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Moody's Investors Service downgraded the underlying rating on about $446 million in debt being serviced by the Las Vegas Monorail Co.
Moody's cut the rating on first-tier debt two notches further into junk bond status, from B3 to Caa2. Moody's says "dramatic revenue growth is needed" to prevent the monorail from defaulting on its debt payments as early as 2010.
The monorail says it expected the ratings cut but that it had no immediate impact on its day-to-day business.
The operator of the 3.9-link along the Las Vegas Strip said ridership was up 900,000 riders to 7.9 million last year. The daily average of about 21,640 riders is less than half the estimate of 54,000 riders a day when the monorail began service in 2004.
Local residents say that the song and dance number conducted by the monorail salesman in Las Vegas far surpassed the one in Springfield. Mayor Quimby was not available for comment.