Vici Properties announces $1.16bn Golden Entertainment asset acquisition

Vici Properties has unveiled a new deal which sees the company officially acquire seven Golden Entertainment casino properties in Nevada for $1.16bn as part of a sale-leaseback transaction structure.  

Indeed, this deal sees Vici take over 100% of the land and real property improvements of all 7 casino locations, as well as forming a newly incorporated entity to be owned by current Golden Entertainment CEO, Blake L. Sartini, which is set to acquire Golden Entertainment as an operational entity as part of this transaction. As per this deal Golden has taken the definitive decision to privatize its operations as part of a deal that amounts to approximately $30 per share.

Speaking on this new deal, Blake L. Sartini, Chairman & CEO of Golden, said, “At Golden, we have continued to refine our business in recent years to focus on our core casino and tavern operations in Nevada, and we believe this transaction is the right next step in our evolution to a private company. After many years of watching VICI’s success, we are excited to partner with VICI on this important strategic transaction and to explore potential opportunities to grow our company.” 

Golden CFO and President, Charles Protell, added, “We are grateful for VICI’s partnership and creativity in structuring a sale-leaseback transaction that helps us to achieve our shareholders’ objectives and unlock significant value in our real estate. We appreciate the significant efforts and expertise that the VICI management team brought to the table to execute this transaction.”  

The lease of these seven properties will be offered at for an initial term of 30 years, with four five-year tenant renewal options at a rate of $87m per year – increasing 2% as of year three of the lease. With over 4,000 slot machines, 362,000 square feet of casino space and 78 table games across the seven casinos, this deal looks to further diversify Vici’s property assets against the key gaming state of Nevada.  

Also commenting, Vici President and COO, John Payne, said, “VICI has sought exposure to the attractive Las Vegas Locals gaming market since our inception, and we are thrilled to acquire seven new assets across the state of Nevada with sticky, durable customer bases. We look forward to initiating a partnership with Golden, having long admired the ability of Blake and the Golden team to operate within the various dynamics of the Nevada gaming market.” 

Last week, Vici also released its latest financial results, recording a Q3 2025 revenue of $1bn, up 4.4% year-over-year. Elsewhere, Golden Entertainment reported a 2.2% year-over-year drop in revenue from the second quarter of this year, posting a figure of $163.6m.  

In the wake of this latest announcement, however, New York-based investor rights law firm Halper Sadeh LLC has launched an investigation into the fairness of the transaction for shareholders of Golden – urging them to contact the firm swiftly in order to excercise their rights. Halper Sadeh has underlined concerns around whether Golden and its BOD may havefailed to obtain the best possible deal, determine whether the buyers (Vici and Sartini) are underpaying shareholders and the potential witholding of information distributed to shareholders related to the details of the transaction. 

Will Underwood

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