Shares of Las Vegas casino stocks are down Monday after the most deadly and horrific mass shooting in U.S. history left at least 50 dead and 200 wounded on the Las Vegas Strip on Sunday night. Casino investors are concerned that the incident may impact travel to the Vegas Strip despite early indications that the primary suspect operated alone.
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Las Vegas police say 64-year-old gunman Stephen Paddock opened fire on a crowd of people from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay casino on Sunday night. The crowd was attending a concert across the street by country music star Jason Aldean.
Police say Paddock, who was killed by police, had no known ties to overseas terrorism or terrorist groups.
Shares of strip resort operators MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM), Las Vegas Sands Corp. ( LVS), Wynn Resorts Ltd. ( WYNN) and Caesars Entertainment Corp ( CZR) are all down Monday morning. MGM and Caesars, which have the highest percentage of their business concentrated in Las Vegas, took the hardest hits. MGM owns the Mandalay Bay.
“Our hearts and prayers go out to the victims of last night’s shooting, their families, and those still fighting for their lives,” said MGM CEO Jim Murren. “We are working with law enforcement and will continue to do all we can to help all of those involved.”
The casino business was coming off a strong month both in the U.S. and abroad. Last week, the Las Vegas Strip reported a 21 percent year-over-year jump in gaming win in the month of August. Over the weekend, the world’s largest gaming hub, Macau, reported September gross gaming revenue growth of 16 percent. September’s number marked the 14th consecutive month of positive growth and beat consensus analyst expectations of 14 percent growth.
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Monday’s news of the Vegas shooting was the second troubling headline for MGM investors in recent days. On Friday, the company reported that it is delaying the opening of its new Cotai resort from late 2017 to early 2018 due to damage from Typhoon Hato.
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Vegas Shooting Sends Casino Stocks Tumbling originally appeared on usnews.com
