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MGM Shares Good News For Las Vegas Strip Tourists
The casino operator dominates the Strip along with rival Caesars Entertainment and it shared some news that Las Vegas fans will really like.
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The casino operator dominates the Strip along with rival Caesars Entertainment and it shared some news that Las Vegas fans will really like.
The Las Vegas Strip suffered during the covid pandemic when lights on the iconic 4.2-mile stretch of road literally went dark due to a government-mandated closure. Recovery, however, has been not exactly a straight line because the lingering impact of the pandemic has been a drag on some key business areas.
The two biggest players on the Strip -- Caesars Entertainment (CZR) - Get Free Report and MGM Resorts International (MGM) - Get Free Report -- have both had to make decisions without being able to use the past as a guide. In most years, for example, you could make a reasonable guess as to how many people might visit the city during a major convention based on how many attendees that show had the past year.
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Covid, however, changed that equation. Some companies have realized that maybe they don't need to spend the money on exhibiting or attending shows while others may have employees reticent to be in crowded spaces.
In addition, some major events -- like CES in 2022 -- saw attendance plummet at the last minute due to a spike in covid numbers. Add in that international travelers and some more-vulnerable populations have continued to be wary of travel and it makes planning a challenge for Caesars and MGM.
All of this has led to low prices for tourists and business travelers -- especially those who booked far in advance. That has been slowly changing, especially for major non-business tourist events like March Madness, the NFL Draft, and November's Formula 1 race (a weekend where Caesars, MGM, and the other Strip operators may break pricing records).
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Rising prices and a rebounding convention business don't mean the end of Las Vegas as a value destination for tourists, according to MGM COO Corey Sanders, who spoke at the recent J.P. Morgan Gaming, Lodging, Restaurant & Leisure Management Access Forum in Las Vegas.
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MGM Expects a Convention Comeback (Just Not Yet)
Although Las Vegas has largely returned to normal after its covid disruptions, room rates at many Caesars and MGM properties remain below historic norms. That's at least partially because the convention business remained soft in 2022 and not having those huge blocks of rooms booked led to the casino operators generally keeping prices low.
That's expected to continue through 2023, according to Sanders, Casino.org reported.
"With regards to convention, in particular with MGM, we’re going to be down a little bit this year. Some of it is strategic. We have made a decision that on weekends, we’ll put less convention business in our buildings,” he shared.
Fewer rooms booked for conventions generally means lower rates across the Strip.
Sanders said he expected 2023 to be a "decent" year for MGM's Strip convention business, but he believes that 2024 and 2025 will be stronger.
MGM Sees the Value of an Affordable Las Vegas
A convention business bounceback, however, does not mean an end to affordable Las Vegas Strip hotel rooms, according to MGM Senior Vice President Sarah Rogers, who joined Sanders onstage. She made it clear that MGM understands that the Las Vegas Strip must maintain its status as an affordable vacation destination.
“We still offer a relative value. That gap has tightened a little bit,” said Rogers. “Some of those drivers that have allowed us to sustain that are things like continued programming, improved product, and the suite offering that we have. So we’re comfortable that we still offer relative value.”
Sanders also pointed out that "much of the increase in traffic at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas is attributable to economy carriers, meaning the travel costs to get to the U.S. casino hub are, broadly speaking, tolerable for a broad swath of customers," Casino.org's Todd Shriber wrote.
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Latin America takes global lead in preference for centralized exchanges: Report
According to Chainalysis, Latin American crypto users show a significant preference for centralized exchanges, in contrast to the worldwide pattern.
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According to Chainalysis, Latin American crypto users show a significant preference for centralized exchanges, in contrast to the worldwide pattern.
According to a recent report from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, Latin America has a distinct inclination toward centralized exchanges when compared to the rest of the world, as opposed to decentralized exchanges.
Published on October 11, Chainalysis stated that Latin America has the seventh-largest crypto economy in the world, trailing closely behind the Middle East and North America (MENA), Eastern Asia, and Eastern Europe.
However, it notes that crypto users in Latin America strongly favor using centralized exchanges:
Latin America shows the highest preference for centralized exchanges of any region we study, and tilts slightly away from institutional activity compared to other regions.
Furthermore, in some countries within the region, crypto activity by platform type significantly exceeds the global average. The worldwide average is 48.1% for centralized exchanges, 44% for decentralized exchanges, and 5.9% for other decentralized finance (DeFi) activities.
However, Venezuela shows a 92.5% preference for centralized exchanges, compared to a 5.6% preference for decentralized exchanges (DEXs).
Furthermore, it pointed out that Venezuela has a unique reason for its surging adoption, primarily attributed to a "complex humanitarian emergency."
Related: Crypto adoption is booming, but not in the US or Europe — Bitcoin Builders 2023
The report explains that amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, crypto played a pivotal role in directly assisting healthcare professionals in the country.
Therefore, crypto became a necessary form of value as traditional payments were difficult, given the government's refusal to accept international aid, influenced by political reasons.
On the other hand, Colombia shows a 74% preference for centralized exchanges, while decentralized exchanges account for just 21.1% of their preferences.
Meanwhile, three Latin American countries secured positions in the top 20 ranks on Chainalysis' Global Crypto Adoption Index. Brazil stands at the 9th position, with Argentina following at 15th, and Mexico at 16th.
At the global level, India claims the leading spot, with Nigeria and Vietnam securing second and third positions, respectively.
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California Gov. Newsom greenlights crypto regulation bill for 2025
The bill will mandate crypto firms to uphold financial records and allow regulators to conduct audits on these entities.
California…
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The bill will mandate crypto firms to uphold financial records and allow regulators to conduct audits on these entities.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has approved a cryptocurrency bill that enforces stricter regulations on businesses conducting crypto operations set to begin in 18 months.
In a statement published on October 13, Newsom declared that the bill titled the ‘Digital Financial Assets Law,’ would make it mandatory for both individuals and firms to obtain a Department of Financial Protection and Innovation license to engage in digital financial asset business activities.
The bill is scheduled to come into effect on July 1, 2025.
It draws a comparison to California's money transmission laws, which forbid individuals from conducting money transmission business without a license from the Commissioner of Financial Protection and Innovation.
The new crypto bill will allow the department to impose stringent audit requirements on crypto firms as well as force them to uphold recording requirements. The statement noted:
“[This bill] would require a licensee to maintain [...] for 5 years after the date of the activity, certain records, including a general ledger maintained at least monthly that lists all assets, liabilities, capital, income, and expenses of the licensee.”
It furth clarifies that firms not complying with the bill will face enforcement measures.
Related: CoinShares says US not lagging in crypto adoption and regulation
Around this time last year, Newsom declined to sign a similar bill that aimed to establish a licensing and regulatory framework for digital assets in California.
Although the bill passed through the California State Assembly without opposition, Newsom expressed that he was sending the bill back "without my signature."
Newsom turned down the bill, suggesting it wasn't flexible enough to keep up with fast-changing crypto trends.
At the time, Newson stated that he was waiting for federal regulations to come into place before working with the legislature to establish crypto licensing initiatives.
Meanwhile, Cointelegraph recently reported that the U.S. is exploring the possibility of applying the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (ETFA) to cryptocurrencies as a measure to combat fraudulent transfers.
In a recent speech, Rohit Chopra, the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), expressed his intention to grant authorization for this to "reduce harm of errors, hacks and unauthorized transfers."
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Second Largest US Lab-Grown Diamond Producer Goes Bust
Second Largest US Lab-Grown Diamond Producer Goes Bust
The second-largest US producer of lab-grown diamonds has filed for bankruptcy amid…
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The second-largest US producer of lab-grown diamonds has filed for bankruptcy amid a massive glut of fabricated gemstones and plunging prices.
Financial Times reports that Washington-based WD Lab Grown Diamonds filed for Chapter 7 in a Delaware bankruptcy court and had total liabilities of around $44 million and assets of $3 million. The company listed it had between 100 and 199 creditors.
In 2020, WD Lab Grown Diamonds became the first diamond company to be certified under the "Standard for Sustainable Diamonds" by third-party verifier SCS Global Services. Operations began in 2008 and have played a pivotal role in innovating the lab-grown diamond industry, generating roughly $33 million in revenue last year.
Paul Zimnisky, an independent diamond analyst, said the collapse of WD Lab Grown Diamonds is a sign it struggled to compete with Chinese and Indian producers.
In the last seven years, a single-carat lab-grown diamond has plunged more than threefold due to a flood of supply, a massive relief for mining companies who have seen natural diamond prices crash.
Real diamond prices
The slide in real diamond prices comes as consumers pivot to cheaper lab-grown stones. Also, there's an ongoing global luxury spending slowdown as recession risks rise.
As for the lab-grown diamond industry, it's a race to the bottom as more supply only pushes prices lower, slashes margins, and ultimately results in business failures.
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