Century Casinos Inc (CNTY) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good day, everyone, and welcome to today's Century Casino's Q1 2024 earnings call. (Operator Instructions) Please note this call is being recorded. (Operator Instructions) It is now my pleasure to turn the conference over to Peter Hoetzinger. Please go ahead.

大家好，歡迎參加今天的 Century Casino 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。（操作員說明）請注意此通話正在錄音。（操作員指示）現在我很高興將會議交給 Peter Hoetzinger。請繼續。

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining our earnings call. We would like to remind you that we will be discussing forward-looking information, which involves risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ from our forward-looking statements. The company undertakes no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. We've provided a discussion of the risk factors in our SEC filings and encourage you to review these filings.

大家早安，感謝您參加我們的財報電話會議。我們想提醒您，我們將討論前瞻性訊息，其中涉及風險和不確定性，可能導致實際結果與我們的前瞻性陳述有所不同。本公司不承擔因新資訊、未來事件或其他原因而更新或修改前瞻性陳述的義務。我們在 SEC 文件中討論了風險因素，並鼓勵您查看這些文件。

Throughout our call, we'll refer to several non-GAAP financial measures, including, but not limited to, adjusted EBITDAR. Reconciliations of our non-GAAP measures to the appropriate GAAP measures can be found in our news releases and SEC filings available in the Investors section of our website at cnty.com. I'll now provide an overview of the first quarter 2024 results as well as our outlook for this and next year. After that, my co-CEO, Erwin Haitzmann; and our CFO, Margaret Stapleton, will join me for a Q&A session.

在整個電話會議中，我們將提及多項非 GAAP 財務指標，包括但不限於調整後的 EBITDAR。我們的非 GAAP 衡量標準與適當 GAAP 衡量標準的對帳可在我們網站 cnty.com 投資者部分的新聞稿和 SEC 文件中找到。我現在將概述 2024 年第一季的業績以及我們對今年和明年的展望。之後是我的聯合執行長歐文‧海茨曼 (Erwin Haitzmann)；我們的財務長瑪格麗特·斯特普爾頓 (Margaret Stapleton) 將與我一起參加問答環節。

For the quarter, we delivered net revenue of $136 million, an increase of 25% over Q1 of last year. The increase came from the additions of the Nugget in Nevada and Rocky Gap in Maryland, as well as good performances of our Canadian operations, offset by extremely bad weather, a weaker retail customer, construction disruption at a few properties, and the temporary closures of three casinos in Poland. Adjusted EBITDAR was $21 million, down 18% from last year. The US operations were flat and Canada was up, but Poland and the corporate segment were down. So it was a rather challenging start to the New Year.

本季度，我們實現淨收入 1.36 億美元，比去年第一季成長 25%。這一增長得益於內華達州 Nugget 和馬裡蘭州 Rocky Gap 的新增業務，以及加拿大業務的良好表現，但被極端惡劣的天氣、零售客戶疲軟、一些物業的施工中斷以及暫時關閉所抵消。三個賭場.調整後 EBITDAR 為 2,100 萬美元，比去年下降 18%。美國業務持平，加拿大業務成長，但波蘭和企業業務下降。因此，這是新年的一個相當具有挑戰性的開始。

While we knew our performance was comping to a strong first quarter of '23, the results were also impacted by severe winter weather. As you've heard from others in regional casinos, January was essentially wiped out because of weather.

雖然我們知道我們的業績可與 23 年第一季的強勁表現相媲美，但結果也受到了嚴冬天氣的影響。正如您從地區賭場的其他人那裡聽說的那樣，一月份基本上因為天氣而消失了。

And because most of our casinos are located outside of major cities in destination areas, such as Rocky Gap, Mountaineer, Century City or Cripple Creek, and also Caruthersville, our customers need to drive half an hour, an hour or more outside of city lights and urban streets. You can imagine the dramatic impact winter storms with unsafe driving conditions have on this situation.

由於我們的大多數賭場都位於目的地地區的主要城市之外，例如Rocky Gap、Mountaineer、Century City 或Cripple Creek，以及Caruthersville，因此我們的客戶需要在城市燈光之外開車半小時、一個小時或更長時間和城市街道。您可以想像冬季風暴和不安全的駕駛條件對這種情況的巨大影響。

In addition to the January weather, we faced several other transitory issues as well. Three of our casinos in Poland were closed for some or all of the quarter, two reopened towards the end of the quarter. And the third one, the largest of the three, will reopen in Q3.

除了一月的天氣之外，我們還面臨其他幾個暫時性問題。我們在波蘭的三個賭場在本季部分或整個季度關閉，其中兩個賭場在本季末重新開放。第三個是三個中最大的一個，將於第三季重新開放。

So from about August on, we will have all eight casinos in full operation again. Also, our increased spend on capital projects throughout our properties caused construction disruption at most of our casinos. And finally, remember, we acquired Nugget and Rocky Gap just about 12 months ago, meaning we are still early in the process of managing everything as one cohesive portfolio.

因此，從八月左右開始，我們將讓所有八家賭場再次全面運作。此外，我們在整個酒店的資本項目上增加的支出導致我們大多數賭場的建設中斷。最後，請記住，我們大約 12 個月前收購了 Nugget 和 Rocky Gap，這意味著我們仍處於將所有內容作為一個有凝聚力的投資組合進行管理的早期階段。

But to really get a good picture about what was going on in the quarter, we need to take the weather impact in January out of the equation and look at February and March. And what we see is that, beyond January, gaming volumes from our core customers actually grew.

但為了真正了解本季的情況，我們需要將一月份的天氣影響排除在外，並專注於二月和三月。我們看到，一月份之後，我們核心客戶的遊戲量實際上有所成長。

In addition, operating margins in February and March were better than in Q4 of last year, and they were very close to the margin of Q3 of last year, which is typically a very good quarter. So there's no working trend or anything like that. I mean, all of the substantial declines that happened, happened in January. February and March were quite normal. In fact, March showed signs of real strength at our properties.

此外，2月和3月的營業利潤率優於去年第四季度，並且非常接近去年第三季度的利潤率，這通常是一個非常好的季度。所以沒有工作趨勢或類似的東西。我的意思是，所有發生的大幅下降都發生在一月。二月和三月很正常。事實上，三月我們的酒店顯示出真正強勁的跡象。

Take Nevada, the slot revenue in the Reno-Sparks Nugget was down 3%, but slot revenue at our Nugget grew 9%. In Colorado, same-casino backlog were up 3%, our casino was up 7%. In Cripple Creek, the market was up 2%, we were up 6%. And while Missouri slot revenue was down 1% in March, we were up 2%, very encouraging signs as we move into the second quarter.

以內華達州為例，Reno-Sparks Nugget 的老虎機收入下降了 3%，但我們 Nugget 的老虎機收入卻增加了 9%。在科羅拉多州，同一家賭場的積壓數量增加了 3%，我們的賭場增加了 7%。在 Cripple Creek，市場上漲了 2%，我們上漲了 6%。雖然密蘇裡州老虎機收入 3 月下降了 1%，但我們卻成長了 2%，這是進入第二季時非常令人鼓舞的跡象。

Looking at the segment results for Q1, we start with the Midwest, which includes our Colorado, Missouri operations. Revenue for the segment was flat year over year. EBITDAR was down 9%. That's not bad at all considering the January weather as well as construction disruption at both Missouri properties and also considering that Cripple Creek was totally closed for two full days in March because of a heavy snowstorm.

看看第一季的分部業績，我們從中西部開始，包括我們在科羅拉多州、密蘇裡州的業務。該部門的收入較去年同期持平。EBITDAR 下降 9%。考慮到 1 月的天氣以及密蘇裡州兩處房產的施工中斷，而且考慮到 Cripple Creek 在 3 月因暴風雪而完全關閉了整整兩天，這還不錯。

In Cripple Creek, a competing property opened directly across the street from us with 300 hotel rooms, which certainly increases the market. And as anticipated, we continue to benefit from our proximity to their location. As mentioned in March, we outgrew the market and April is up double digits as well.

在 Cripple Creek，我們的街對面開設了一家競爭對手酒店，擁有 300 間酒店客房，無疑擴大了市場。正如預期的那樣，我們繼續受益於我們靠近他們的位置。正如三月所提到的，我們的成長超過了市場，四月的成長也達到了兩位數。

In Missouri, revenue from retail play was up 6%. Both the number of trips as well as the spend per trip increased. Retail play was softer, mostly because of the weather in general and disruption from construction at both properties.

在密蘇裡州，零售遊戲收入成長了 6%。行程次數和每次行程花費均有所增加。零售業表現較為疲軟，主要是由於天氣狀況以及兩處房產的施工造成的干擾。

But in March, Cape Girardeau bounced back and set the new all-time record for table game revenue, the highest since inception. And I'm happy to report that the strong performance continued into April, which posted the third highest table games revenue in that property's history.

但在三月份，Cape Girardeau 反彈並創下了賭桌遊戲收入的新紀錄，為成立以來的最高水平。我很高興地向大家報告，強勁的表現一直持續到四月份，創下了該酒店歷史上第三高的賭桌遊戲收入。

Last month, on April 4, we opened our new hotel, The Riverview, at Century Casino Cape Girardeau. The hotel transforms the property into a full resort destination, offering gaming, dining, conferences, concerts, events, and more. And it's off to a great start, better than we expected. Total project cost was $31 million, we funded that with cash on hand.

上個月，即 4 月 4 日，我們在開普吉拉多世紀賭場開設了新酒店 The Riverview。該酒店將酒店打造成一個完整的度假勝地，提供遊戲、餐飲、會議、音樂會、活動等。這是一個好的開端，比我們預期的要好。專案總成本為 3,100 萬美元，我們用手頭現金提供資金。

In Caruthersville, construction of the new permanent land-based casino hotel is progressing according to budget and schedule. We plan to open at the end of this year. That new property will have a total of 74 hotel rooms, 12 gaming tables, and over 600 slot machines, which is a 20% increase in gaming positions compared to the old riverboat and a 50% increase in gaming positions compared to our current interim casino.

在卡魯瑟斯維爾，新的永久性陸地賭場酒店的建設正在按照預算和時間表進行。我們計劃在今年年底開幕。該新酒店將擁有總共 74 間酒店客房、12 張賭桌和 600 多台老虎機，與舊河船相比，博彩位置增加 20%，與我們當前的臨時賭場相比，博彩位置增加 50% 。

The way we think about it is this, it's a significantly enhanced facility moving from an on riverboat and a small temporary location to the dry side of the levy, a brand-new land-based casino with a hotel, convenient parking, and convenient food and beverage amenities, and a much better environment overall.

我們的想法是這樣的，這是一個顯著增強的設施，從河船上和一個小型臨時地點轉移到徵稅區的干燥一側，一個全新的陸上賭場，配有酒店、方便的停車位和方便的食物和飲料設施，以及整體環境更好。

The new property will provide significant operational efficiencies. It will be much more convenient for our customers, and it will certainly increase our catchment area. We expect a good uplift on the overall performance from that property, both revenue and EBITDAR. The project is fully funded by VICI at an 8% cap rate.

新資產將顯著提高營運效率。這將為我們的客戶帶來更多便利，並且肯定會增加我們的服務範圍。我們預計該物業的整體業績（收入和息稅折舊攤提前利潤）將大幅提升。該項目由 VICI 以 8% 的上限全額資助。

Our East segment includes the Mountaineer Casino Resort in West Virginia and the newly acquired Rocky Gap Casino Resort in Maryland. Because of that new acquisition, revenue for the segment was up 44%, EBITDAR was up 23%.

我們的東部部分包括西維吉尼亞州的 Mountaineer Casino Resort 和新收購的馬裡蘭州 Rocky Gap Casino Resort。由於這項新收購，該部門的收入成長了 44%，EBITDAR 成長了 23%。

In January, both properties suffered a lot under the bad weather and unsafe driving conditions as they are both destination resorts with many customers having to drive two or three hours to get to our casinos. So not surprisingly, the number of trips declined significantly, but the spend per trip was up a bit.

一月份，這兩家酒店在惡劣天氣和不安全的駕駛條件下遭受​​了巨大損失，因為它們都是目的地度假村，許多客戶必須開車兩三個小時才能到達我們的賭場。因此，毫不奇怪，旅行次數大幅下降，但每次旅行的支出略有增加。

At Mountaineer, available hotel rooms, hours of operation for casino and food outlets are still limited as a result of continued staffing challenges. However, it will get much better next month in June with many J-1 visa holders returning and allowing us to improve and expand our offerings. We will enhance our entertainment offerings throughout the year to further diversify our portfolio, giving our guests more reasons to choose us for their entertainment.

由於持續的人員配置挑戰，Mountaineer 的可用飯店客房、賭場和食品店的營業時間仍然有限。然而，下個月 6 月情況會好得多，許多 J-1 簽證持有者會回國，讓我們能夠改進和擴大我們的服務。我們將全年增強我們的娛樂服務，進一步豐富我們的產品組合，讓我們的客人有更多理由選擇我們的娛樂服務。

Rocky Gap enters its busy season now in early May. We anticipate rebounding travel and capture of pent-up travel demand throughout the summer. Great amenities, such as our newly constructed swimming beach, in addition to continued enhancements of menus in S&P will allow the property to maximize wallet share. Within renewed marketing efforts in the major feeder markets, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and the DC Metro area, we expect to attract more affluent customers and grow the overall database.

五月初，Rocky Gap 進入繁忙季節。我們預計整個夏季旅行將出現反彈並捕捉被壓抑的旅行需求。一流的設施，例如我們新建的游泳海灘，以及標準普爾菜單的不斷增強，將使酒店能夠最大限度地提高錢包份額。透過在主要支線市場、匹茲堡、巴爾的摩和華盛頓特區的新行銷努力，我們期望吸引更多富裕的客戶並擴大整體資料庫。

Continuing to the West segment, which includes the Nugget Casino Resort in Reno-Sparks Nevada, the Nugget saw mixed results during the quarter compared to prior year. Average spend per trip increased by 4%, but trips during the quarter decreased by 8%. Performance from the high-end segment was strong, increasing by 18%, but the low to mid-tier segment decreased 6%.

繼續西部部分，包括內華達州里諾斯帕克斯的掘金賭場度假村，掘金在本季度的業績與去年同期相比好壞參半。每次旅行的平均支出增加了 4%，但本季的旅行次數減少了 8%。高端細分市場表現強勁，成長了 18%，但中低端細分市場下降了 6%。

Our management team is working on refreshing restaurants and bars and upgrading the sports book. And in three weeks, the high-limit VLT slots area will open. We are optimistic that the second half of this year will be strong and most of the transitional extraordinary expenses, as well as most project CapEx and the disruption that comes with it, will be behind us. Our properties, entertainment, and special events calendar looks great. We see strong bookings. And all of that points to a very busy summer season for the Nugget.

我們的管理團隊正在致力於更新餐廳和酒吧以及升級體育博彩。三週後，高限額VLT老虎機區域將開放。我們樂觀地認為，今年下半年將表現強勁，大部分過渡性非常費用以及大多數專案資本支出和隨之而來的干擾都將成為過去。我們的房地產、娛樂和特別活動日曆看起來很棒。我們看到預訂量很大。所有這些都表明金塊隊的夏季非常繁忙。

In the Canadian segment, our four properties in Edmonton and Calgary continued their great performance of last year also into this quarter. Revenue grew by 11% and [EBITDA] was up 13%. All of our properties were up in revenue as well as [EBITDA]. So it was overall a very promising start into 2024 for Canada.

在加拿大市場，我們在埃德蒙頓和卡加利的四家酒店在本季度延續了去年的出色表現。營收成長 11%，[EBITDA] 成長 13%。我們所有的物業的收入和[息稅折舊攤提前利潤]。因此，總體而言，對於加拿大來說，2024 年是一個非常有希望的開始。

In Poland, as mentioned, three casinos were closed for some or all of the quarter, which resulted in a significant drop in revenues. But Casinos Poland was able to renew their licenses for all three cities, and we have reopened two of the three casinos a few weeks ago. The third and largest one will open at a new location in Wroclaw in Q3. After that final reopening, results are expected to get back to normal levels quite quickly, and normal levels are around $11 million, $12 million in [EBITDA].

如前所述，在波蘭，三個賭場在本季部分或整個季度關閉，導致收入大幅下降。但波蘭賭場能夠更新所有三個城市的許可證，幾週前我們已經重新開放了三個賭場中的兩個。第三家也是最大的一家將於第三季在弗羅茨瓦夫的新地點開業。最終重新開放後，預計結果將很快恢復到正常水平，正常水平約為 1100 萬美元，1200 萬美元。[息稅折舊攤提前利潤]。

Let's discuss our balance sheet and liquidity position. As of March 31, we had $137 million in cash and cash equivalents and $342 million in outstanding debt. Net debt is $205 million. The main reasons for the decrease in our cash position are the cash payments of approximately $12 million for taxes on our Canadian real estate sale, a $4 million onetime principal pay-down of debt, as well as approximately $18 million in property and equipment purchases.

讓我們討論一下我們的資產負債表和流動性狀況。截至 3 月 31 日，我們擁有 1.37 億美元的現金和現金等價物，以及 3.42 億美元的未償債務。淨債務為 2.05 億美元。我們現金部位減少的主要原因是我們為加拿大房地產銷售支付的約 1,200 萬加元的現金稅款、400 萬加元的一次性本金償還債務，以及約 1,800 萬加元的財產和設備購買。

Traditional net leverage is 3.5 times and the adjusted net leverage is 4.3 times. We are okay with our leverage as we don't charge our leverage just based on a onetime snapshot, but rather look at its development over time.

傳統淨槓桿為3.5倍，調整後淨槓桿為4.3倍。我們對我們的槓桿感到滿意，因為我們不會僅根據一次性快照來收取槓桿，而是會考慮其隨著時間的推移的發展。

The leverage is elevated because of our recent significant acquisitions and investments. It will play above the long-term range until we have fully integrated the acquisitions and until we have completed our CapEx project later this summer, around Q3. From then on, it should lower down to closer to 2 times traditional and 4 times as adjusted for next year.

由於我們最近進行了重大收購和投資，槓桿率有所提高。它將在長期區間之上發揮作用，直到我們完全整合收購，直到我們在今年夏天晚些時候（第三季左右）完成我們的資本支出項目。從那時起，它應該會下降到接近傳統的2倍和明年調整後的4倍。

Our lease obligations to VICI currently total approximately $15 million per quarter. Once we open the permanent land-based facility in Caruthersville towards the end of the year, it will go up by $1 million per quarter. So as a rough run rate for next year, for '25, total lease payment to VICI will be around $16 million per quarter. Interest payments on our Term loan B currently amount to $10 million per quarter.

我們對 VICI 的租賃義務目前每季約為 1500 萬美元。一旦我們在年底開放位於卡魯瑟斯維爾的永久陸上設施，每季的費用將增加 100 萬美元。因此，作為明年 25 年的粗略運行率，VICI 的總租賃付款將約為每季 1,600 萬美元。目前，我們定期貸款 B 的利息支付額為每季 1,000 萬美元。

Please note that we have no debt maturities until '29, and we have additional borrowing capacity of $30 million under our revolver, and we can reprice or refinance the entire term loan at any time without penalty. So as soon as the window opens, we want to act on it and improve our terms.

請注意，我們在 29 年之前沒有債務到期，我們的循環貸款下還有 3000 萬美元的額外借款能力，我們可以隨時對整個定期貸款重新定價或再融資，而無需支付罰款。因此，一旦窗口打開，我們就會採取行動並改善我們的條件。

Turning to CapEx, we are nearing the end of our $40 million CapEx program as we are finishing several construction projects that we expect to generate a 25%-plus [EBITDA return] and will complete an elevated CapEx cycle for the company. The newly opened Cape Girardeau resort open a month ago and so far exceeds our initial expectations with higher cash ADR than budgeted.

談到資本支出，我們4000 萬美元的資本支出計劃即將結束，因為我們正在完成幾個建設項目，我們預計這些項目將產生25% 以上的[EBITDA 回報]，並將為公司完成更高的資本支出週期。新開業的開普吉拉多度假村於一個月前開業，到目前為止，現金 ADR 高於預算，遠遠超出了我們最初的預期。

Further, we are upgrading many of our S&P outlets throughout our portfolio in the US and Canada. We're also refreshing and updating our hotel product. Currently, we are renovating rooms at Mountaineer in West Virginia as well as our Colorado properties. And at the Nugget, we are upgrading restaurants and bars as well as the sports book. We are putting in a new high-limit VIP slot area, and we are improving our VIP hotel suites.

此外，我們正在對美國和加拿大投資組合中的許多標準普爾網點進行升級。我們也正在刷新和更新我們的酒店產品。目前，我們正在翻新西維吉尼亞州登山者酒店以及科羅拉多州酒店的房間。在掘金，我們正在升級餐廳和酒吧以及體育博彩。我們正在建立一個新的高限額 VIP 老虎機區域，並且我們正在改進我們的 VIP 酒店套房。

Beyond upgrading our property amenities, we are also getting closer to completing our permanent land-based project in Caruthersville. All of these projects will enhance the competitiveness and appeal of our properties. We position them for higher-value customers and will deliver attractive returns on capital to drive growth in their segments.

除了升級我們的物業設施外，我們也越來越接近完成我們在卡魯瑟斯維爾的永久陸地項目。所有這些項目都將增強我們物業的競爭力和吸引力。我們將它們定位在更高價值的客戶，並將提供有吸引力的資本回報，以推動其細分市場的成長。

So as we report this quarter, we are moving closer to the step-down in CapEx spend and a substantial increase in free cash flow. We are about four to five months away from that. By late summer, we'll see significant reduction in CapEx as we move forward.

因此，正如我們本季報告的那樣，我們正在接近資本支出的下降和自由現金流的大幅增加。距離這個目標大約還有四到五個月的時間。到夏末，隨著我們的前進，我們將看到資本支出大幅減少。

Free cash flow will be improving substantially both from revenue growth due to the built facilities and a better customer experience and from a reduction in CapEx, and our casinos in Poland will be up and running by then as well. That will lead to a significant positive change in terms of cash generation.

自由現金流將因建成設施和更好的客戶體驗帶來的收入成長以及資本支出的減少而大幅改善，屆時我們在波蘭的賭場也將投入營運。這將導致現金產生方面發生重大積極變化。

Whilst we can expect to burn $30 million this year, we should generate about that amount in positive cash next year. Our presentation posted on our website shows you the bridge from the negative to the positive cash generation from this year to next.

雖然我們今年預計會燒掉 3000 萬美元，但明年我們應該會產生大約這個數字的正現金。我們在網站上發布的簡報向您展示了從今年到明年從負現金產生到正現金產生的橋樑。

Again, we are in a transitory period right now, but we have a clear plan to fully focus on generating cash to deleverage and opportunistically also buy back stock later this year and next. We are fully focused on the projects that we have underway and are looking forward to the end of the current intense CapEx cycle.

同樣，我們現在正處於過渡時期，但我們有一個明確的計劃，將完全專注於產生現金以去槓桿化，並在今年晚些時候和明年趁機回購股票。我們完全專注於正在進行的項目，並期待當前激烈的資本支出週期的結束。

Having said all that, we continue to see a softer retail customer. That trend is not worsening, but it's still soft. The retail customer is more economically sensitive to inflation and other changes in the economy. It's those customers that still seem to be more cautious about how they are spending their discretionary dollars.

話雖如此，我們仍然看到零售客戶的疲軟。這種趨勢並沒有惡化，但仍然疲軟。零售客戶對通貨膨脹和其他經濟變化更加敏感。正是這些客戶對於如何花費可自由支配的資金似乎仍然更加謹慎。

Looking ahead, we remain encouraged by the continued strength in play from our core customers and the strong initial performance of our new hotel at Century Casino's Cape Girardeau, as well as the impact our current CapEx program will have on our operations.

展望未來，我們的核心客戶的持續強勢、位於世紀賭場開普吉拉多的新酒店的強勁初始業績，以及我們目前的資本支出計劃將對我們的營運產生的影響，仍然令我們感到鼓舞。

Our positive outlook for the second half of this year and into '25 remains unchanged. With all properties being in great shape in '25, we see us approaching $700 million in revenue with a 24% EBITDAR margin. Our CapEx in '25 should come in at approximately $20 million to $25 million, almost all of which will be regular maintenance CapEx.

我們對今年下半年和 25 年的積極前景保持不變。由於所有資產在 25 年都狀況良好，我們的收入接近 7 億美元，EBITDAR 利潤率為 24%。我們在 25 年的資本支出應該約為 2,000 萬至 2,500 萬美元，幾乎所有這些都將是定期維護資本支出。

In closing, I'd like to reiterate our enthusiasm for the second half of this year and for next. From the third quarter on and certainly next year, results and free cash flow should improve significantly for these reasons. We will be at the end of our elevated CapEx cycle. Nugget and Rocky Gap will be fully integrated. All casinos in Poland will be up and running. We have the new permanent land-based facility in Caruthersville. And there will be no more construction disruption.

最後，我想重申我們對今年下半年和明年的熱情。由於這些原因，從第三季開始，當然還有明年，業績和自由現金流應該會顯著改善。我們將處於資本支出上升週期的末尾。Nugget 和 Rocky Gap 將完全整合。波蘭的所有賭場都將正常運作。我們在卡魯瑟斯維爾擁有新的永久性陸上設施。並且不會再有施工中斷。

And the only other point I'm going to make is that from a guidance perspective, last year we had softness in the second half. So we think that's an opportunity in the second half of this year since that comp is going to be a little easier to meet. All right, that concludes our prepared remarks. We'll now open up the call for Q&A. Operator, go ahead, please.

我要說的唯一一點是，從指導的角度來看，去年下半年我們表現疲軟。因此，我們認為這是今年下半年的一個機會，因為該補償將更容易滿足。好的，我們準備好的發言就到此結束。我們現在將開放問答環節。接線員，請繼續。

(Operator Instructions) [Jeff Stantial], Stifel.

（操作員說明）[Jeff Stantial]，Stifel。

Hey, great. Thanks. Good morning, everybody. Thanks for taking our questions. Maybe starting off on the acquired Rocky Gap property, if we just look at the East results during Q1 and sort of contrast that against some of the data reported by the Maryland regulator, it seems to me that, even after the weather wrapped up, there's perhaps still some underperformance relative to what that asset did under legacy ownership and even more so relative to sort of trends during Q4.

嘿，太棒了。謝謝。大家早安。感謝您回答我們的問題。也許從收購的 Rocky Gap 房地產開始，如果我們只看第一季東部的結果，並與馬裡蘭州監管機構報告的一些數據進行對比，在我看來，即使在天氣結束之後，仍有相對於該資產在遺留所有權下的表現，甚至相對於第四季的趨勢而言，可能仍然表現不佳。

I guess, first of all, am I correct in that analysis? And second off, I guess, what do you attribute that to? And sort of what do you see as the road map on ramping that property back up to how you underwrote it? Thanks.

我想，首先，我的分析正確嗎？其次，我想，你將此歸因於什麼？您認為將該財產恢復到您承保的方式的路線圖是什麼？謝謝。

Thank you, Jeff, great question. Let me answer that. I think a very important aspect when looking at the Maryland statistics is that they are really not giving you the typically and the correct picture. Due to our -- if you look at the map, we are at the very west of Maryland.

謝謝你，傑夫，很好的問題。讓我來回答一下。我認為，在查看馬裡蘭州的統計數據時，一個非常重要的方面是，它們確實沒有為您提供典型且正確的情況。因為我們——如果你看一下地圖，我們就在馬裡蘭州的最西邊。

And you have to keep in mind that almost 60% of our customers are coming from the southwestern Pennsylvania area. So those customers in those areas that we really have to look at in order to get a good insight into the comparisons. And when doing that, we see that our regional peers in that area also have seen weakness.

您必須記住，我們近 60% 的客戶來自賓州西南部地區。因此，我們確實必須專注於那些領域的客戶，以便更好地了解比較。在這樣做時，我們發現該領域的區域同行也出現了弱點。

And in particular, for Maryland, in addition to the weakness caused by weather, we also had in Q1 integration challenges in connection with the replacement of the slot accounting and loyalty system. But that's behind us as well.

特別是，對於馬裡蘭州來說，除了天氣造成的疲軟之外，我們在第一季還面臨著與老虎機會計和忠誠度系統更換有關的整合挑戰。但這也在我們身後。

And that same comment -- and that's maybe for another question -- with regard to the geography, I would also refer to West Virginia because about two-thirds of our customers are coming from Ohio and not from West Virginia.

同樣的評論——這可能是另一個問題——關於地理，我也會提到西維吉尼亞州，因為我們大約三分之二的客戶來自俄亥俄州，而不是西維吉尼亞州。

Roadmap going forward is that we hopefully get through the integration challenges at Rocky Gap. We are diligently working on analyzing the customer behavior and the marketing data. We see good progress already. And with the good changes that Peter mentioned before with the swimming beach and the improvements of the restaurants, we feel very positive that we are on the right track.

未來的路線圖是，我們希望能夠克服 Rocky Gap 的整合挑戰。我們正在努力分析客戶行為和行銷數據。我們已經看到了良好的進展。彼得之前提到的游泳海灘和餐廳的改進帶來了良好的變化，我們非常確信我們走在正確的軌道上。

Great. That's very helpful color. Thank you, Erwin. And then for my follow-up, Peter, it sounds like, in the prepared remarks, if I heard you correctly, it's from a consumer -- unlike consumer behavior perspective, it's a lot more of the same, some hesitation from the lower income in the retail customer, but that core mid to high worth player kind of trends there remain somewhat unchanged.

偉大的。這是非常有用的顏色。謝謝你，埃爾文。然後，對於我的後續行動，彼得，聽起來，在準備好的發言中，如果我沒聽錯的話，這是來自消費者——與消費者行為的角度不同，它更多的是相同的，來自較低收入的一些猶豫在零售客戶方面，但核心中高價值玩家類型的趨勢仍保持一定程度的不變。

I guess, in that light or under that context, my question is, have you changed at all? Or do you have plans to change at all your promotional strategy and kind of the offers you're putting out to your database? Or is it really more a function of sort of targeted CapEx and some of the improvements you laid out on the call as kind of the key drivers? Thanks.

我想，從這個角度或在這個背景下，我的問題是，你有改變嗎？或者您計劃更改所有促銷策略以及向資料庫提供的優惠類型？或者它實際上更像是一種有針對性的資本支出以及您在電話會議上作為關鍵驅動因素提出的一些改進的功能？謝謝。

Okay. Peter, if it's fine for you, then I'll also respond to this question. Whenever we take over a new casino, we analyze what the previous operator has been doing, and then we compare that with our approach. And typically, we see what we think is opportunity.

好的。Peter，如果你覺得可以的話，那我也會回答這個問題。每當我們接管新賭場時，我們都會分析前營運商的做法，然後將其與我們的方法進行比較。通常，我們會看到我們認為是機會的東西。

And we then start a, hopefully, intelligent trial and error chain, trying out various new approaches in marketing with small subgroups of the various subdivisions of our customers and test them for whether they work or not.

然後，我們希望啟動一個智慧的試錯鏈，在客戶的各個細分群中嘗試各種新的行銷方法，並測試它們是否有效。

And this optimization process works. But obviously, that may take a little while. So not always are the first things we try successful. But as I say, with the chain of hopefully better and better approaches, we then are able to optimize what has been the strategy before into our modified new strategy (multiple speakers).

這個優化過程是有效的。但顯然，這可能需要一段時間。因此，我們首先嘗試的事情並不總是成功的。但正如我所說，透過希望越來越好的方法鏈，我們能夠將先前的策略優化為我們修改後的新策略（多個發言者）。

Okay. That's perfect, very helpful color. Thank you very much. I'll pass it on.

好的。這是完美的、非常有用的顏色。非常感謝。我會把它傳遞下去。

Jordan Bender, Citizens JMP.

喬丹·本德，公民 JMP。

Good morning, everyone. I want to stick with the consumer question. In Reno, you talked about the high-end consumer doing well where that lower and even mid is starting to maybe weaken or, I guess, stay weak. That's similar -- at least on the middle end of the database, that similar commentary we're hearing from some of your competitors in the south part of the state. Is that middle-end customer weakening more? Is it continuing into April? Or just any color on that would be great. Thank you.

大家，早安。我想繼續討論消費者的問題。在裡諾，您談到高端消費者表現良好，而低端甚至中端消費者可能開始疲軟，或者我猜，保持疲軟。這是相似的——至少在資料庫的中間端，我們從該州南部的一些競爭對手那裡聽到了類似的評論。中端客戶是否更加疲軟？會持續到四月嗎？或任何顏色都很棒。謝謝。

This is Erwin, again. I think what we're seeing in the beginning of Q2 is that, in particular, the Nugget we see increases in local play. And it really has to be seen from a -- we have to differentiate also with regard to radius.

這又是艾爾文。我認為我們在第二季度初看到的是，特別是金塊隊的本地比賽有所增加。確實必須從一個角度來看——我們還必須在半徑方面進行區分。

In addition to the locals market, we obviously try to reach into the Sacramento area, greater Sacramento area, let's say. So these customers that are traveling from further away are typically the weekend customers. And there, we see less of a weakening.

除了當地人市場之外，我們顯然也嘗試進入薩克拉門托地區，比如說大薩克拉門托地區。因此，這些從更遠的地方來的顧客通常是週末顧客。在那裡，我們看到的疲軟程度較小。

And in fact, when somebody is taking the effort of -- when we're able to attract somebody who comes from further away, typically their spend is higher anyway. With regard to the retail play, which is typically also within, say, 25 mile, 50 mile radius, we continue to see weakness, and we just have to observe how it's continuing.

事實上，當有人付出努力時——當我們能夠吸引來自更遠地方的人時，他們的支出通常會更高。至於零售業，通常也在 25 英里、50 英里半徑內，我們繼續看到弱點，我們只需要觀察它如何繼續。

Great. And I actually want to stick with Reno. I wanted -- the 50% option on the land of the Nugget, as you look at your balance sheet nearing the end of this CapEx cycle and you look at your lease-adjusted leverage and kind of where that sits today, can you just kind of update us what kind of makes sense here in terms of would you look to acquire the remaining land? Or would you look to utilize your REIT land to kind of bring cash on the balance sheet? Thank you.

偉大的。我實際上想繼續留在裡諾。我想要－在掘金土地上選擇50% 的選項，當你查看接近本資本支出週期結束的資產負債表時，你看看你的租賃調整後槓桿率以及今天的情況，你能告訴我嗎？或者您希望利用您的房地產投資信託基金土地為資產負債表帶來現金？謝謝。

Absolutely. Peter, would you like to take that question?

絕對地。彼得，你願意回答這個問題嗎？

Yeah, Jordan, as we sit here today, we still have some years to go to make that final decision. But currently, the best investment into casinos is most likely our own stock. And that would probably come before exercising that option. As we move closer to the expiration of the option, in a little bit less than three years, that may change. But like I said, we have some time to make that decision.

是的，喬丹，當我們今天坐在這裡時，我們還有幾年時間才能做出最終決定。但目前，對賭場最好的投資很可能是我們自己的股票。這可能會在行使該選項之前發生。在不到三年的時間裡，隨著選擇權到期日的臨近，這種情況可能會改變。但正如我所說，我們有一些時間來做決定。

Great. Thanks, Peter.

偉大的。謝謝，彼得。

(Operator Instructions) Chad Beynon, Macquarie.

（操作員說明）Chad Beynon，麥格理。

Hi, good morning. Thanks for taking my question. Peter, Erwin, I wanted to start with the Riverview opening. Can you provide -- I know you said that everything is on track with the 25% return and things have gone well. But can you provide any more metrics in terms of maybe what you're seeing in terms of new sign-ups, hotel rates? Obviously, it's early and the summer is probably going to be a bigger seasonally peak period. But any additional color in terms of progressing towards that return would be helpful. Thank you.

早安.感謝您提出我的問題。彼得、歐文，我想從河景店開始。你能提供一下嗎——我知道你說過一切都步入正軌，回報率為 25%，一切進展順利。但您能否提供更多的指標，例如您在新註冊、飯店價格方面看到的情況？顯然，現在還早，夏季可能會是一個更大的季節性高峰期。但任何在實現回報方面取得進展的額外顏色都會有所幫助。謝謝。

Chad, it's a bit early really to say anything meaningful and of substance. All we could give you is the impressions that the customers that come and stay there, they are super-excited and they love it and they love the completion of the whole product that finally now that Cape Girardeau has everything that's necessary for a little country resort. And that's all super positive.

查德，現在說任何有意義和實質的話還為時過早。我們能給您的印像是，來到這裡住下的顧客都非常興奮，他們喜歡它，他們喜歡整個產品的完成，現在開普吉拉多終於擁有了一個小鄉村度假村所需的一切。這都是非常正面的。

We get nothing but great feedback. It's high quality. I think we're the highest quality, without doubt the highest-quality possibility to spend a night, both from a hotel room quality as well as from all the other things that you can do in the evening before you go to bed and in the morning when you get up. But I think for Nugget, it's too early.

我們得到的只是很好的回饋。它的品質很高。我認為我們是最高品質的，毫無疑問是最高品質的過夜機會，無論是從酒店房間品質還是從晚上睡覺前和晚上可以做的所有其他事情來看。但我認為對於金塊來說，現在還為時過早。

Okay, thank you. And then, regarding Poland, you said, when all of the properties are open, you'll be back to that $11 million or $12 million. So does that imply that maybe the same-store revenue per position or revenue per property in terms of what opening is doing what it had been, maybe FX-adjusted, pre-COVID? Again, some additional help in terms of getting back to that $11 million to $12 million would be helpful. Thank you.

好的謝謝。然後，關於波蘭，您說，當所有物業開放時，您將回到 1100 萬或 1200 萬美元。那麼，這是否意味著，就開業情況而言，每個職位的同店收入或每個物業的收入可能與疫情前的情況（經過匯率調整後）保持一致？同樣，在恢復 1,100 萬至 1,200 萬美元方面提供一些額外的幫助將會有所幫助。謝謝。

Definitely same-store sales are up, significantly up.

毫無疑問，同店銷售額明顯上升。

Okay. So there's nothing that -- with respect to what's going on in that region, visitation has been fine and improving?

好的。那麼，就該地區正在發生的情況而言，訪問量一直很好並且有所改善？

No, no, it's been totally fine. And when you say what's going on in that region, that doesn't affect our business at all, certainly not negatively. If it is affected it all, then positively because, over the course of the past, let's say, since the Ukraine, a number of Ukraine businesspeople have permanently moved into Poland and many of them into Warsaw. And so we now have additional excellent customers that are potential visitors of our places. But business is completely solid. So we feel very strongly that we can come back to those $11 million, $12 million in [EBITDA].

不，不，一切都很好。當你說該地區正在發生的事情時，這根本不會影響我們的業務，當然不會產生負面影響。如果這對一切都有影響，那麼是正面的，因為在過去的過程中，比如說，自烏克蘭以來，許多烏克蘭商人已經永久移居波蘭，其中許多人移居華沙。因此，我們現在有了更多優秀的客戶，他們是我們地方的潛在訪客。但生意卻完全穩固。所以我們強烈地認為我們可以回到這 1100 萬美元、1200 萬美元[息稅折舊攤提前利潤]。

Okay, good to hear. Thank you very much.

好的，很高興聽到。非常感謝。

And it appears that we have no further questions at this time. I will now turn the program back over to our presenters for any additional or closing remarks.

目前看來我們沒有其他問題了。我現在將把節目交還給我們的主持人，以供補充或結束語。

Well, thank you, everybody. We appreciate you joining our call today. We will talk again after the second quarter. Until then, thank you very much and goodbye.

嗯，謝謝大家。我們感謝您今天加入我們的電話會議。我們將在第二季之後再談。在此之前，非常感謝您，再見。

This does conclude today's program. Thank you for your participation. You may disconnect at any time.

今天的節目到此結束。感謝您的參與。您可以隨時斷開連線。