Riviera Holdings Corp., operator of casinos in Las Vegas and Black Hawk, Colo., on Friday reported a smaller first quarter loss as expenses fell.
The company, which is emerging from bankruptcy under the ownership of new investors led by hotelier Barry Sternlicht, said that for the quarter ended March 31 it lost $2.2 million vs. a loss in the year-ago quarter of $4.5 million.
Net revenue came in at $30.8 million, unchanged from a year ago.
Riviera reported no interest expense on its debt in the 2011 quarter vs. $3.9 million in the 2010 quarter.
With some $276 million in debt and other liabilities expected to be extinguished in the bankruptcy, the company in the first quarter didn’t make payments on that debt.
At the Riviera hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip, net revenue in the quarter of $20.8 million was up 1.3 percent.
Casino revenue of $9 million increased 3 percent, thanks to the opening of the “Crazy Girls Passion Pit” featuring go-go dancers entertaining table games players, the company said.
Room revenue of $9.3 million increased 10.2 percent because of the average daily room rate increasing from $55.69 to $62.40. Occupancy fell slightly to 81.4 percent.
Despite these improvements, food and beverage revenue was off 2.2 percent while entertainment revenue fell 11 percent as fewer shows were offered.
Riviera Black Hawk in Colorado contributed net revenue of $10 million, down 2.6 percent.
As for the outlook, Riviera Holdings said in its quarterly report: “We believe that due to a number of factors affecting consumers, including, but not limited to, a slowdown in global economies, contracting credit markets and reduced consumer spending, the outlook for the gaming and hospitality industries remains highly uncertain. Based on these adverse circumstances, we believe that the company may continue to experience lower than expected hotel occupancy rates and casino volumes.”