Despite bad weather, the fourth quarter for Boyd Gaming was steady as she goes. Wall Street expected $334 million in cash flow and Boyd delivered $337 million, along with $1 billion in revenue. That was achieved even with soft business in the Midwest and South, as well as in the drive-in business in Las Vegas. Locals play in Sin City remains solid, which was a saving grace. Destination customers just weren’t coming, which hurt business at The Orleans, for one. To console investors, $185 million in stock was bought back, and projects in Virginia, Illinois and suburban Vegas remain in train through 2028.
In contrast to Boyd’s $750 million Norfolk project, the new Par-A-Dice in East Peoria will cost just $160 million. That’s because Boyd is relocating the riverboat rather than going ashore, saving hundreds of millions in construction, to say nothing of the fee Illinois collects for getting off the water. (Really, the Land of Lincoln should be incentivizing casinos to get onto terra firma.) Surprisingly, Boyd is backing iGaming in Virginia, liking the terms the Cavalier State is contemplating for it.
How played-out is Tunica? So played out that Boyd was able to close its Sam’s Town there and not suffer more than a $4 million bump in the road. Meanwhile, upgrades at Ameristar St. Charles, IP Biloxi, Valley Forge Resort and Diamond Jo Worth are expected to provide a series of boosts. Locally, the completion of suburban Cadence Crossing and of renovations at Suncoast should shore up non-destination business even further. Core customers were said to be remaining loyal, as was the all-important Hawaii contingent. However, Fremont Street foot traffic has been dampened (4% less revenue and 11% less cash flow) by the overall lack of visitation to Sin City.
One of Boyd’s biggest success stories, Sky River Casino, is doing so well that the California resort is speeding into Phase II of its expansion right after Phase I is finished. The latter will add 400 slots and 1,600 more parking spaces. Phase II entails a 300-room hotel, a spa and three more restaurants. Also, buried deep in Barry Jonas‘ report for Truist Securities, was the news that Boyd is eyeing a casino in Fairfax County, should the Virginia Lege authorize a referendum. Opposition in area is running high, so good luck to Boyd, as they’ll need some. Besides, they’ll be going up against MGM Resorts International, which takes a dim view of new competition near our nation’s capital. Boyd is willing to load up on leverage, going from 1.7X cash flow to 2.5X, so it’s not like they’re not loaded for bear.
Oh … and next year seeing a major renovation of The Orleans. ‘Bout time.