Wyomissing-based Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. said it is selling a casino property – in a multi-tiered transaction – for $138 million to Pinnacle Entertainment and will enter into a 29-year lease with Pinnacle for the real estate. Pinnacle will operate the venue.
The casino, The Meadows Racetrack and Casino in suburban Pittsburgh, is a 180,000-square-foot casino, which opened in 2007, that has 3,170 slot machines, 74 table games and 11 poker tables.
In addition to the casino, the property includes 11 casual and fine dining restaurants, bars and lounges, a 24-lane bowling alley and a 5/8-mile harness racing track with a 500-seat grandstand.
“Pinnacle is well suited to maximize the operating potential of The Meadows, while the escalator provisions in the lease enable GLPI to participate in the long-term success of the property,” said Peter Carlino, chairman and CEO of Gaming and Leisure Properties. “This transaction allows us to unlock value in the asset while growing and diversifying our rental income.”
Gaming and Leisure does not yet own The Meadows, but announced in December an agreement to acquire the racetrack and casino from Cannery Casino Resorts LLC for $440 million. Gaming and Leisure intends to fund the transaction with proceeds received from the sale of the operating assets to Pinnacle and a combination of debt and equity, it said.
All of the transactions are subject to and require approval from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board and the Pennsylvania Harness Racing Commission and are expected to close in the late third quarter this year.
Gaming and Leisure Properties was spun off from National Penn Gaming in 2013 and is engaged in the business of acquiring, financing and owning real estate property to be leased to gaming operators.
