VICI Properties Acquires Trio of Gaming Properties, Enters Master Lease
Upon the acquisition close, VICI entered a triple-net master lease agreement with Century under lease-terms that include an annual rent of $25 million and with an initial term of 15 years, with four 5-year tenant renewal options.
NEW YORK CITY – VICI Properties Inc., a real estate investment trust headquartered in New York City, has acquired three regional gaming facilities for an aggregate price of $278 million and entered into a master lease agreement with Century Casinos, Inc.
Properties a part of the portfolio acquisition include Eldorado Resorts’ Isle Casino Cape Girardeau in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Lady Luck Casino Caruthersville in Caruthersville, Missouri and Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort in New Cumberland, West Virginia.
Upon the acquisition close, VICI entered a triple-net master lease agreement with Century under lease-terms that include an annual rent of $25 million and with an initial term of 15 years, with four 5-year tenant renewal options. Century will guarantee the tenants’ obligations under the leases.
In strategizing the investment to absorb the three properties into its $39 million-square-foot portfolio, the REIT viewed it as an opportunity to partner with Century- a firm growing its U.S. regional gaming platform- to operate the small-to-midsize regional assets.
“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,” said John Payne, president and chief operating officer of VICI Properties, in a prepared statement.
Acquisition financing included cash on VICI’s balance sheet. Pending transactions including Eldorado as well as JACK Entertainment, will collectively add an additional $343 million of rent upon closing in 2020, according to David Kieske, EVP and chief financial officer of VICI Properties. “We remain on track to close each of the transactions on a leverage neutral basis,” he said in a prepared statement.
Isle Casino Cape Girardeau is located approximately 120 miles south of St. Louis, Missouri, overlooking the Mississippi River. The property opened in 2012 and consists of a dockside casino featuring 41,500 square feet of casino space, 863 gaming machines, 20 table games, three dining venues, a pavilion and an entertainment center. The property also includes a wide variety of non-gaming amenities, including an events center.
Lady Luck Caruthersville is a riverboat casino located along the Mississippi River in Caruthersville, Missouri. The property opened in 1995 and consists of a dockside casino, featuring 21,000 square feet of casino space, 507 gaming machines, nine table games, two dining venues and a 40,000 square foot pavilion.
Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort is a hotel, casino, entertainment and horse racing facility located in New Cumberland, West Virginia, one hour from downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The property originally opened in 1951 with the casino opening in 1994 and features a 357-room hotel, approximately 1,486 gaming machines, 36 table games, a poker room, a racetrack and five dining venues.