Penn National Unloads Tropicana Las Vegas Property

Penn National Gaming has just revealed its intention to sell the Tropicana Las Vegas resort to fight the ongoing financial crisis. The operator doesn’t see opportunity for new revenues and considers unpaid layoffs of 26,000 team .

What Was Announced

On this occasion, President and chief executive officer of Penn National, Jay Snowden said:

“Today we announced an agreement with our principal landlord, Gaming & Leisure Properties, involving the sale of the Tropicana Las Vegas real estate assets (we will continue to operate the facility) and a new ground lease for our planned Category 4 casino in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, in exchange for $337.5 million in rent credits.”

He added:

“We are committed to doing all we can to help our affected team get through this. To try to help ease some of the burden, we’re maintaining medical benefits through June 30, for those team who are currently enrolled in our health plans.”

Additional Measures

Apart from previously mentioned steps, the operator will make additional efforts including:

• Notable pay cuts for the CEO and corporate leadership teams as of April 1 until the company determines that its venues have returned to regular activity.
• The board of directors has elected to reject any cash compensation as of April 1 until the operator determines that its venues have returned to ordinary activities.
• The majority of corporate team will also be laid off, and the enterprise will be working with a minimum number of staff (less than 850 team ).

Snowden concluded:

“With all of our 41 properties in 19 states temporarily shuttered, like many others in the gaming and hospitality sector, we are making difficult decisions to help preserve our liquidity and ensure a brighter future for our company’s team , customers, shareholders, and other key stakeholders.”

Penn National should issue the financial and operational report for the first three months of 2020 on May 7.

About:

Penn National Gaming is a reputable owner and operator of gaming and racing properties and video gaming terminals around the world. Its focus is on West Virginia. Altogether, Penn National Gaming holds about 49,400 gaming machines, 1,200 table chances, and 8,800 hotel rooms. It offers social online gaming through its Penn Interactive Ventures division.

Source:

“Penn National sells Tropicana Las Vegas, furloughs 26K employees“, yogonet.com, March 30, 2020.