Golden Entertainment has closed on its 0 million purchase of American Casino & Entertainment Properties, owner of Las Vegas’ Stratosphere Casino, Hotel & Tower, two popular Las Vegas locals casinos operating under the Arizona Charlie’s brand and the Aquarius Casino Resort in Laughlin, Nev.
The Nevada Gaming Commission signed off on the purchase last week, clearing the way for Las Vegas-based Golden to pay New York-based Whitehall Street Real Estate Partners $781 million in cash and 4 million shares of Golden stock to acquire ACEP. The acquisition expands Golden’s portfolio to 16,000 slot machines, 114 table games and 5,162 hotel rooms across eight casinos, including three in Pahrump, Nev., and one in Maryland.
The company also operates around 1,000 distributed gaming locations, including the PT’s brand of machine gaming taverns, the largest group of its kind in Nevada, and slot routes in Montana.
“Our new properties and existing businesses are well-positioned to grow as they benefit from Nevada’s continued economic strength, particularly in the Las Vegas market,” said Chairman and CEO Blake L. Sartini. “In addition, we have the ability to develop approximately 15 acres of excess real estate surrounding the Stratosphere, which we believe has enormous long-term potential.”
Golden said the purchase is expected to double its revenue and triple its cash flow. The company is projecting 2017 pro forma net revenues of $847 million and adjusted EBITDA of $180 million, including an estimated $18 million of synergies.
