Coming off record revenue reported in the fourth quarter, Boyd Gaming executives are bullish on 2026 based on their property investments, including the opening of Cadence Crossing in east Henderson in March, and the potential windfall of federal tax benefits to consumers.
CEO Keith Smith kicked off the earnings call with Wall Street analysts with a 13-minute presentation, saying 2025 was a success and they’re optimistic about 2026. He said the Las Vegas locals segment will benefit from Cadence Crossing in the Henderson master-planned community that ranked third in the nation in 2025 in home sales.
The company will also complete its modernization project of the Suncoast in Summerlin in the third quarter. In the Midwest and South segment, he said Boyd will benefit from a full year of contributions at its meeting and convention center expansion at Ameristar St. Charles in Missouri and incremental revenues from hotel renovations and food and beverage improvements in the region.
“In both Nevada and the Midwest and South we continue to see strong play from our core customers and improving trends among retail players in 2025,” Smith said. “Building on these positive customer trends, we expect the implementation of last year’s tax legislation to benefit spending across the country in the coming months, particularly in southern Nevada, given the unique demographics of this region.”
Chief Financial Officer Josh Hirsberg said the company spent $148 million investing in properties in the fourth quarter, bringing the yearly total to $588 million.
“In terms of the 2026 outlook across our portfolio, we expect customers to continue to spend closer to home, which was a key driver of our business in 2025 for both our Nevada and Midwest and South businesses.”
Smith said regional fourth quarter numbers outside of Las Vegas were impacted by severe winter weather in December and the closing of Sam’s Town Tunica in November, an impact of $4 million on EBITDAR. Otherwise, it would have grown 2%.
In Las Vegas, there were declines in hotel revenue due to ongoing softness of the tourism market. Increased gaming revenue came from play from core customers.
“This growth in gaming revenue would have been even stronger if not for the softness in destination business in the quarter,” Smith said. “This weakness in destination business resulted in a decline of nearly $6 million in cash hotel revenues versus the quarter of the prior year, with the majority of the decline coming at The Orleans consistent with what we experienced in the third quarter.”
Excluding The Orleans, where room renovations will be completed in the fourth quarter and modernization launched in 2027, the Las Vegas locals segment achieved EBITDAR growth of nearly 2.5%, an improvement over the third quarter as margins exceeded 50%, Smith said.
“We remain confident in the long-term prospects for our Las Vegas locals’ business,” Smith said.
In downtown Las Vegas, Smith said business that relies on customers from Hawaii remained stable in the fourth quarter. That was offset by a 10% decline in pedestrian traffic on the Fremont Street Experience in the fourth quarter, along with reduced hotel revenue as part of the weaker destination business throughout Las Vegas.
Smith outlined its plans for a $160 million gaming facility at its Par-A-Dice casino site in East Peoria. The proposal is for the casino to move to a permanently moored barge on the Illinois River, with anticipation of construction starting in 2027, after approvals from the state’s gaming regulators, and opening in 2028.
“This will significantly enhance the competitiveness and appeal of Par-A-Dice, positioning us for incremental long-term growth at this property,” Smith said.
The online segment will continue to benefit from the continued growth of Boyd Interactive and the company will reap a windfall from the opening of the casino expansion at Sky River in northern California later this month. It’s projected to generate $110 million to $114 million in EBITDAR in 2026, Smith said.
Boyd opened a transitional casino in North Folk, Virginia, while a $150 million casino project is underway. It will be completed in late 2027 and the upscale resort will have a 200-room hotel.
