Strat operator Golden says occupancy high this weekend

Golden Entertainment is weathering the coronavirus as well as its Strip counterparts, a company executive said Thursday.

Charles Protell, president and chief financial officer of the company that operates the Strat, said about 80 percent of the company’s revenue is generated by the locals market and that the recently remodeled Strat was sold out last weekend and has a high occupancy rate this weekend.

“It’s tough to handicap the duration and severity of the coronavirus, but we are not seeing an impact on business that is remotely proportionate to the impact on our equity valuation,” Protell said.

Golden reported record revenue and cash flow in the company’s fourth quarter.

The company reported revenue of $242.1 million, a 15.2 percent increase over last year, for the quarter that ended Dec. 31. Executives also said cash flow climbed more than 25 percent.

Blake Sartini, chairman and CEO of Golden, commented, said the company’s growth centered around its casinos and distributed-gaming operations.

“The strong operating results reflect contributions from the Laughlin properties that we acquired last January as well as year-over-year growth at all of our other properties and distributed gaming operations,” he said.

During the quarter, the company also introduced its True Rewards loyalty program at 140 locations, including its casinos, taverns and third-party operations.

Sartini said the program is expected to drive market share with rewards that include dinners at the Strat’s Top of the World restaurant.

Golden couldn’t evade the stock sell-off that affected most gaming companies in Thursday trading.

The value of company shares fell 19.6 percent, $1.92, to close at $7.89 a share on volume about 2½ times the daily average.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.