Gaming and Leisure acquires real estate assets of Tioga Downs for $175M

Gaming and Leisure Properties announced that it acquired the real estate assets of Tioga Downs Casino Resort in Nichols, NY from American Racing & Entertainment, LLC for $175M. Simultaneous with the acquisition, GLPI and American Racing entered into a triple-net master lease agreement for an initial 30-year term. The initial annual rent for the new master lease is $14.5M and represents an 8.3% capitalization rate. The initial annualized rent coverage ratio for the lease is expected to be over 2.3x. Rent associated with the lease is subject to a fixed 1.75% annual escalation beginning with the first anniversary and a fixed annual escalation of 2.0% beginning in year fifteen of the lease and carrying forward through the balance of its term. Located in Nichols, NY, Tioga Downs Casino Resort is a roughly 162-acre property that features a 32,600 sq. ft. gaming floor with 895 slots and 29 table games, a 2,500 sq. ft. FanDuel sports book, a 160-room hotel, 5/8-mile harness horse track, 7 food and beverage locations, and a separate 18-hole championship golf course. The property underwent a $130 million expansion beginning in 2016 after it was awarded a Class III casino license by the State of New York. Peter Carlino, GLPI’s Chairman and CEO, commented, “We are pleased to add Tioga Downs to our portfolio and the new relationship with American Racing to our tenant roster. Tioga Downs further diversifies our portfolio, expanding it to 62 properties across 19 states with 8 tenants. American Racing has 20 years of gaming, horse racing, and hotel experience, marking another addition to our portfolio of leading gaming operator tenants. Tioga Downs is a high-quality, recently expanded asset with significant geographic protection from competition. We look forward to the start of a fruitful partnership with American Racing. Our initiatives to further expand our portfolio remain active in the current environment as our reputation as the gaming landlord of choice is strengthened.”