Boyd Gaming announced on Wednesday that it would purchase Pennsylvania’s Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia for $280.5 million. The acquisition, which isn’t expected to close until Q3 of 2018, will give Boyd Gaming its first foothold in Pennsylvania, which recently became the fourth state to legalize and regulate online gaming.
Valley Forge Casino Resort is located 20 miles west of downtown Philadelphia, and boasts a 40,000-square foot casino with 600 slot machines, nearly 500 hotel rooms, and 50 table games.
The casino currently has no poker room, but a casino representative said there has “been talk of building one” when contacted by CardsChat.
Eye on Online Gambling
Despite Nevada’s having legalized internet poker more than four years ago, Boyd Gaming has yet to venture into the online space. But that could change in Pennsylvania.
“With this acquisition, we will expand into the second-largest gaming state in the country, establishing a presence in a densely populated, high-traffic area just west of Philadelphia,” Boyd Gaming President and CEO Keith Smith said.
“And thanks to Pennsylvania’s recent passage of gaming expansion legislation, there are new opportunities to drive incremental growth at Valley Forge through the expansion of the property’s slot capacity and the introduction of new forms of gaming.”
Boyd Gaming Corporation (BYD) closed at $34.47 on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday shortly after news broke, down 1.8 precent. But the stock climbed 2.4 percent in early trading hours on Thursday, to $35.38 per share.
Boyd Becoming Player
The latest acquisition announcement came on the heels of news that Penn National will be acquiring Pinnacle Entertainment, owners of the Heartland Poker Tour, in late 2018 pending regulatory approval.
“With the successful completion of our acquisitions of Valley Forge and the Pinnacle assets, Boyd Gaming will gain direct access to four of the nation’s largest gaming markets,” Smith said, “with a combined population of nearly 10 million adults.”
As part of that deal, Penn National will immediately deal four Pinnacle properties to Boyd Gaming. These properties include Ameristar Kansas City, Indiana’s Belterra Casino Resort, Ohio’s Belterra Park, and Ameristar St. Charles just outside St. Louis, Missouri.
Las Vegas-based Boyd Gaming’s expansion will have it operating 29 properties in 10 states. Casinos in Missouri, Ohio, and Pennsylvania will add to Boyd’s current holdings in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Nevada. In Las Vegas, Boyd operates ten properties, including The Orleans, Gold Coast, Suncoast, and Sam’s Town.
