Golden Entertainment Draws Activist Interest from Gabelli’s GAMCO

Posted on: October 10, 2025, 02:14h. 

Last updated on: October 10, 2025, 02:14h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.
  • Asset manager owns 5.06% of Strat owner’s shares outstanding
  • Gabelli has previously made bullish remarks on Golden Entertainment

Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors has taken what appears to be an activist stake in regional casino operator Golden Entertainment (NASDAQ: GDEN), but the money manager isn’t looking to take control of the gaming company.

Gabelli
GAMCO Chairman and CEO Mario Gabelli. The firm has taken an activist stake in Golden Entertainment. (Image: YouTube)

A Form 13D filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) indicates GAMCO, affiliates tied to the asset manager, and Gabelli himself now hold more than 1.32 million shares of the Strat operator. That works out to $22.56 million in dollar terms or 5.06% of the operator’s outstanding equity. Activist or otherwise, investors that own more than 5% of a publicly traded are required to disclose those stakes to federal regulators.

The (GAMCO) filing says the holdings were acquired for investment across advisory and proprietary accounts; the purchasers used client funds, working capital and personal funds,” according to a summary of the regulatory document. “The filers state they do not intend to seek control but may engage with management consistent with their investment philosophy.”

SEC data indicate Gabelli’s investment firm actively bought shares of Golden, with some modest sales, over the past three months. With the increased stake, GAMCO is now a top-five owner of the casino operator.

Speculating on What Gabelli Wants with Golden

As noted above, GAMCO isn’t looking to acquire Golden outright, but for now, the investor hasn’t overtly described what its level of activism will be or in what direction it would like to steer the gaming company. It’s common for activists that are newly engaged with a particular company to initially be mum on their plans, though others immediately make clear what their intentions are.

GAMCO’s involvement with Golden isn’t surprising. In the January edition of the Barron’s “Roundtable,” Gabelli called Golden “a work in progress” while highlighting the potential value that could be wrung from the operator’s nine acres of unused land across from the Strat.

In recent months, speculation has intensified that Golden could engage in a real estate transaction of some type this year in an effort to unlock value for shareholders. Much of that chatter has centered around the Strat, which actually isn’t on the Las Vegas Strip, but is near it. That casino hotel resort plus the additional acreage referenced by Gabelli represent the operator’s most valuable property holdings.

However, rumors regarding real estate sales by Golden are now old by investment community standards, so much so that some analysts say consolidation catalysts pertaining to the stock have waned. On the other hand, an activist investor could refresh that proposition.

Gabelli Has Gaming Equity Experience

Gabelli has a long track record of investing in gaming equities and recently waxed bullish on Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ: CZR), even highlighting the renewed involvement of activist Carl Icahn in that company.

As for Golden, the company has made clear it’s likely to be more of a seller than a buyer, but it’s not clear if that will materialize in the form of asset or real estate divestments or an outright sale of the company. Any of those scenarios could appease an activist investor like GAMCO.

Golden’s casinos are located in Las Vegas, Laughlin, and Pahrump so the potential is there for multiple asset or property sales, but it remains to be seen if that’s the type of pressure applied by Gabelli and GAMCO.