MGM Resorts International has closed on its sale of the operations at the Gold Strike Casino Resort for $450 million in cash.
The deal was announced in August 2022 during MGM Resort’s second-quarter earnings call. The buyer is CNE Gaming Holdings, a subsidiary of Cherokee Nation Businesses, according to the news release.
"Gold Strike is an iconic property in Mississippi, and the employees there represent southern hospitality at its finest," MGM Resorts President and CEO Bill Hornbuckle said in the release. "I wish Gold Strike well, and firmly believe a bright future is ahead for this property."
MGM Resorts will use the proceeds from the sale of the property to fortify its balance sheet, deploy capital for growth opportunities and return capital to shareholders, Jonathan Halkyard, chief financial officer and treasurer at MGM Resorts, said in the release.
The company has made several deals selling and acquiring operations of resort casinos recently. In December, it closed on the sale of operations at The Mirage Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas to Hard Rock International for $1.075 billion cash. In early 2022, MGM Resorts took over operations of The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas for $1.625 billion. In conjunction with that deal. a partnership comprising single-family office organization Cherng Family Trust, alternative investing firm Stonepeak Partners and Blackstone Real Estate Investment Trust acquired the real estate for $4 billion from Blackstone Real Estate Partners.
The real estate of the Gold Strike is owned by gaming real estate investment trust Vici Properties. The property was part of MGM Growth Properties, the real estate investment trust spinoff of MGM Resorts, when it was acquired by Vici for $17.2 billion in April 2022.
With the closing of the sale, MGM Resort’s master lease with Vici will be amended to reduce its annual rent by $40 million.