Golden Nugget Boss Tilman Fertitta believes that the consumer spending trend will remain steady this year despite the waning effects of government stimulus checks.
Fertitta is the chairman and CEO of Landry’s massive gaming and Leisure Empire. Landry includes five land-based Golden Nugget casinos and more than 500 restaurants.
In an interview with CNBC on Tuesday, Fertitta predicted that money would probably continue piling into the economy for the rest of the year. The $1400 stimulus checks went out in May and were meant to help lift traffic in Las Vegas.
But analysts are worried that the positive effect of the package is quickly waning. However, the opposite is proving true since more people are visiting Las Vegas, and gaming revenues gaining.
Fertitta as well as other market observers believe that the gaming and leisure business may lose consumers next year, but there is still an advantage.
“Then, I think what’s going to happen is we’re going to lose some of this consumer. But we’re going to start getting back the business consumer and the conference, and the big party rooms in New York and LA, and all your big cities.”
Currently, Strip operators are reporting a 100 percent occupancy rate for the weekends, though the remainder of the week, the booking remains sluggish due to a lack of convection business.
Fertitta notes that traffic to high-end restaurants is strong. Fertitta, however, acknowledges that the inflation scenario needs monitoring.
The average price of unleaded gasoline has increased nearly by a dollar reaching $3.14. In California, a gallon is going for $4.30. That is notable given that the state accounts for 20 percent of all visitation to Sin City. Higher fuels price can help casinos and high-end restaurants cut expenditures to keep customers.
