The five newest properties in the Boyd Gaming portfolio helped boost 2019 revenues for the regional casino giant by 26 percent to $3.33 billion.
The five acquisitions—Valley Forge Casino, near Philadelphia; Ameristar Kansas City and Ameristar St. Charles, near St. Louis; Belterra Resort in southern Indiana and Belterra Park, near Cincinnati—figured prominently in what shaped up as a particularly strong fourth quarter. Revenues rose 5.2 percent to $833.1 million in the three months that ended December 31, with the largest increase, 7.6 percent, coming from the company’s Midwest and South divisions, which includes four of the five new properties.
Net income in the quarter rose 6.2 percent to $24.3 million.
“As we pass the one-year anniversary of the Ameristar and Belterra acquisitions, we have exceeded our initial expectations for our first full year of ownership,” CEO Keith Smith said. “As we continue to identify best practices and opportunities for additional synergies, we expect to realize further value from these acquisitions in the year ahead.”
In all, Las Vegas-based Boyd operates 29 casinos in 10 states, a diversity it believes will prove especially beneficial as legal sports betting expands nationwide.
Smith credited the company’s bookmaking partnership with FanDuel for attracting new customers to its Pennsylvania, Indiana and Iowa properties, and is looking forward to strong results in Illinois, where it operates two casinos, once sports betting comes online there.
“With market access in 15 states across the country, representing more than 36 percent of the U.S. population, Boyd Gaming is well-positioned as additional states consider legalizing sports wagering,” he said.
The company’s Downtown Las Vegas casinos grew revenues 3.8 percent to $257.6 million for the year. The suburban locals properties were up 8.4 percent to $880.9 million.
“Our locals segment continues to perform at near-record levels,” Smith said. “As we begin 2020, we are encouraged by the trends we have seen in January and remain optimistic for the full year. The fundamentals of our locals business have not changed.”
