Golden Entertainment Inc (GDEN) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Golden Entertainment second quarter 2024 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) Please note that this call is being recorded today. Now I'd like to turn the conference over to James Adams, the company's Vice President of Corporate Finance. Please go ahead, sir.

女士們、先生們，午安。謝謝你的支持。歡迎參加Golden Entertainment 2024年第二季財報電話會議。（操作員說明）請注意，今天此通話將會被錄音。現在我想把會議交給公司財務副總裁詹姆斯·亞當斯 (James Adams)。請繼續，先生。

Thank you very much, operator, and good afternoon, everyone. On the call today is Blake Sartini, the company's Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; and Charles Protell, the company's President and Chief Financial Officer.

非常感謝接線員，大家下午好。今天參加電話會議的是該公司創辦人、董事長兼執行長 Blake Sartini；以及公司總裁兼財務長 Charles Protell。

On this call, we will make forward-looking statements under the Safe Harbor provisions of the federal securities laws. Actual results may differ materially from those contemplated in these statements. Except as required by law we undertake no obligation to update these statements as a result of new information or otherwise.

在本次電話會議中，我們將根據聯邦證券法的安全港條款做出前瞻性聲明。實際結果可能與這些陳述中預期的結果有重大差異。除法律要求外，我們不承擔因新資訊或其他原因而更新這些聲明的義務。

During the call, we will also discuss non-GAAP financial measures in talking about our performance. You can find the reconciliation of GAAP financial measures in our press release, which is available on our website. We will start the call with Charles reviewing details of the second quarter results and a business update. Following that, Blake and Charles will take your questions.

在電話會議期間，我們還將在談論我們的績效時討論非公認會計準則財務指標。您可以在我們的新聞稿中找到 GAAP 財務指標的調整表，該新聞稿可在我們的網站上找到。我們將首先與查爾斯一起回顧第二季業績的詳細資訊和業務更新。接下來，布萊克和查爾斯將回答你的問題。

With that, I will turn the call over to Charles.

這樣，我就把電話轉給查爾斯。

Thanks, James. Starting with our financial results, we generated revenue of $167 million and EBITDA of $41 million in the second quarter.

謝謝，詹姆斯。從我們的財務表現開始，我們第二季的營收為 1.67 億美元，EBITDA 為 4,100 萬美元。

Note, our prior year period includes the results from our divested Maryland casino and distributed gaming businesses in Nevada and Montana. Comparing the results of the continuing operations, total property revenue declined 1.4% and consolidated EBITDA declined 4.9% in the second quarter.

請注意，我們在上一年期間包括我們剝離的馬裡蘭州賭場以及內華達州和蒙大拿州的分散式博彩業務的結果。與持續經營業務的業績相比，第二季房地產總收入下降了 1.4%，綜合 EBITDA 下降了 4.9%。

Our Nevada casino resorts revenue declined 1.4% and EBITDA declined 2.3%. At the STRAT, we achieved record Q2 hotel revenue with ADR up 8% and total occupancy up 4% to 73% for the quarter. Weekend occupancy at the STRAP was 97% and midweek occupancy improved 2%, [to] 64%. We see opportunity in continuing to improve midweek occupancy as we are still missing nearly 18% of occupancy compared to 2019.

我們的內華達州賭場度假村收入下降 1.4%，EBITDA 下降 2.3%。在 STRAT，我們第二季的飯店營收創下了歷史新高，本季平均房價成長了 8%，總入住率成長了 4%，達到 73%。STRAP 的週末入住率為 97%，周中入住率提高了 2%，達到 64%。我們看到了繼續提高周中入住率的機會，因為與 2019 年相比，我們的入住率仍然下降了近 18%。

STRAT revenue and EBITDA increased in Q2 despite higher labor costs related to our new union contracts. Last July, we started accruing for increased labor expense to we expect more moderate cost increases in the second half of this year. Atomic Golf, which opened at the end of March, continues to build its customer base, which we anticipate will drive additional visitors and locals the STRAT in the fall with cooler weather and more convention visitors.

儘管與我們新的工會合約相關的勞動力成本較高，但第二季度的 STRAT 收入和 EBITDA 有所增長。去年七月，我們開始提列增加的勞動費用，預計今年下半年成本成長將較為溫和。Atomic Golf 於 3 月底開業，繼續擴大其客戶群，我們預計，隨著秋季天氣轉涼和更多的會議遊客，這將在 STRAT 吸引更多的遊客和當地人。

In Laughlin, we experienced declines in revenue and EBITDA primarily due to our decision to reduce large scale entertainment acts, as well as increased labor costs compared to last year. In Q2, we focused on bringing more cost effective entertainment options to our smaller showroom, which allowed us to achieve higher profitability on each act, although it resulted in lower related gaming and F&B revenue due to decreased patron volume. Lower entertainment related revenue was partially offset by our locals initiatives and bingo program that improved our market share in Laughlin during the quarter.

在勞克林，我們的收入和 EBITDA 下降，主要是由於我們決定減少大型娛樂活動，以及與去年相比勞動成本增加。在第二季度，我們專注於為較小的陳列室提供更具成本效益的娛樂選擇，這使我們能夠在每場演出中實現更高的盈利能力，儘管由於顧客數量減少導致相關遊戲和餐飲收入下降。娛樂相關收入的下降被我們的當地人舉措和賓果遊戲項目部分抵消，這些項目提高了我們本季在勞克林的市場份額。

For Nevada locals casinos revenue declined 4.9% and EBITDA declined 13%, primarily due to decreased visitation and spend from our lower tier customers. The largest revenue and EBITDA declines came from our Arizona Charlie's Boulder property, which caters to our most value oriented guests.

內華達州本地賭場的收入下降了 4.9%，EBITDA 下降了 13%，這主要是由於我們的低層客戶的訪問量和支出減少。收入和 EBITDA 下降幅度最大的是我們位於亞利桑那州查理博爾德的酒店，該酒店為我們最注重價值的客人提供服務。

In addition to road construction negatively impacted entry to our Arizona Charlie's to cater property in April and May. We also started modest renovations to the 259 room hotel at Decatur, which should be completed in 2025. Despite lower margins year over year, our locals segment has operated at approximately 45% margins over the last four quarters, which we expect to continue.

除了道路建設之外，四月和五月，我們亞利桑那州查理餐廳的入口也受到了負面影響。我們也開始對迪凱特擁有 259 間客房的酒店進行適度翻修，預計將於 2025 年完工。儘管利潤率同比下降，但我們的本地部門在過去四個季度的營運利潤率約為 45%，我們預計這種情況將持續下去。

For the second quarter, Nevada, Tavern revenue was up 3% over last year, supported by the purchase of six new Taverns compared to the prior year period. This brings our total locations to 71 at the end of June, and we anticipate opening our 72nd Tavern in Q3.

內華達州第二季度的酒館收入比去年同期增長了 3%，這得益於與去年同期相比購買了 6 家新酒館。到 6 月底，我們的分店總數達到 71 個，我們預計在第三季開設第 72 家小酒館。

On a same-store basis, total revenue declined 2.4%, driven by a 10% decline in food and beverage revenue, partially offset by a 6% increase in same-store gaming revenue. Lower revenue was largely attributed to the Golden Knights exit in the first round of the playoffs compared to last year's Stanley Cup championship.

以同店計算，總收入下降 2.4%，原因是餐飲收入下降 10%，但同店遊戲收入成長 6% 部分抵消了這一影響。與去年的史丹利杯冠軍相比，收入下降的主要原因是金騎士隊在季後賽第一輪出局。

During the regular season, we observed meaningful increases in F&B and gaming revenue throughout our Taverns when the Golden Knights play. Additional costs associated with adding six acquired locations in addition to increased labor costs across the portfolio resulted in EBITDA declines for our Tavern business.

在常規賽期間，我們觀察到當金騎士隊比賽時，整個酒館的餐飲和遊戲收入顯著增加。除了整個投資組合中勞動成本的增加之外，與增加六個收購地點相關的額外成本導致我們的酒館業務的 EBITDA 下降。

Turning to the balance sheet, we started the quarter by redeeming our $276 million senior unsecured notes with proceeds from the sale of our Nevada distributed business in January. This results in our outstanding debt at the end of the quarter, primarily consisting of only a $396 million term loan.

轉向資產負債表，本季開始，我們用 1 月出售內華達州分散式業務的收益贖回了 2.76 億美元的優先無擔保票據。這導致本季末我們的未償債務主要包括 3.96 億美元的定期貸款。

We also closed the quarter with $89 million of cash and access to $240 million of additional liquidity from our unfunded revolver. In May, we repriced our term loan, reducing our interest rate by 60 basis points to SOFR plus 2.25%, which created $2.4 million of annual interest savings. Since the beginning of 2021, we have repaid over $750 million of debt and are position today with a strongest balance sheet in our history and a net leverage below 2 times.

本季結束時，我們還擁有 8,900 萬美元的現金，並從我們無資金的左輪手槍中獲得了 2.4 億美元的額外流動資金。5 月份，我們重新定價了定期貸款，將利率降低 60 個基點至 SOFR 加 2.25%，從而節省了 240 萬美元的年度利息。自 2021 年初以來，我們已償還了超過 7.5 億美元的債務，目前的資產負債表處於歷史上最強勁的水平，淨槓桿率低於 2 倍。

Our balance sheet strength facilitates our ability to accelerate returning capital to shareholders, which includes our regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.25 per share and the repurchase of nearly 1 million shares in Q2. At the end of the quarter, we had $61 million of availability on our share repurchase authorization, and we intend to use this full amount by the end of the year.

我們的資產負債表實力有助於我們加快向股東返還資本的能力，其中包括每股 0.25 美元的定期季度現金股息以及第二季度回購近 100 萬股股票。截至本季末，我們的股票回購授權有 6,100 萬美元的可用資金，我們打算在年底前用完這筆資金。

Over the last 18 months, we've returned over $110 million to shareholders through a combination of share repurchases and dividends. While we continue to evaluate strategic opportunities as they arise, we still have not reviewed any opportunities that would offer a better return than investing in our own equity through our buyback program.

在過去 18 個月中，我們透過股票回購和股利相結合的方式向股東返還了超過 1.1 億美元。雖然我們繼續評估出現的策略機會，但我們仍然沒有審查任何比透過回購計畫投資我們自己的股權能提供更好回報的機會。

With our low net leverage and excess liquidity, we can return capital to shareholders and prudently reinvest in our own properties. Our cash flow from continuing operations is generated from wholly-owned casinos and the market-leading Tavern portfolio in Nevada, where we continue to see long-term trends of increased visitation and population growth that will support the future performance of our business.

憑藉我們的低淨槓桿率和過剩的流動性，我們可以向股東返還資本，並審慎地再投資於我們自己的房產。我們持續經營的現金流來自內華達州的全資賭場和市場領先的酒館投資組合，我們繼續看到遊客增加和人口增長的長期趨勢，這將支持我們業務的未來業績。

That concludes our prepared remarks, Blake and I are now available for questions.

我們準備好的演講到此結束，布萊克和我現在可以回答問題了。

(Operator Instructions) Barry Jonas, Truist Securities.

（操作員指令）Barry Jonas，Truist Securities。

Hey, guys. Wanted to start with Atomic Golf. Maybe talk about how it's been progressing relative to your expectations and how you see the path to hitting those targets. Any commentary on cross sell to the STRAT would be appreciated. Thanks.

嘿，夥計們。想從原子高爾夫開始。也許可以談談相對於您的期望，它的進展以及您如何看待實現這些目標的途徑。如有任何有關向 STRAT 交叉銷售的評論，我們將不勝感激。謝謝。

Yeah, thanks. So from a physical standpoint, it has met or exceeded our expectations. I think as we've talked about since they opened. It's phenomenally competitive, world-class building. They got out of the gate slow. So our expectations were not met as they opened, I would say -- it was a rough rollout for them and learning the market, understanding their position in the market and so on.

是的，謝謝。所以從物理角度來看，它已經達到或超越了我們的預期。我想正如我們自開業以來所討論的那樣。這是一座極具競爭力的世界級建築。他們慢慢地走出了大門。因此，我想說，當他們開業時，我們的期望沒有得到滿足——這對他們來說是一次粗略的推出，需要了解市場，了解他們在市場中的地位等等。

Recently, they have rightsized their staff. They have turned over their marketing -- third party marketing efforts to another firm, they've ramped up specialty events, including group events, entertainment events and so on. All of that, leading to -- they are gaining momentum.

最近，他們對員工進行了精簡。他們已經將行銷——第三方行銷工作移交給了另一家公司，他們加強了專業活動的力度，包括團體活動、娛樂活動等。所有這些，導致他們正在獲得動力。

We continue to believe that the future is bright for cross traffic between Atomic, given its obvious location immediately adjacent to us. As well as there are their learning and their ability to position that property more effectively. We are seeing we are seeing green shoots with what they're doing and we anticipate that to continue. So we -- again, we anticipate a future of a lot of cross traffic, significant cross traffic between our properties.

我們仍然相信 Atomic 之間的交叉交通的未來是光明的，因為它的位置明顯毗鄰我們。還有他們的學習和更有效地定位該財產的能力。我們看到他們正在做的事情正在萌芽，我們預計這種情況會繼續下去。因此，我們再次預計，未來我們的物業之間將會出現大量的交叉交通，大量的交叉交通。

Great. And then just for my follow-up. As you know, to strip properties have closed recently and curious to get your thoughts if you see yourself as a potential beneficiary from the closures? Thanks.

偉大的。然後只是為了我的後續行動。如您所知，剝離物業最近已關閉，如果您認為自己是關閉的潛在受益者，想知道您的想法嗎？謝謝。

Yeah. Hey, Berry, it’s Charles. Yeah, I mean, look, that's a obviously a significant amount of rooms coming off a little more center and South Strip, but less supply certainly helped from our perspective as we get into the fall.

是的。嘿，貝瑞，我是查爾斯。是的，我的意思是，看，顯然有大量的房間來自市中心和南大道，但從我們的角度來看，隨著進入秋季，供應減少肯定有所幫助。

Great. Appreciate it. Thank you.

偉大的。欣賞它。謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Jordan Bender, Citizen's JMP.

Jordan Bender，公民 JMP。

Great. Good afternoon, everyone. From MGM made comments around F1 and just maybe some of the weakness around pricing that they're seeing in the 4Q. I think last year for you guys that weekend might have been a headwind, so just starting from maybe an easier comp, if you want to call it that. But can you just give us some color directionally on what you're seeing at the START that weekend in terms of booking and pricing? Thank you.

偉大的。大家下午好。米高梅就 F1 發表了評論，也許只是他們在第四季度看到的定價方面的一些弱點。我認為去年對你們來說那個週末可能是逆風，所以從可能更容易的比賽開始，如果你想這樣稱呼的話。但是您能給我們一些關於您在那個週末在 START 上看到的預訂和定價方面的情況嗎？謝謝。

Yeah, you're right. Last year, I would say headwind was probably an appropriate term for that weekend. This year, we are way ahead of promotional activity during that weekend for both downtown and the north part of the STRAT, which obviously were included in.

是的，你是對的。去年，我想說逆風可能是形容那個週末的合適術語。今年，我們在周末期間為市中心和 STRAT 北部地區進行的促銷活動遙遙領先，顯然這些活動都包含在其中。

There has been a concerted effort between casino ownership and operations to work with the LVCVA to provide an entertainment heavy weekend, that weekend with music events, pop-up events, significant investment with the participation of the LVCVA.

賭場所有權和營運部門共同努力，與 LVCVA 合作，提供一個娛樂週末，包括音樂活動、快閃活動以及 LVCVA 參與的重大投資。

So we are an offense of mode this year for that weekend. And as a result, we anticipate a much better weekend for us as we continue to rollout or plan for specific events that will occur. All of the downtown properties are involve, I think, part of the art district as well as involved, which is adjacent to us. And we intend to be involved heavily in that process or in the entertainment schedule.

所以我們今年的那個週末是一種進攻模式。因此，隨著我們繼續推出或計劃即將發生的特定活動，我們預計會有一個更好的周末。我認為，市中心的所有物業都涉及藝術區的一部分，並涉及我們附近的藝術區。我們打算大力參與這個過程或娛樂日程。

Great. Thanks for that comment. And just a follow-up or maybe a clarification in the slide deck where it talks about the balances held for future non-gaming development opportunities. I believe that could be new commentary for that. Are you seeing any uptick in terms of interest for that parcel of land?

偉大的。感謝您的評論。只是幻燈片中的後續行動或澄清，其中討論了為未來非遊戲發展機會保留的餘額。我相信這可能是對此的新評論。您是否發現該塊土地的興趣上升？

Yeah, hey, it's Charles. We do have interest in that land. I think the point of that commentary is there will not be gaming reintroduced to that site within that market. That's not in the cards at this time.

是的，嘿，這是查爾斯。我們確實對那塊土地感興趣。我認為該評論的要點是該市場內的該網站不會重新引入遊戲。目前這還不可能。

It's an approximately 1,000 feet of Colorado River frontage, which does not exist anywhere else along that resort corridor down there. We believe it has significant future value and to Charles' point, we're exploring from A to Z what the possibilities are for that these property to enhance the already robust room inventory that exists in Laughlin.

它位於科羅拉多河沿岸約 1,000 英尺的地方，沿著度假村走廊的其他任何地方都不存在。我們相信它具有巨大的未來價值，根據查爾斯的觀點，我們正在從頭到尾探索這些房產有哪些可能性可以增強勞克林現有的強勁客房庫存。

Thanks for the questions.

感謝您的提問。

Thanks.

謝謝。

David Katz, Jefferies Group.

大衛卡茨，傑富瑞集團。

Hi, sorry, it was on mute. Thanks for taking my questions. In your initial commentary, you talked about the opportunity at midweek, I think it was 18% gap to 2019. How do you -- how are you going to do it? I guess, is the short version of the question, what strategies do you have for that?

嗨，抱歉，當時處於靜音狀態。感謝您回答我的問題。在你最初的評論中，你談到了周中的機會，我認為與 2019 年相比有 18% 的差距。你怎麼做－你打算怎麼做？我想，這個問題的簡短版本是，你對此有什麼策略？

Well, I think we have been doing it. I mean we've been improving midweek occupancy by 2% to 3% every quarter for the last few quarters, and we expect that to continue. So we've improved our direct bookings quite a bit since we've taken over the property and that continues. I think when we took the property over a direct booking between groups and casino was less than 20%, now we're over 30%.

嗯，我想我們一直在做這件事。我的意思是，在過去幾個季度中，我們每個季度的周中入住率都提高了 2% 至 3%，並且我們預計這種情況會持續下去。因此，自從我們接管該酒店以來，我們已經大大改進了直接預訂，並且這種情況仍在繼續。我認為，當我們收購該物業時，團體和賭場之間的直接預訂比例還不到 20%，現在我們已經超過 30%。

So I think it's that continued march. It's not going to be overnight, but it's something that we're working on and we're seeing progress, and we expect that to continue for the next several quarters.

所以我認為這是一個持續的遊行。這不會是一朝一夕的事，但我們正在努力，我們正在看到進展，我們預計這種情況將在接下來的幾個季度持續下去。

The other area on top of that, and I think direct bookings to Charles' point is the focus, which we are seeing improvement. We are seeing a headcount improve in our casino, particularly in the slot area. So as we grow that particular part of our business, that leads to more casino bookings, more direct bookings. And again, tangibly, we are seeing increases in our player count. So between those things, we do believe and we're seeing results in midweek occupancy.

除此之外的另一個領域，我認為直接預訂到 Charles 的點是重點，我們正在看到這一點的改進。我們看到賭場的員工人數增加，特別是在老虎機區域。因此，當我們發展業務的特定部分時，就會帶來更多的賭場預訂、更多的直接預訂。再次，我們看到玩家數量明顯增加。因此，在這些事情之間，我們確實相信並且我們看到了周中入住率的結果。

Got it. And for my follow-up, with respect to the Tavern business, having come through this, the entire this earnings season, there's been a lot of talk about little lower end of the database, so-to-speak showing some weakness. I just want to double back on that and talk about anything you may or may not have seen within your customer base, particularly in the Taverns that would be something we should note?

知道了。對於我的後續行動，關於酒館業務，在經歷了整個財報季之後，有很多關於資料庫低端的討論，可以說顯示出一些弱點。我只是想回過頭來談談您在客戶群中可能看到或可能沒有看到的任何事情，特別是在酒館中，我們應該注意什麼？

Yeah. I mean, David, we commented on the low end of the database continuing to show weakness in terms of visitation and spend. And I think, for us, the Taverns tend to ebb and flow generally in line with the locals casinos. So the trends are fairly consistent from that perspective for us on that lower tier of the players.

是的。我的意思是，大衛，我們評論了資料庫的低端在訪問量和支出方面繼續表現出疲軟。我認為，對我們來說，酒館的潮起潮落通常與當地賭場的潮起潮落一致。因此，從這個角度來看，對於我們較低階的玩家來說，趨勢是相當一致的。

If you look at the mid to upper tiers, has it been more stable, but it's really at the low end tier where you're seeing that weakness.

如果你看看中上層，它是否更穩定，但實際上是在低端層，你看到了這種弱點。

I suppose I was asking is it getting -- is it the same, better or getting any worse?

我想我是在問情況變得相同、更好還是變得更糟？

I think it's my expectation is the same to getting better. And part of that is seasonality. The summer, the first part of the summer is always tough for the local business in general. And the Tavern business as the population continues to grow, school starts again, people begin to get into their regular local patterns. Football is becoming a big driver to our Taverns. I expect it to be the same and get better over the near future. The Taverns as I've mentioned before, are a very resilient part of our portfolio.

我想這和我對變得更好的期望是一樣的。其中一部分是季節性。夏天，初夏對當地企業來說總是很艱難。而酒館生意隨著人口的不斷增長，學校的重新開學，人們開始進入他們當地的常規模式。足球正在成為我們酒館的一大推動力。我希望在不久的將來它會是一樣的並且會變得更好。正如我之前提到的，酒館是我們投資組合中非常有彈性的部分。

Appreciate it. Thank you very much.

欣賞它。非常感謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

John DeCree, CBRE.

約翰‧德克里，世邦魏理仕。

Yeah. Good afternoon, guys, thanks for taking my questions. Maybe to start in Laughlin, Charles, I think in your prepared remarks, you mentioned that you've shifted to a focus on smaller scale events there. Obviously, we reported some improved profitability on those, but curious it's kind of been an event-driven market, what drove the decision to downsize? And was that temporary or more structural and kind of how you manage Laughlin in the event calendar going forward?

是的。下午好，夥計們，謝謝你回答我的問題。也許從勞克林開始，查爾斯，我想在您準備好的演講中，您提到您已經將重點轉向那裡的小型活動。顯然，我們報告了這些產品的獲利能力有所提高，但奇怪的是，這是一個事件驅動的市場，是什麼促使我們做出縮小規模的決定？這是暫時的還是更具結構性的，是您在未來的活動日曆中管理勞克林的方式？

Yeah. I think as we looked at the same period last year, we had five events, at the like the large 10,000, 12,000-seat amphitheater. And only one of those events for us was profitable. Profitable in terms of looking at, can we cover the act through selling tickets.

是的。我認為去年同期，我們舉辦了五場活動，地點就像是一個擁有 10,000 個、12,000 個座位的露天劇場。這些活動中只有一項對我們來說是有利可圖的。就觀看而言有利可圖，我們能否透過賣票來報道這一行為。

So, I think as we regroup and looked at that, I think the other issue was frequency. So we had too many, right? So for our customer base, when we have over 70% of our gaming revenue is rated play, we are constantly incentivizing them to come into our locations. And so the frequency is a little bit too high and the cost for the actual is getting a bit too high.

所以，我認為當我們重新組合並研究這個問題時，我認為另一個問題是頻率。所以我們有太多了，對吧？因此，對於我們的客戶群來說，當我們 70% 以上的遊戲收入來自評級遊戲時，我們會不斷激勵他們進入我們的場所。所以頻率有點太高了，實際成本也有點太高了。

That said, we have 1,500, 2,000 feet secondary showroom depending on how you configure it to incentive spending $750 million to $1 million in act. We could spend $50,000 to $150,000 on act and we could do three of those acts a month and not really burn out own players in terms of visitation or their wallet without taking as much risk on the expansion of those acts.

也就是說，我們有 1,500 英尺、2,000 英尺的二級陳列室，具體取決於您如何配置它以激勵實際支出 7.5 億到 100 萬美元。我們可以在表演上花費50,000 到150,000 美元，並且我們可以每月進行三場這樣的表演，並且不會在訪問量或他們的錢包方面真正耗盡自己的玩家，而無需在擴大這些表演方面承擔太大的風險。

I think it's important to note that we believe the threshold will produce more profitability in Laughlin and versus the prior direction through a more frequent lower price shows in a 2,000 to 2,500 seat environment and a reinvestment of some of that money that was going into some of these expensive acts into player driven events, specific player driven events, in which we've seen significant improvement on the cost side and on the revenue side.

我認為值得注意的是，我們相信這一門檻將在勞克林產生更多的盈利能力，與之前的方向相比，透過在2,000 至2,500 個座位的環境中更頻繁地進行更低的價格演出，以及將部分資金再投資於一些這些昂貴的行為轉化為玩家驅動的事件，特定的玩家驅動的事件，其中我們看到了成本方面和收入方面的顯著改善。

So we are marching toward more profitability. It's a fundamental change in the way we're going to market in that, market in Laughlin, as a result, we believe and we're seeing early results that we will provide more profitability in that market than the prior, if you will call it, A act big ticket that has been kind of priced out of the market, if you will, given what we can pick up on the ticket sales side. So I want to make it clear that we're marching towards more profitability in that with this new entertainment direction.

因此，我們正在朝著更高的獲利能力邁進。這是我們在勞克林市場的營銷方式的根本性改變，因此，我們相信並且我們看到了早期結果，如果您致電的話，我們將在該市場提供比以前更高的盈利能力考慮到我們在門票銷售方面可以買到的東西，如果你願意的話，這張大票已經被市場定價了。因此，我想明確表示，我們正在透過這個新的娛樂方向向更高的獲利能力邁進。

Got it Blake. That's clear. Charles, I appreciate that. helpful color. Maybe one shift gears back to the STRAT, looks like overall that casino resort segment margin held up really well, particularly relative to 1Q and in spite of higher labor costs.

明白了，布萊克。很清楚。查爾斯，我很欣賞這一點。有用的顏色。或許我們可以回到 STRAT，儘管勞動力成本較高，但賭場度假村細分市場的利潤率總體上保持得很好，特別是相對於第一季而言。

So I think you've mentioned that the high ADR. So how much of kind of the margin cadence or improvement was revenue mix of higher ADR? Was there something you were kind of able to do on the cost mitigation side. I know you've kind of anniversaryng in July some of the accruals, but looks like 2Q, the margin held up well. So curious if there was some maybe expense management or just STRAT mix?

所以我想你已經提到高ADR了。那麼，較高的 ADR 收入組合對利潤率或改善有多大影響呢？在降低成本方面您可以做些什麼嗎？我知道你們在 7 月對一些應計項目進行了周年紀念，但看起來第二季的利潤率保持得很好。很好奇是否有一些費用管理或只是 STRAT 組合？

Yeah. We do -- I mean, look, we do have cost mitigation plans in place at this point. We expect that also to accelerate towards the end of the year. But within that resort segment, a lot of that benefit was at a Laughlin the strategy that we \just discussed, which even though you had higher revenue and EBITDA at the STRAT and like we said, record hotel levels, I mean, we were up 14% year over year and just hotel revenue at The STRAT.

是的。我們確實——我的意思是，看，我們目前確實制定了成本緩解計劃。我們預計到年底這也會加速。但在度假村細分市場中，很多好處都來自勞克林我們剛剛討論過的戰略，儘管STRAT 的收入和EBITDA 更高，而且就像我們所說的，創紀錄的酒店水平，我的意思是，我們還是上升了年增 14%，其中只有 The STRAT 的飯店收入。

That revenue came at a lower margin due to the union contract on a year over year basis. That should normalize. We were accruing for that in July last year. So this delta should be decreasing as we get through the year.

由於工會合約的影響，該收入的利潤率較去年同期下降。這應該可以正常化。我們去年七月就為此累積了資金。因此，隨著這一年的過去，這個增量應該會減少。

Yeah. We're not happy with the STRAT margin at all currently, and we are laser focused on that particular part of the business at the moment through, as Charles mentioned, significant cost mitigation as well as refining how we market and drive direct bookings to the property.

是的。我們目前對 STRAT 利潤率完全不滿意，正如 Charles 所提到的，我們目前正專注於業務的特定部分，透過大幅降低成本以及改善我們的行銷方式和推動直接預訂的方式財產。

Awesome. I appreciate it. Like two unrelated questions that all tie altogether. Thanks, guys.

驚人的。我很感激。就像兩個不相關的問題卻連在一起。謝謝，夥計們。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Chad Beynon, Macquarie.

查德貝農，麥格理。

Good afternoon. Thanks for taking my question. Charles, wanted to focus on the share repurchases, you required a substantial amount in the quarter. You have a significant amount left under the authorization plan.

午安.感謝您提出我的問題。查爾斯想要專注於股票回購，您在本季需要大量資金。您的授權計劃還剩下大量資金。

Wondering if you could just shed a little bit more light in terms of if we should expect something of the same pace if you would consider drawing down on the revolver obviously, it's an interesting time with the stock and I don't think you're being properly valued, nor do you given the activity in the second quarter, but yeah, maybe just a little bit more color in terms of how active you could be here?

想知道如果您顯然考慮使用左輪手槍，我們是否應該期待同樣的速度，您是否可以提供更多信息，這是股票的一個有趣的時刻，我認為您不會受到適當的重視，您也沒有考慮到第二季的活動，但是，是的，也許只是在你在這裡的活躍程度方面多一點色彩？

Look, I mean the base plan you saw us buy over or close to 1 million shares in the last quarter, we intend to keep that pace through the remainder of the year, call it roughly $30 million spend in each quarter and we'll buy as many shares as we can over that.

聽著，我的意思是你看到我們在上個季度購買了超過或接近100 萬股股票的基本計劃，我們打算在今年剩餘時間內保持這一速度，稱每個季度花費大約3000 萬美元，我們將購買我們可以盡可能多地分享。

And then we'll go get another authorization from the Board and re-up that. So there's no issues with that. And I think that if the opportunity gets bigger, we obviously have a $240 million unfunded revolver with full availability with no restrictions. So we'll see what happens. But we're not afraid to use leverage to an appropriate extent in order to buy our own equity.

然後我們將再次獲得董事會的授權並重新啟動。所以這沒有問題。我認為，如果機會變得更大，我們顯然擁有價值 2.4 億美元的無資金左輪手槍，可以完全使用，沒有任何限制。所以我們會看看會發生什麼。但我們並不害怕適當地使用槓桿來購買自己的股權。

Okay, thank you. With respect to promotional activity in the Valley, I know probably three or six months ago, it seems like some of the private companies were becoming a little bit more active, maybe you felt some of that with one or two of your properties in the region. Has that faded away just in terms of how promotional some have been? And is that something that you're still feeling in the numbers and could get maybe better or worse going forward? Thanks.

好的，謝謝。關於矽谷的促銷活動，我知道大概三、六個月前，似乎一些私人公司變得更加活躍，也許您在該地區的一兩處房產中感受到了一些。就某些促銷活動的程度而言，這種情況是否已經消失了？您是否仍然從數字中感受到這一點，並且未來可能會變得更好或更糟？謝謝。

It seems that promotional activity is pretty consistent to even maybe up a notch or two in the market. And you're right, the private guys kind of lead that the direction there. But overall, we're seeing a pretty consistent elevated approach with maybe even a little bit of a higher up approach. Do we see that continuing?

促銷活動似乎相當一致，甚至可能在市場上上升一兩個檔次。你是對的，私人人士在某種程度上引導著那裡的方向。但總的來說，我們看到了一種相當一致的提升方法，甚至可能有一點更高的方法。我們認為這種情況會持續下去嗎？

I think, as long as this -- as the lower end, which I think, I'll speak for ourselves that we're seeing. I think you're going to see some tweaking and adjusting into that kind of a market. So I do think it continues for a period of time. I don't think it becomes irrational, which at this point, I don't think it's irrational. It's more aggressive. But I think most operators are have -- are not going -- we are certainly not going to be rational, I don't think others will. But I see it continuing as long as we're facing these kind of low end challenges.

我認為，只要這是最低端，我認為，我就會為自己說話，我們所看到的。我認為你會看到一些調整和調整以適應這種市場。所以我確實認為這種情況會持續一段時間。我不認為它變得不合理，在這一點上，我不認為這是不合理的。它更具攻擊性。但我認為大多數運營商都已經——不會——我們肯定不會理性，我認為其他人也不會。但我認為只要我們面臨這些低階挑戰，這種情況就會持續下去。

Thanks. And maybe if I can squeeze in last one here, just kind of going back to the midweek opportunity at The STRAT. I know previously a lot of your business was sourced from OTAs, and that's something that, that was kind of in the plan for '24. Is there still an opportunity to just grow this directly when you increase the occupancies midweek? Or will you have to rely on -- yeah, maybe some of the more expensive vendors that come at a lower margin to your business? Thank you?

謝謝。也許如果我能在這裡擠出最後一個機會，就有點回到周中在 STRAT 的機會。我知道之前你們的許多業務都是來自 OTA，這也是 24 世紀計畫中的一部分。當周中增加入住率時，是否還有機會直接增加這一點？或者您必須依賴——是的，也許一些更昂貴的供應商對您的業務來說利潤率較低？謝謝你？

The answer is yes, we can still improve that direct booking as we've talked about, I mean, again, we took property over it was close to 80% on the OTAs. We've moved down below 70%. And even though we don't have a group meeting spaces in the property, we do sell direct wholesale into group citywide packages.

答案是肯定的，正如我們所討論的，我們仍然可以改進直接預訂，我的意思是，我們再次透過 OTA 獲得了接近 80% 的財產。我們已降至 70% 以下。儘管我們酒店內沒有團體會議空間，但我們確實以全市團體套餐形式直接批發銷售。

So we have folks that we've hired from a sales perspective that are making good progress in that. So between those efforts, the direct to new players, as Blake alluded to through our new card sign-up programs on the slot floor, those two things are going to be pushing less reliance for us on the OTAs as we go forward.

因此，我們從銷售角度聘請的人員在這方面取得了良好的進展。因此，在這些努力之間，正如布萊克透過我們在老虎機地板上的新卡註冊計劃所提到的那樣，直接面向新玩家，這兩件事將在我們前進的過程中減少我們對 OTA 的依賴。

Thanks, Charles. Thanks, Blake.

謝謝，查爾斯。謝謝，布萊克。

Thank you, Chad.

謝謝你，查德。

Carlo Santarelli, Deutsche Bank.

卡洛桑塔雷利，德意志銀行。

Hey Blake, Charles. I had a couple of questions, but all kind of related to the same thing. In slide 9, you guys assume $9 million of rent, coincidentally, that's roughly half of kind of the casino EBITDA. Is that kind of what that is assuming just kind of 2 times rent coverage on the casino only real estate?

嘿布萊克，查爾斯。我有幾個問題，但都與同一件事有關。在投影片 9 中，你們假設租金為 900 萬美元，巧合的是，這大約是賭場 EBITDA 的一半。這就是假設賭場房地產的租金覆蓋率是兩倍的情況嗎？

Yeah, that's right. And it's probably a little bit conservative, but I feel that's a fair number.

是的，沒錯。這可能有點保守，但我覺得這是一個公平的數字。

Okay. And then when you think about like these multiples and acknowledging, I think the average multiple for real estate paid is a little bit higher than your low end here if you look at the history of all the transactions and the desire, I believe that exists from some of the reach to get into the Las Vegas locals market.

好的。然後，當您考慮這些倍數並承認時，我認為如果您查看所有交易的歷史和願望，我認為支付的房地產的平均倍數比您的低端高一點，我相信存在於進入拉斯維加斯當地人市場的一些影響力。

Do you feel like you need to kind of hold out for the higher end of this range, despite kind of the interest rate environment that exist right now that maybe makes it challenging

儘管目前存在的利率環境可能使其具有挑戰性，但您是否覺得需要堅持這個範圍的較高端

Yeah, Well, Carlo, I mean, obviously that interest rate environment is anticipated to be changing between now and the end of the year and certainly into next year, fairly meaningfully. So I don't think we have far to go for REIT multiples to get back to levels where they arguably should be, meaning that they have an ability to pay a lower cap rate for casino rent if they ever decide to go that path.

是的，卡洛，我的意思是，很明顯，從現在到今年年底，尤其是明年，利率環境預計將發生變化，這是相當有意義的。因此，我認為房地產投資信託基金的本益比要恢復到應有的水平並不需要太遠，這意味著如果他們決定走這條路，他們有能力支付較低的賭場租金上限。

And then if you look back even just recently at our Rocky Gap transaction that was in a deal where it was North of 13 times for a relatively small rent stream on lease land assets. So I feel like that mid to high end of that range is achievable or should be achievable multiples if it was something that we were to consider, and it's not something that we consider at the cap rates that are out there right now at this moment, but rates are coming down, at leases as we look at all the forecast your banks are putting out over the remainder of this year and into next year.

然後，如果你回顧我們最近的 Rocky Gap 交易，在該交易中，租賃土地資產的租金流相對較小，價格上漲了 13 倍以上。所以我覺得這個範圍的中高端是可以實現的，或者應該是可以實現的倍數，如果這是我們要考慮的事情，而且這不是我們根據目前的上限利率考慮的事情，但當我們查看銀行對今年剩餘時間和明年的所有預測時，利率至少會下降。

Yeah. As we sit here, Carlo, and it's been mentioned about valuations that we don't believe are appropriate. I think if you look at us currently I think we're trading at or less certainly do the math even conservative math less than a real estate value set up.

是的。卡洛，當我們坐在這裡時，有人提到了我們認為不合適的估值。我認為，如果你看看我們目前的情況，我認為我們的交易價格肯定會低於設定的房地產價值，即使是保守的數學計算也是如此。

The question for us is you're right. And Charles is right. There is, I think, an ability to maximize value by waiting a bit for the macroenvironment to change specifically regards to interest rates. I think your question for us is long term, how do we generate the most value being a public company? Is it owning our real estate or not? And we go through that constantly.

我們的問題是你是對的。查爾斯是對的。我認為，透過等待宏觀環境特別是利率方面的變化，可以實現價值最大化。我認為您對我們的問題是長期的，作為一家上市公司，我們如何產生最大的價值？它是否擁有我們的房地產？我們不斷地經歷這個過程。

And right now, as Charles said, we're not anticipating changing direction, because with our balance sheet, with our free cash, with our undrawn revolver and our position, it's strategically, I guess, if you will, in the market, we think we have a lot of optionality and a lot of ways to drive value and owning real estate, certainly I think, is a pretty good backstop to analyzing all of those opportunities.

現在，正如查爾斯所說，我們預計不會改變方向，因為憑藉我們的資產負債表、我們的自由現金、我們未動用的左輪手槍和我們的頭寸，我想，如果你願意的話，在市場上，我們在策略上我認為我們有很多選擇和很多方法來推動價值，當然我認為擁有房地產是分析所有這些機會的一個很好的支持。

I appreciate that guys. thank you both.

我很欣賞這些人。謝謝你們倆。

Thanks, Carlo.

謝謝，卡洛。

There are no further questions at this time. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's conference call. Thank you so much for your participation. You may now disconnect.

目前沒有其他問題。女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。非常感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。