Century Casinos co-CEO Peter Hoetzinger hailed “a strong solid quarter” during the company’s earnings call held Friday. “We never had higher revenues in the first quarter in the history of our company.” All Century properties, he said, trended higher.
“We achieved that growth despite extra costs and a slow-ramping new casino in Poland,” Hoetzinger continued. He said the company was seeing “solid trends, despite higher gas prices.”
Hoetzinger elaborated that the overall state of the economy was more impactful than fuel costs per se, as most of Century’s customers hail from within 45 miles of the nearest casino. Consumers, he reported, were staying and playing closer to home. Hoetzinger added, “We benefited from the strong investments we made in the last two years.”
One headline statistic came from Nevada’s Sparks Nugget, where cash flow leapt 93 percent. Haitzmann related that expenses had been flat and “non-gaming amenities are gaining traction.” He also hailed the property’s concert lineup, including Keith Urban, Lady A, and Miranda Lambert, among other upcoming performers.
At Rocky Gap Resort, in Maryland, business by senior citizens was said to be up 28 percent, with middle-aged and young-adult customers up 14 percent. Haitzmann opined that there had been some Rocky Gap softness, “likely driven by higher gas prices.”
Century Cape Girardeau in Missouri saw revenue up 6.4 percent, “driven by excellent slot performance,” Haitzmann said. Its sportsbook was responsible for 17 percent of Missouri handle, he added, and “Illinois patronage is rebounding.”
Nearby Century Caruthersville was up 3.1 percent, which Haitzmann called “strong consistent results.” Slots were doing seven percent better than in the first quarter of 2025 and table games were two percent higher. Long-haul customers were up 20 percent.
In Cripple Creek, Colorado, revenue was up 8.6 percent despite the elimination of table games in favor of their electronic equivalents. Haitzmann said young adults preferred the ETGs and that Century Cripple Creek was “a clean lean operation with improved profitability.”
Table games were also excised from the Century City operation. Haitzmann said this “significantly improved the property’s cost profile.”
Century’s Canadian casinos “performed well in Q1 too,” Haitzmann continued, including “another solid quarter” in Alberta. There, Century has opened sports bars at all four of its casinos and reported itself poised to launch sports betting in July.
In Poland, revenue was up, but cash flow was down. Haitzmann reported, “A challenging period marked by license delays and relocation has ended.”
Hoetzinger said Century saw a pathway to lower leverage, with no debt maturities until the second quarter of 2029. However, “Share repurchases are on the back burner.”
Looking ahead to the second quarter, he said, “April feels like a continuation of Q1. We’re not seeing any cracks in the armor. The regional consumer has been remarkably resilient.”
“It’s really hard to say,” Haitzmann responded when asked to quantify macroeconomic impacts. He said he couldn’t link business levels to the movement of oil prices.
One thing not lying ahead was substantial capex investment, no more than $15 million, following a period of heavy capex. “We have no big projects around the corner,” Hoetzinger said.
Explaining the revenue boost, Haitzmann said that good weather played a role, “but that’s only a certain portion of the increase.” He said that Century had been pressing for cost savings across its United States portfolio and had rethought its marketing.
By way of example, Hoetzinger said that Rocky Gap Resort in Maryland was doing email marketing to under-40 customers only. Also, the Sparks Nugget had quadrupled its table-points program and doubled slot rewards.
Speaking of the Nugget and its outdoor performance series, Haitzmann said, “The concerts are successful from various perspectives.” The venue was popular with artists, the concerts drive food-and-beverage revenues in a meaningful way, and “there is a significant lift in casino revenue,” along with a three-night bump in hotel business around concert dates.
