'Shuffle Up and Deal'

Casinos have been dealt a tough hand by Covid-19. They run indoor businesses for tourists who tend to arrive by airplane.  And there's all that food served via buffet, not exactly a pandemic-safe activity. 

But Vegas can't be held down for long. The city is allowing casinos to re-open on Thursday. And most of them plan to "shuffle up and deal," Avi Salzman notes on Barrons.com.

It’s not yet clear whether the crowds will come back in the first weeks, but some early signs are positive. Caesars Entertainment was initially just going to open Caesars Palace and the Flamingo on June 4, but said that due to high demand they’d also be opening Harrah’s Las Vegas on June 5.

“Initial customer demand to visit the Las Vegas Strip has been much stronger than anticipated, triggering our decision to reopen Harrah’s Las Vegas, in addition to Caesars Palace, Flamingo, and LINQ Promenade, next week,” Caesars CEO Tony Rodio said in a statement.

The four primary casino stocks have all significantly underperformed the S&P 500, which is down 4.6% this year. MGM Resorts is down 45% on the year, Wynn Resorts is off 39%, Las Vegas Sands has fallen 31%, and Caesars Entertainment is down 16%. 

Caesars, Avi notes, doesn't have casinos in China, so its business wasn't affected as early as the other companies. But now, China exposure could be an advantage. Casinos in Macau have already re-opened. 

But Caesars has a different ace in the hole: Its casinos are spread across the country, meaning people can drive there and gamble, without heading to the airport. 

For more on Vegas' likely winners and losers, check out the rest of Avi's story here.