Reporting fourth-quarter and full-year 2022 earnings earlier this month, Wynn Resorts (WYNN -1.12%) enjoyed North American property revenue far beyond the company's own expectations. While the hotel and casino owner faced myriad challenges in 2022, the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in China marks a major turning point for the casino industry.

Let's take a closer look at the company's recent performance and future outlook and see why I'm bullish on this casino stock.

Record Las Vegas earnings

At the Wynn Las Vegas resort, fourth-quarter adjusted property earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, and restructuring or rent costs (EBITDAR) reached a record $219 million, marking an 18% improvement over the same period last year.

More impressively, full-year EBITDAR at Wynn Las Vegas saw a 51% year-over-year improvement, landing at $801 million. During the Q4 earnings call, CEO Craig Billings boasted, "I'm confident that this is an all-time record for a stand-alone Las Vegas Strip property." 

While total Q4 operating revenue fell 4.6% year over year, Wynn Resorts actually netted over $32 million in profits compared to Q4 2021's loss of $177 million. 

Chief Financial Officer Julie Cameron-Doe cited "broad-based strength" among Wynn Las Vegas's non-gaming businesses such as food and beverage, entertainment, and retail -- and a 69% increase in casino slot handle versus 2019 levels. Slot handle means the amount of money wagered by guests at a casino's slot machines.

With the Las Vegas team keeping costs under control, Wynn Las Vegas delivered an adjusted property EBITDAR margin of 37.4% last quarter. 

Expenses outweighed revenues in 2022

Despite a profitable Q4, Wynn Resorts' annual operating revenue came in flat versus 2021, and the company reported a net loss of $424 million last year. Room, food and beverage, and property-related operating expenses all increased significantly last year compared to 2021.

Wynn's Macau operations endured a fourth-quarter EBITDAR loss of $59.1 million, largely because of "suppressed international play during the quarter due to COVID-related travel challenges," according to Cameron-Doe. 

Abnormally low slot hold at Wynn Las Vegas also impacted EBITDAR by around $10.5 million in Q4 alone. Slot hold specifies the percentage of slot handle revenue retained by the casino.

Although Wynn Resorts endured a $424 million net loss in 2022, the figure doesn't sound so bad compared to 2021's loss of $756 million. In that context, it becomes clear that the company is on a trajectory toward profitability.

Macau is back in play

While COVID restrictions impacted Macau operations last year, 2023 is off to a much different start. In recent weeks, Wynn Resorts has "welcomed back an increasing number of guests as the region has reopened to travel and tourism in a meaningful way," according to Billings.

The company also noted a significant uptick in demand during the recent Chinese Lunar New Year holiday period, with table drop reaching 95% of 2019 levels. Table drop refers to the amount of money exchanged for chips at a casino.

In fact, during the recent Lunar New Year period, Wynn Resorts enjoyed its strongest EBITDAR performance in Macau since the start of the pandemic -- roughly $4 million of normalized EBITDAR per day. 

Also launched earlier this year, retail sports betting at Wynn's Encore Boston Harbor resort has averaged more than half a million dollars a day, about 80% of Wynn Las Vegas's daily sports betting handle. 

Regarding overall operations, Billings affirmed, "We're encouraged that the strength we have experienced over the past several quarters has continued into Q1." He added that Wynn's "forward-looking indicators also remain quite strong despite well-known macro concerns," as reservations are on pace with pre-pandemic levels.

Why I'm bullish on Wynn Resorts stock

While the casino operator breaks earnings records, the stock trades roughly 30% down from its January 2020 high. Considering Wynn's strong comeback in Macau, as well as its new sportsbook enterprise in Massachusetts, I personally think the future looks bright for Wynn Resorts' stock.

For these reasons, I remain bullish. Investors should pay close attention to future earnings reports, watching closely for year-over-year gains in net income.