Gaming and Leisure Properties Wednesday announced it has completed the previously announced acquisition of Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland for a total of $1.14 billion.
Earlier this month, GLPI announced it was acquiring three Cordish Live! casinos for a total of $1.81 billion and noted in the release it remains on track to acquire the assets of Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia and Live! Casino Pittsburgh in early 2022.
The property has become the 2nd casino the company owns in Maryland, after Hollywood Casino Perryville.
Cordish will now lease the land and real estate assets of Live Casino & Hotel Maryland from GLPI for an initial term of 39 years (maximum term of 60 years) with an initial annual cash rent of $75.0 million. Beginning in the third year of the lease, the rent will increase a fixed 1.75% per year.
“We are delighted to add Live! Maryland to our portfolio, further diversify our roster of leading operators, and gain additional access to the rapidly growing Baltimore-Washington corridor via a truly world-class property. The Cordish Companies is world renowned for creating large-scale experiential real estate projects, casinos, hospitality and entertainment districts and we believe their Live! brand and their Live! Maryland together exemplify their track record of development and operating success,” said Peter Carlino, Chairman and CEO of GLPI.
The initial news was greeted positively by Wall Street analysts and viewed as an ongoing trend by industry observers.
“It’s a continued shift in the casino model and for Cordish, a change in direction from a family-run business to the asset-light model that other major companies have embraced thoroughly (including MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment),” said Brendan Bussmann, a partner with Global Market Advisors, told CDC Gaming December 6.
The transactions will not only include the existing real-estate assets, but also a binding partnership on future Cordish casino developments, as well as potential financing partnerships between GLPI and Cordish in other areas of Cordish’s real estate and operating businesses
GLPI, the nation’s first RETI focused on assets leased to gaming operators, has 51 gaming assets in 17 states. Its tenants include Penn National Gaming, Caesars Entertainment, Boyd Gaming, Casino Queen, and Bally’s.
Live! Maryland is situated on approximately 36.4 acres adjacent to the Arundel Mills Mall in the Baltimore, Maryland/Washington D.C. corridor. The property features roughly 4,000 slot machines and electronic table games, approximately 200 live table games including a poker room with 52 tables, a sportsbook, parking for over 7,000 vehicles in a six-story parking garage and adjacent surface lots, 310 hotel rooms, a state-of-the-art live entertainment venue, and restaurants such as Bobby’s Burger Palace, The Cheesecake Factory and The Prime Rib.
