Gaming and Leisure Properties to acquire real estate assets of casino/racetrack

WYOMISSING — Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. has announced that it intends to acquire the real estate assets of Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino in New Mexico.

The transaction is valued at $183.8 million, and is expected to close on Oct.15.

The acquisition represents an expansion of Wyomissing-based Gaming and Leisure Properties’ relationship with Strategic Gaming Management LLC, an operator of domestic casino assets.

The transaction will add a fourth asset to Strategic Gaming’s existing triple-net master lease agreement with Gaming and Leisure Properties. Once completed, the annual lease will increase by 2 percent each year, according to a press release.

“Through our acquisition of Sunland Park, we are again diversifying our property portfolio, while again supporting the growth strategy of an existing tenant, as we deepen our relationship with Strategic Gaming, a dynamic and growing gaming operator,” Peter Carlino, Gaming and Leisure Properties’ chairman and CEO, said in a statement. “This accretive transaction further strengthens GLPI’s reputation as the gaming landlord of choice.”

Located in southern New Mexico, Sunland Park serves the El Paso-Las Cruces gaming market, a high population and income growth geography, according to the release. Given state regulatory protections, Sunland Park is uniquely positioned to operate in a stable gaming environment, Gaming and Leisure Properties said.

The Sunland Park property sits on about 157 acres and offers 738 slots and 12 electronic gaming tables across a 25,000 square-foot gaming floor. The property includes a one-mile thoroughbred and quarter horse racetrack with a 733-seat stadium. It also has a 600-person ballroom, a simulcast wagering area, and a 78-room third-party hotel.

Additional unused acreage provides “significant expansion and performance uplift opportunities,” Gaming and Leisure said in the release.

Strategic Gaming Management also operates three casinos in Nevada and South Dakota in collaboration with Gaming and Leisure Properties, which owns the associated real estate.