Caesars Entertainment CEO says business convention outlook for Las Vegas looks ‘extremely strong’

Caesars Entertainment CEO says business convention outlook for Las Vegas looks ‘extremely strong’

Caesars Entertainment CEO Tom Reeg told CNBC on Thursday the return of business conventions to Las Vegas looks promising after a coronavirus pandemic-induced slowdown.

"Our forward bookings both for the second half of this year and into [2022] are extremely strong," Reeg said in an interview with CNBC's Contessa Brewer on "The Exchange." "Business groups are wanting to come back. We've just got to make sure that we can accommodate them," added Reeg.

Caesars is approaching future events with more uncertainty than before the pandemic, according to Reeg. One on the near-term horizon is the World of Concrete, which is set to be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center in early June. The event for the concrete and masonry industries has drawn over 60,000 people in pre-Covid years.

"We're presuming more attrition than normal for any group that is booked coming up. We just don't know how quickly people are going to come back," Reeg said.

Caesars shares rose almost 4% in Thursday's session to roughly $96 apiece. The stock is up 28% so far this year and up about 425% in the past 12 months.

Las Vegas was hit hard by the pandemic as health restrictions meant to slow the virus spread led to