US regional casino operator Boyd Gaming lost $18.3m in the first quarter of 2020 as the pandemic-related shutdown of its gaming venues left the operator scrambling to keep the lights on.

Two months ago, Boyd was on top of the world, reporting gains across all its geographic segments and finishing 2019 with profits up more than one-third. By mid-March, the company had been forced to shut all 29 of its properties due to the COVID-19 outbreak and those properties remain shut to this day.

On Tuesday, Boyd issued preliminary financial results for the first three months of 2020, in which revenue fell nearly 18% year-on-year to $680.5m, operating income plunged 71.6% to $33.3m and the company booked a net loss of $18.3m versus a $45.5m profit in Q1 2019.

All three of Boyd’s geographic segments were broadly negative, led by the dominant Midwest & South casinos, where revenue fell nearly $100m to $445.6m and earnings (before rent expenses) dropped by more than $50m to $105.8m.