GLPI Advances $800 Million Casino Investment Program

GLPI reported third-quarter revenue of $435.4 million. This figure represents a 9.5 percent increase from a year earlier. Adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) rose from $282 million to $311.7 million. The company owns the land and buildings of casinos and leases them to operators. It does not operate the casinos itself.

The Live! Casino & Hotel project in Virginia is being carried out with The Cordish Companies. In January, GLPI agreed to provide up to $440 million in financing for construction. It also bought the project land for $27 million. The total investment commitment reached $467 million.

In Illinois, GLPI completed its $225 million financing for the roadside development of PENN Entertainment's Hollywood Casino and Hotel Aurora project. A final payment of $216.3 million was transferred in June, and the project was completed. In February, GLPI also bought the land and buildings of Bally's Lincoln Casino Resort in Rhode Island for $700 million. This transaction adds $56 million in annual rental income. The casino's gaming operations remain with Bally's.

GLPI also amended the credit agreement related to the Hard Rock Casino in Rockford. Under the amendment, it received a principal repayment of $16 million, and the loan's maturity was extended to December 2029. The new agreement also includes an option to purchase the casino's building improvements. The company is also forming a joint venture with Prologis to redevelop the former Hollywood Casino Joliet site in Illinois. Subject to municipal approval, the five-year project will turn the site into a warehouse and distribution park of more than 3.8 million square feet made up of five buildings. GLPI expects to own about 20 percent of the completed project. With additional investment, that share could rise to 30 percent.

The company raised the lower end of its year-end AFFO forecast to $1.222 billion. Rental income growth and development activity in the portfolio contributed to this increase.