Boyd's Las Vegas locals casino margins set all-time record at 57% in Q2

Boyd Gaming on Tuesday reported second-quarter 2021 revenues of $893.6 million, up from $209.9 million in the same period of 2020. The company reported net income of $113.7 million, or $1.00 per share, compared to a net loss of $108.5 million for the year-ago period.

During the second quarter of 2021, all three operating segments set all-time records for operating margins, while the Las Vegas Locals and Midwest & South segments also achieved all-time records for Adjusted EBITDAR. Of the company's 26 open properties, 25 grew Adjusted EBITDAR at double-digit rates from the second quarter of 2019. Companywide margins exceeded 43% and Las Vegas locals margins approached 57%. 

Revenues in Boyd’s Midwest and South segment of casinos grew 10.9% to $618.7 million in the second quarter compared with two years ago, the company reported. Downtown revenues grew from $21.4 million over the first quarter to $38.8 million over the next three months, but they remained about 40% less than the $64.5 million in revenues from 2019.

Boyd President and CEO Keith Smith said the quarter represented an “outstanding performance” for the company and its employees. Gaming revenues surpassed 2019 levels.

The operator's executives said Tuesday that Las Vegas downtown visitation is trending well so Main Street Station casino could reopen later this year. Along with Eastside Cannery, they are the company’s only two hotel-casinos that have yet to reopen during the pandemic.

“We are in the process of making plans to potentially reopen Main Street Station downtown, based on growing demand for our product there,” Boyd Chief Financial Officer Josh Hirsberg told investors Tuesday during an earnings call, as reported by Las Vegas Review-Journal. “And we would expect the same thing to happen over time in the locals market with Eastside Cannery.”

“Main Street’s future is all about downtown business and the Hawaiian business returning, and Eastside will just depend on volumes,” Smith said on the second-quarter earnings call.

Company executives also announced they are developing plans for Treasure Chest riverboat casino in Louisiana to have a land-based facility. Hirsberg said it’s likely to cost $85 million to $100 million and take anywhere from 18 to 24 months to build. Earliest construction would start is somewhere at the end of this year, “first of next year.”