Gary Carano, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Eldorado, commented, “Our acquisition of Tropicana marks a continuation of Eldorado’s successful history of rapid growth through strategic, accretive acquisitions. Through this combination, we have significantly expanded the scale of our gaming operations, further diversified our geographic reach into new markets – some of which have already adopted sports wagering legislation — and minimized market-specific risk. We continue to focus on enhancing shareholder value through strategic transactions, return-focused property enhancements and opportunistic partnerships with third parties – including the Tropicana transaction, the Grand Victoria acquisition and our recent agreements with The Cordish Companies and William Hill PLC.
“We intend to reduce the initial purchase price multiple of the Tropicana transaction as we implement a range of operating disciplines designed to enhance margins by further improving customer service and the customer experience while focusing on promotion and other spending in all areas of the newly-acquired properties. We look forward to welcoming Tropicana’s team members to the Eldorado Resorts family.”
Tom Reeg, President and Chief Financial Officer of Eldorado, added, “With the acquisition of seven Tropicana properties, Eldorado enters two new gaming jurisdictions and adds financial and geographic diversity to our operating base. We have identified $40 million of synergies that we expect to realize over the next year. We believe the financing structure for the transaction, which includes a master lease of real estate acquired by GLPI, allows us to maintain financial flexibility for leverage reduction and continued transactional growth as we continue to own the majority of the underlying real estate across our remaining property portfolio.”
About Eldorado Resorts, Inc.
Eldorado Resorts is a leading casino entertainment company that owns and operates twenty six properties in twelve states, including Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, and West Virginia. In aggregate, Eldorado’s properties feature more than 27,500 slot machines and VLTs and 800 table games, and over 12,500 hotel rooms. For more information, please visit www.eldoradoresorts.com.
Non-GAAP Measures
Adjusted EBITDA is anon-GAAP measurement. Eldorado defines adjusted EBITDA as operating income (loss) before depreciation and amortization, stock based compensation, transaction expenses, severance expense, costs and income associated with the disposition of Presque Isle Downs and Lady Luck Nemacolin and the terminated Vicksburg and Lake Charles sales, impairment charges, equity in income of unconsolidated affiliates, (gain) loss on the sale or disposal of property and equipment and other regulatory gaming assessments, including the impact of the change in regulatory reporting requirement. Tropicana defines adjusted EBITDA as operating income (loss) before depreciation and amortization, transaction expenses, (gain) loss on asset disposal, insurance recoveries, real estate tax settlements and contract early termination costs. Grand Victoria Casino defines Adjusted EBITDA as operating income before depreciation and amortization, transaction expenses and dividends.
