CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO., CARUTHERSVILLE, MO., AND NEW CUMBERLAND, W.V. — VICI Properties Inc. (NYSE: VICI), a New York City-based REIT that specializes in casinos, has acquired three such properties in Missouri and West Virginia. Eldorado Resorts Inc. sold the assets for $278 million in an all-cash deal.
In Missouri, Isle Casino Cape Girardeau is located in Cape Girardeau in the southern part of the state, while Lady Luck Casino is a riverboat casino in Caruthersville, located even further south near the Tennessee-Missouri border. Both cities are situated along the Mississippi River. In West Virginia, Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort is in New Cumberland, a city situated along the Ohio River in the northern part of the state.
Isle Casino opened in 2012 and features 41,500 square feet of casino space, three dining venues, a pavilion and an entertainment center. Lady Luck opened 1995 and consists of a dockside casino spanning 21,500 square feet, two restaurants and a 40,000-square-foot pavilion. Mountaineer opened as a racetrack and resort in 1951. The casino debuted in 1994 and offers a 357-room hotel, five dining venues, 1,486 gaming machines and 36 table games.
VICI Properties has also entered into an agreement with Colorado-based Century Casinos (NASDAQ: CNTY) to operate the newly acquired properties. That lease agreement spans 15 years with four five-year renewal options, with an initial annual rent of $25 million.
“This transaction further diversifies our tenant roster, adds three competitive regional assets to our portfolio and expands our geographic footprint into a new market, West Virginia,” says John Payne, president and COO of VICI Properties. “We are excited to partner with Century, as they are expert operators of small to mid-sized regional assets and we look forward to supporting the Century team in further growing their U.S. regional gaming platform.”
VICI Properties’ stock price opened at $24.94 per share on Monday, Dec. 9, up from $21.47 per share a year ago. The stock price of Century Casinos opened at $8.09 per share on Monday, Dec. 9, up from $6.84 per share a year ago.
— Taylor Williams