After the tragic shooting of 59 concert-goers in Las Vegas this week, shares in MGM Resorts took a tumble of over 5.5% on Monday. The shooter holed himself up on the 32nd floor of MGM’s Mandalay Bay hotel and casino, and used his position from the room window to go on a terrifying shooting spree that lasted for over an hour.
In a 24 hour period, MGM Resorts’ market value fell by $900 million, however it managed to see share prices rise slightly again yesterday.
Following the shooting, MGM scrambled to come to the victims’ help. The resort established a free hotline to help families contact their loved ones, and for those caught up in the shooting to let their families know that they were safe. MGM also cancelled all of its shows scheduled for Monday.
Soon after the shooting, MGM issued a statement where it said: “This evening there was a tragic live shooter situation at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip. Law enforcement and emergency personnel responded quickly to the incident and secured the scene. Law enforcement requested that we put hotels in the vicinity on lockdown to ensure guest safety. We will provide more information as it becomes available.”
Later on, MGM released another brief statement on Twitter, saying “Our thoughts & prayers are with the victims of last night’s tragic events,” MGM Resorts said in a tweet. “We’re grateful for the immediate actions of our first responders.”
MGM Resorts was not the only Las Vegas casino operator to be affected by the shooting. In the first trading period following the shooting, shares for many operators tumbled as well; however, by the end of the day, Caesars Entertainment, Red Rock Resorts and Boyd Gaming Corp. reported that their stock prices had returned to normal. Only Wynn reported a loss of 1.2% by the end of trading for the day.
