Carano said.
A couple of transactions — closings on the World Series of Poker brand and the LINQ Promenade shopping plaza — also factored in as 2024 ended.
“During the fourth quarter, we used the WSOP and Promenade sale proceeds to permanently reduce debt by $500 million in addition to repurchasing $50 million of our common stock,” Bret Yunker, Caesars chief financial officer, said.
In Las Vegas, Caesars operates Caesars Palace, the Flamingo, Harrah’s Las Vegas, Horseshoe Las Vegas, Paris Las Vegas, Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, The Cromwell, Nobu Hotel and The LINQ.
Investors asked if Caesars was considering selling any properties in Las Vegas, a conversation that usually centers around Planet Hollywood.
“We’re a public company. Everything’s for sale every day,” Reeg said.
He said there have been inquiries, but described the situation as “nothing imminent or even highly likely.”
Reeg said, “That’s after a couple years where nobody was making calls at all, so that’s a step in the right direction.”
