Louisiana Purchase: Bally’s Buys Boyd Shreveport Casino

• Boyd is selling Sam’s Town Hotel & Casino in Shreveport, to Bally’s
• Financial terms not disclosed
• Deal expected to close in third quarter

Boyd Gaming (NYSE: BYD) said today it reached an agreement to sell the Sam’s Town Hotel & Casino in Shreveport, La. to Bally’s.

Las Vegas-based Boyd has operated the Louisiana casino since 2004. From a logistical standpoint, the transaction makes sense because Sam’s Town is adjacent to Bally’s Shreveport Casino & Hotel in downtown Shreveport.

Sam’s Town Shreveport features a 29,000-square-foot casino with 750 slot machines and 14 table games, a 514-room hotel, multiple restaurants, a live entertainment venue, and convention and meeting space,” according to a statement issued by the regional casino operators.

Financial terms of the transaction, which is expected to close in the third quarter, weren’t revealed.

Bally’s Boosts Louisiana Footprint

As noted above, Rhode Island-based already operates a Shreveport gaming venue and the company is familiar to Louisiana bettors.

For its part, Boyd will retain a significant footprint in the state. After selling Sam’s Town Shreveport, the company will still run four Louisiana casinos — the Amelia Belle, the Delta Downs racino, Evangeline Downs Racetrack & Casino, and the Treasure Chest Casino.

“The sale of our Sam’s Town Shreveport property is consistent with our continued focus on refining our operating model and our nationwide property portfolio,” said Boyd CEO Keith Smith in the press release.

Boyd runs 10 gaming venues in its home market, including Aliante, California, Cannery, Fremont, Gold Coast, Jokers Wild, Main Street Station, Sam’s Town, Suncoast, and The Orleans. That figure is poised to grow to 11 next month when Cadence Crossing Casino in Henderson, Nevada comes online. It also operates regional casinos in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

What Will Become of Sam’s Town Real Estate?

It appears as though Boyd Gaming owns the real estate associated with Sam’s Town Shreveport, meaning that property will be transferred to Bally’s when the deal is wrapped up.

That’s potentially noteworthy because as is widely known in gaming circles, Bally’s often executes sale leaseback deals to raise cash, which is to say the operator doesn’t own much of the real estate on which its casinos reside.

Its primary landlord is Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ: GLPI), which already owns the property assets of seven Louisiana casinos, including the trio of aforementioned Bally’s venues. However, the real estate investment trust (REIT) hasn’t publicly said it’s aiming to acquire Sam’s Town real estate.