Strong finish leads to record revenue for Golden Entertainment

A big fourth quarter capped off a record year for casino and slot route operator Golden Entertainment, despite the various business challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company, which owns the Strat as well as casinos in Laughlin and Pahrump, reported record fourth quarter revenue and adjusted cash flow for the quarter ending Dec. 31. Golden reported $19.1 million on revenues of $282 million for the quarter, compared with losses of $18.5 million on $205.6 million in revenues for the same period in 2020.

The strong fourth quarter propelled Golden to its first year of generating more than $1 billion in annual revenue in the company’s history.

“Despite our record performance, it could have been even better as our operations were impacted by COVID restrictions, supply and labor shortages and reduced visitation that our team successfully navigated during 2021,” Golden President and Chief Financial Officer Charles Protell said during a call with investors Thursday.

The Strat’s room occupancy improved to 77 percent in the fourth quarter, a significant increase from the 43 percent occupancy the resort saw in the same quarter of 2020. But those numbers are still down from the 90 percent occupancy rate the Strat had in same quarter of 2019.

Responding to a question from an analyst about what considerations the company has, given the recent multibillion sales of several casinos along the Strip, Golden Chairman and CEO Blake Sartini said the company isn’t planning to jump into any major developments anytime soon and is focused on its current holdings.

“We’re not considering anything other than maintaining our current real estate portfolio as it is, but the underlying value I think is significant,” Sartini said.

Golden Entertainment stock, traded on the Nasdaq exchange, closed down Thursday by $2.02 a share, 3.43 percent, to $56.85 a share.

Contact Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ColtonLochhead on Twitter.