Significant Accounting Policies (Policy)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2024

Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Principles of Consolidation

Principles of Consolidation – The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. The Company also consolidates CPL, CDR and Smooth Bourbon as majority owned subsidiaries for which the Company has a controlling interest. The portion of CPL, CDR and Smooth Bourbon that are not wholly-owned are reflected as non-controlling interests in the accompanying consolidated financial statements. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated.

Use Of Estimates

Use of Estimates – The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“US GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amount of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ materially from those estimates. Management’s use of estimates includes estimates for property and equipment, goodwill, intangible assets and income tax.

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements – The Company has recently adopted the following accounting pronouncement:

In November 2023, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280); Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures (“ASU 2023-07”). The objective of ASU 2023-07 is to improve reportable segment disclosure requirements, primarily through enhanced disclosures about significant segment expenses, enhance interim disclosure requirements, clarify circumstances in which an entity can disclose multiple segment measures of profit or loss, and add other disclosure requirements. The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024. Early adoption of ASU 2023-07 was permitted.

The Company adopted this standard during the year ended December 31, 2024 and retrospectively applied the standard to 2022 and 2023. The Company added disclosure of significant segment expenses to its segment footnote. In addition, information related to segment assets that had previously been reported annually are being included quarterly.

Accounting Pronouncements Pending Adoption

Accounting Pronouncements Pending Adoption –

In October 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-06, Disclosure Improvements - Codification Amendments in Response to the SEC's Disclosure Update and Simplification Initiative (“ASU 2023-06”). The objective of ASU 2023-06 is to update and simplify disclosure requirements and is intended to align US GAAP and SEC requirements. Early adoption of ASU 2023-06 is not permitted. The guidance relates to various topics and is effective on the date on which the SEC’s removal of that related disclosure requirement from Regulation S-X or Regulation S-K becomes effective. The Company is reviewing the updates provided by this standard. The Company does not expect the adoption of the standard to have a material impact on the Company’s financial statements.

In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740); Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures (“ASU 2023-09”). The objective of ASU 2023-09 is to improve income tax disclosure requirements. Under ASU 2023-09, entities must annually (1) disclose specific categories in the income tax rate reconciliation and (2) provide additional information for reconciling items that meet a quantitative threshold. Early adoption of ASU 2023-07 is permitted. The guidance is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2024. The Company does not expect the adoption of the standard to have a material impact on the Company’s financial statements.

In November 2024, the FASB issued ASU 2024-03, Income Statement—Reporting Comprehensive Income—Expense Disaggregation Disclosures (Subtopic 220-40) (“ASU 2024-03”). The objective of ASU 2024-03 is to disaggregate the disclosure of expenses such as purchases of inventory, employee compensation, depreciation, and intangible asset amortization. ASU 2024-03 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2026, and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2027. Early adoption of ASU 2024-3 is permitted. The standard can be adopted prospectively or retrospectively. The Company is currently analyzing the additional disclosure requirements of ASU 2024-03 and the impact of adoption on the Company’s financial statements.

The Company has considered all other recently issued accounting pronouncements and does not believe the adoption of such pronouncements will have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements or notes thereto.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and Cash Equivalents – All highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less are considered cash equivalents. As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company had no cash equivalents. A reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash as stated in the Company’s statement of cash flows is presented in the following table:

	December 31,		December 31,
Amounts in thousands	2024		2023
Cash and cash equivalents	$	98,769	$	171,327
Restricted cash included in deposits and other		244		263
Total cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash shown in the consolidated statements of cash flows	$	99,013	$	171,590

As of December 31, 2024, the Company had $0.2 million in deposits related to payments of prizes and giveaways for Casinos Poland and $0.1 million in deposits related to insurance policies in restricted cash included in deposits and other on its consolidated balance sheet. As of December 31, 2023, the Company had $0.2 million related to payments of prizes and giveaways for Casinos Poland and $0.1 million related to an insurance policy in restricted cash included in deposits and other on its consolidated balance sheet.

Concentrations Of Credit Risk

Concentrations of Credit Risk – Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to significant concentrations of credit risk consist principally of cash and cash equivalents. Although the amount of credit exposure to any one institution may exceed federally insured amounts, the Company limits its cash investments to high quality financial institutions in order to minimize its credit risk.

Accounts Receivable

Accounts Receivable – Accounts receivable are expected to be collected within six months of the maturity date. Receivables not collected within that time frame are written down to the allowance for credit losses and further written off after one year if not collected.

Inventories

Inventories – Inventories, which consist primarily of food, beverage, retail merchandise and operating supplies, are stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Cost is determined by the first-in, first-out method.

Property And Equipment

Property and Equipment – Property and equipment are stated at cost. Costs of major improvements are capitalized, and costs of normal repairs and maintenance are charged to expense as incurred. Depreciation of assets in service is determined using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets. Estimated service lives used are as follows:

Buildings and improvements	5 – 39 years
Gaming equipment	3 – 7 years
Furniture and non-gaming equipment	3 – 7 years

The Company evaluates long-lived assets for possible impairment whenever events or circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. If there is an indication of impairment, determined by the excess of the carrying value in relation to anticipated undiscounted future cash flows, the carrying amount of the asset is written down to its estimated fair value by a charge to operations. See Note 4 for additional information about the Company’s property and equipment.

Goodwill

Goodwill – Goodwill represents the excess purchase price over the fair value of the net identifiable assets acquired related to third party business combinations. See Note 5 for additional information about the Company’s goodwill, including the impairment recorded in the year ended December 31, 2024.

Intangible Assets

Intangible Assets – Identifiable intangible assets include trademarks, player’s club lists and casino licenses. The Company’s intangible assets identified as indefinite-lived intangible assets are not amortized. The Company’s finite-lived intangible assets are amortized over their respective useful lives. See Note 5 for additional information about the Company’s intangible assets.

Financing Obligation With VICI PropCo

Financing Obligation with VICI PropCo – In accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 842, “Leases” (“ASC 842”), for transactions in which the Company enters into a contract to sell an asset and leases it back from the seller under a sale and leaseback transaction, the Company must determine whether control of the asset has transferred from the Company. In cases whereby control has not transferred from the Company, the Company continues to reflect the real estate assets on its consolidated balance sheets and continues to recognize depreciation expense over the shorter of the remaining useful life or the lease term. Additionally, a financial liability is recognized and referred to as a financing obligation, in accordance with ASC 470, “Debt” (“ASC 470”). The accounting for financing obligations under ASC 470 is materially consistent with the accounting for finance leases under ASC 842. The Company concluded that its Master Lease is required to be accounted for as a financing obligation. See Note 7 for additional information about the Company’s financing obligation. The Company does not recognize rent expense related to these leased assets; instead, a portion of the minimum lease payments under the Master Lease is recognized as interest expense with the remainder of the payment reducing the failed sale-leaseback financing obligation using the effective interest method. Contingent payments and payments on account of CPI increases are recorded as interest expense as incurred. In the initial periods, cash payments are less than the interest expense recognized in the consolidated statements of (loss) earnings, which causes the financing obligation to increase.

Foreign Currency

Foreign Currency – The Company’s functional currency is the US dollar (“USD” or “$”). Foreign subsidiaries with a functional currency other than the US dollar translate assets and liabilities at current exchange rates at the end of the reporting periods, while income and expense accounts are translated at average exchange rates for the respective periods. The Company and its subsidiaries enter into various transactions made in currencies different from their functional currencies. These transactions are typically denominated in the Canadian dollar (“CAD”), Euro (“EUR”) and Polish zloty (“PLN”). Gains and losses resulting from changes in foreign currency exchange rates related to these transactions are included in non-operating income (expense) as they occur.

The exchange rates to the US dollar used to translate balances for the reported periods are as follows:

	As of December 31,	As of December 31,
Ending Rates	2024	2023
Canadian dollar (CAD)	1.4349	1.3232
Euros (EUR)	0.9611	0.9030
Polish zloty (PLN)	4.1106	3.9155

	For the year
	ended December 31,			% Change
Average Rates	2024	2023	2022	2024/2023	2023/2022
Canadian dollar (CAD)	1.3696	1.3496	1.3011	(1.5%)	(3.7%)
Euros (EUR)	0.9244	0.9248	0.9506	—	2.7%
Polish zloty (PLN)	3.9807	4.2034	4.4559	5.3%	5.7%
Source: Xe Currency Converter

Comprehensive Loss

Comprehensive Loss – Comprehensive loss includes the effect of fluctuations in foreign currency rates on the values of the Company’s foreign investments.

Revenue Recognition

Revenue Recognition – The Company’s performance obligations related to contracts with customers consist of the following:

Gaming

The majority of the Company’s revenue is derived from gaming transactions involving wagers wherein, upon settlement, the Company either retains the customer’s wager, or returns the wager to the customer. Gaming revenue is reported as the net difference between wins and losses. Gaming revenue is reduced by the incremental amount of unpaid progressive jackpots in the period during which the jackpot increases and the dollar value of points earned through tracked play. In Canada, gaming revenue is also reduced by amounts retained by the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission (“AGLC”) and Horse Racing Alberta (“HRA”). Performance obligations are satisfied upon completion of the wager with liabilities recognized for points earned through play. The Company offers lines of credit to customers at select locations; the lines of credit are short-term in nature.

Hotel accommodations and food and beverage furnished without charge, coupons and downloadable credits provided to customers to entice play are considered marketing incentives to induce play and are presented as a reduction to gaming revenue at their retail value on the date of redemption. Members of the Company’s casinos’ player’s clubs earn points based on, among other things, their volume of play at the Company’s casinos. Players can accumulate points over time that they may redeem at their discretion under the terms of the program. The value of the points is offset against the revenue in the period in which the points were earned. Marketing incentives and player’s club points provided to gaming customers allocated to gaming revenue were $82.4 million, $72.9 million and $42.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The Company records a liability based on the redemption value of the player’s club points earned with an estimate for breakage, and records a corresponding reduction in gaming revenue. The value of unused or unredeemed points is included in accrued liabilities on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets.

Hotel, Food and Beverage and Other Sales

Goods and services provided include hotel room rentals, food and beverage sales and retail sales. The majority of the hotel, food and beverage and other sales contracts are satisfied on the same day and revenue is recognized on the date of the sale. Revenue that is collected before the date of sale is recorded as deferred revenue. In the normal course of business, the Company does not accept product returns. The Company excludes taxes assessed by a governmental authority and collected by the Company from the transaction price.

Pari-Mutuel

Pari-mutuel revenue involves wagers on horse racing. The Company facilitates wagers on horse racing through live racing at the Company’s racetrack, off-track betting parlors at the Company’s casinos, and the operation of the Alberta off-track betting network. The Company has determined that it is the principal in the performance obligations through which amounts are wagered on horse races run at the Company’s racetrack. For these performance obligations, the Company records revenue as the commission retained on wagers with revenue recognized on the date of the wager. The Company has determined that it is acting as the agent for all wagers placed through the Company’s off-track betting parlors and the off-track betting network. For these performance obligations, the Company records pari-mutuel revenue as the commission retained on wagers less the expense for host fees to the host racetrack with revenue recognized on the date of the wager. Expenses related to licenses and HRA levies are expensed in the same month as revenue is recognized. The Company takes future bets for the Kentucky Derby only and recognizes wagers on the Kentucky Derby as deferred revenue.

Sports Betting and iGaming

Sports betting revenue involves wagers on sporting events, and iGaming revenue involves wagers on casino games through an online platform. The Company partners with sports betting and iGaming operators at its Colorado, West Virginia and Nevada casinos to provide these services. The agreements generally provide the Company with a share of net gaming revenue and a minimum revenue guarantee each year from the sports betting and iGaming operators. The Company has determined that it is acting as the agent in its sports betting and iGaming transactions.

Promotional Allowances

‎

Promotional Allowances – The Company issues coupons and downloadable promotional credits to customers for the purpose of generating future revenue. The value of coupons and downloadable promotional credits redeemed is applied against the revenue generated on the day of the redemption. For the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, the estimated direct costs of providing promotional allowances were as follows:

	For the year
	ended December 31,
Amounts in thousands	2024		2023		2022
Hotel	$	529	$	542	$	348
Food and beverage		4,489		4,208		2,065
	$	5,018	$	4,750	$	2,413

Loyalty Programs

Loyalty Programs – Members of the Company’s casinos’ player’s clubs earn points based on, among other things, their volume of play at the Company’s casinos. Players can accumulate points over time that they may redeem at their discretion under the terms of the program. The Company records a liability based on the redemption value of the points earned and records a corresponding reduction in casino revenue. Points can be redeemed for cash, downloadable promotional credits and/or various amenities at the casino, such as meals, hotel stays and gift shop items. The value of the points is offset against the revenue in the period in which the points were earned. The value of unused or unredeemed points is reduced by points not expected to be redeemed (breakage) and included in accrued liabilities on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets. The outstanding balance of this liability on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets was $2.1 million and $2.3 million as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

Stock-Based Compensation

Stock-Based Compensation – Stock-based compensation expense is measured at the grant date based on the fair value of the award and is recognized as expense over the vesting period. The Company accounts for forfeitures as they occur. The Company uses the Black-Scholes option pricing model for all non-performance option grants and the Monte Carlo option pricing model for all performance stock unit grants related to total shareholder return to determine the fair value of all such grants. See Note 12 for additional information about the Company’s stock-based compensation.

Advertising Costs

Advertising Costs – Advertising costs are expensed when incurred by the Company. Advertising costs were $6.6 million, $5.6 million and $3.6 million in the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively, and are included in gaming expenses on the Company’s consolidated statements of (loss) earnings.

Income Taxes

Income Taxes – The Company accounts for income taxes using the asset and liability method, which provides that deferred tax assets and liabilities are recorded based on the difference between the tax bases of assets and liabilities and their carrying amounts for financial reporting purposes, at a rate expected to be in effect when the differences become deductible or payable. Recorded deferred tax assets are evaluated for impairment by reviewing internal estimates for future taxable income.

Earnings Per Share

Earnings Per Share – The calculation of basic earnings per share considers the weighted average outstanding common shares in the computation. The calculation of diluted earnings per share also gives effect to all potentially dilutive securities. The calculation of diluted earnings per share is based upon the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period, plus, if dilutive, the assumed exercise of stock options using the treasury stock method. Weighted average shares outstanding for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022 were as follows:

	For the year
	ended December 31,
Amounts in thousands	2024		2023		2022
Weighted average common shares, basic		30,617		30,274		29,809
Dilutive effect of stock options		—		—		1,671
Weighted average common shares, diluted		30,617		30,274		31,480

The following stock options are anti-dilutive and have not been included in the weighted-average shares outstanding calculation:

	For the year
	ended December 31,
Amounts in thousands	2024		2023		2022
Stock options		290		1,911		2,740

Equity Investment

Equity Investment – On April 1, 2022, the Company purchased 50% of the membership interests in Smooth Bourbon. Smooth Bourbon owns the real property on which the Nugget Casino is located. The additional 50% of the membership interests in Smooth Bourbon is held by Marnell. At the time of the purchase of its membership interests in Smooth Bourbon at the First Closing, the Company completed an assessment of whether Smooth Bourbon is a variable interest entity in which it has a financial interest. Based on this assessment, the Company concluded that Smooth Bourbon was not subject to consolidation under the guidance for variable interest entities prior to the Nugget Acquisition because the Nugget is the primary beneficiary of Smooth Bourbon and reported its interest in Smooth Bourbon as an equity investment. After the Second Closing on April 3, 2023, the Company began consolidating Smooth Bourbon as a subsidiary for which it has a controlling financial interest and no longer reports its interest in Smooth Bourbon as an equity investment. See Note 3 for additional information about Smooth Bourbon

Cost Recovery Income

Cost Recovery Income – Cost recovery income is related to infrastructure built during the development of CDR. The infrastructure was built by the non-controlling shareholders prior to the Company’s acquisition of its controlling ownership interest in CDR. Income received by CDR related to cost recoveries is included in gain on foreign currency transactions, cost recovery income and other. The distribution of cost recovery income to CDR’s non-controlling shareholders is recorded as distributions to non-controlling interests