Century Casinos announced their second-quarter financial results with several acquisitions highlighting the three-month period that ended June 30.
A big headline was the sale of their Canadian real estate to VICI Properties Inc., a gaming real estate investment trust. VICI acquired the real-estate assets of Century Casino & Hotel Edmonton, Century Casino St. Albert, Century Mile Racetrack and Casino in Edmonton, and Century Downs Racetrack and Casino in Calgary, in May, for an aggregate purchase price of $167.3 million USD in cash. The Century Canadian portfolio will be added to the existing triple-net Century master lease; annual rent will increase by $13.1 million USD and has been extended to a full 15-year initial base term, with four five-year renewal options.
The transaction is expected to close by the end of September.
Second was the company’s acquisition of Nugget Casino Resort in Sparks, Nevada, for $100 million USD, announced in April. Then the company announced the acquisition of the operations of Rocky Gap Casino Resort in Flintstone, Maryland, completed on July 25, for $56 million USD.
“The addition of Rocky Gap is another important milestone in our pursuit to acquire prime U.S. assets. With this acquisition and our pending acquisition of the Nugget Casino Resort in Nevada, we will oversee a U.S. portfolio that reaches from east to west,” Erwin Haitzmann and Peter Hoetzinger, co-chief executive officers of Century Casinos, said in a statement.
Second-quarter highlights for Century Casinos, compared to the three months ended June 30, 2022, included a 23 percent increase in net operating revenue ($136.8 million USD). Earnings from operations were $18.6 million, a decrease of ten percent.
“We believe the outlook for the Nugget is positive with record group bookings at the hotel for the second half of this year and continuing into 2024,” Haitzmann and Hoetzinger said in the statement.
