Tioga Downs real estate sold

American Racing & Entertainment, LLC announced on Tuesday (Feb. 6) that it sold the real estate assets of harness racing racino Tioga Downs Casino Resort to Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. (GLPI) for $175 million.

American Racing & Entertainment, headed by CEO Jeff Gural, will continue to operate Tioga Downs via an accompanying 30-year lease agreement. The initial rent paid per year will be $14.5 million with a fixed annual increase of 1.75 per cent for the first 15 years, after which the rate will be 2 per cent. The lease agreement is triple-net, meaning American Racing & Entertainment will also pay expenses, such as taxes and maintenance, associated with the property.

GLPI is a company that specializes in holding gaming properties as real estate and leasing them to operators. The investment trust also owns racinos Bally’s Dover Casino Resort, Hollywood Casino and Raceway Bangor, Plainridge Park Casino, Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway, Hollywood Casino at The Meadows. It has a market cap of $12.1 billion and held $10.9 billion worth of properties as of its 2022 report.

In a release on the sale, Gural said “it’s business as usual at Tioga Downs, my team and I remain committed to our customers, employees and community. This transaction represents a form of financing to support the needs of the company. I will still be leading the management team and we will continue to provide the same level of customer service that Tioga Downs is known for.”

The release specifies that there will be no change in structure to Tioga Downs.

by Harnesslink Media