Lyle Randolph
Analyst · Stifel
Thank you, Peter. Good morning, everyone. Across our U.S. operations, a clear pattern continues to emerge. We are seeing a portfolio that is performing with greater consistency. We are seeing operational improvements translating into stronger financial results. And most importantly, we're seeing the operational work of the past several years begin to pay off. Across our 7 U.S. properties, we have invested in our gaming floors, improved our marketing, strengthened our operations and remain focused on creating a better guest experience. None of this happened overnight, but those efforts are coming together and the second quarter provides another strong example. During Q2, our U.S. operations generated $111.6 million of net operating revenue, an increase of 5% over the prior year. Adjusted EBITDAR increased 12% to $28.9 million. Importantly, adjusted EBITDAR grew more than twice as fast as revenue, demonstrating continued operating leverage across the portfolio. And that momentum extends beyond the quarter. Through the first 6 months of 2026, U.S. net operating revenue increased 5%, while adjusted EBITDAR increased 16% over the first half of 2025. That is an increase of $7.2 million in adjusted EBITDAR in the first half of the year from the U.S. properties. And that consistency in growth is the real story. As we take a step back and look broadly across the portfolio, we're reminded that Century does not simply operate 7 casinos. We operate 7 unique destinations across 5 gaming jurisdictions, each with its own history, customer base and competitive position. Together, they represent an important piece of America's regional gaming heritage. From Rocky Gap, the only casino resort operating within a state park in America to Mountaineer, where the world's first resino pioneered a new chapter of regional gaming to the riverboat gaming history of Missouri, to Colorado's historic gold mining communities and finally, to the Nugget, one of Northern Nevada's iconic gaming brands. Each property brings something different. Our strategy is to preserve what makes each one unique while applying a disciplined operating approach that drives stronger and more consistent results. Beginning in the West, the Nugget continues to demonstrate why we believe it represents one of the greatest opportunities within our U.S. portfolio. Net operating revenue increased 16%, while adjusted EBITDAR increased more than 93%. And more importantly, this was just -- this was Nugget's third consecutive quarter of year-over-year adjusted EBITDAR growth. The Nugget had a strong entertainment calendar in the second quarter. The Brooks & Dunn concert in April sold more than 7,800 tickets and the Keith Urban show in June contributed to over $0.25 million in incremental profit. But the Nugget story is much broader than concerts. Slot coin-in increased approximately 6%. Hotel cash revenue increased more than 36%. Hotel occupancy increased 19% and year-to-date retail room nights reached a 3-year high. We are also making better use of the hotel during historically softer periods. Transient corporate room nights increased more than 300% during the quarter. And we continue to improve the casino itself through gaming floor optimization, stronger marketing, player development and a greater focus on the local customer. We are also seeing improvement in the quality of the business. The number of guests generating more than 400 in average daily theoretical increased approximately 20%. The Nugget is an iconic brand with a significant hotel and convention operation and includes a major entertainment venue. Our opportunity continues to be to make all of those pieces work better together. And the last 3 quarters of the Nugget tell us that the strategy is not only gaining traction, but we still believe there is still significant runway ahead. Moving on to the Midwest region. Our Missouri properties continue to be consistent performers. Our Missouri properties combined have now delivered 7 consecutive quarters of year-over-year adjusted EBITDAR growth. Combined net operating revenue increased over 8% in the second quarter combined. Adjusted EBITDAR increased 9.6% at Cape Girardeau and 5.5% at Caruthersville. Just as encouraging is the breadth of that growth. Across Missouri, theoretical win increased across all of our broader player segments. At Cape Girardeau, we continue to see the benefits of improving an established property and becoming more sophisticated in how we engage with our customers. The Riverview Hotel, our food and beverage amenities, our event center, our retail BetMGM Sportsbook provide additional reasons to visit and more opportunities to extend the customer relationship beyond the casino floor. At Caruthersville, the story is the continued maturing of our investment in that market. Second quarter net operating revenue increased nearly $1.2 million, rated gaming revenue increased 32% and unique guests increased 9%. More importantly, unique guests traveling more than 50 miles increased 15%. That tells us that the new property is not simply serving the existing local customer, it is expanding Caruthersville's geographic reach. During the quarter, Caruthersville generated its highest quarterly gross gaming revenue, net revenue, coin-in and slot win in the property's history. And the performance stands out beyond just our own portfolio. For Missouri's fiscal year reported by the Missouri Gaming Commission ending in June, Caruthersville recorded the highest percentage increase in adjusted gross revenue among all 13 casinos in the state. Collectively, Century's Missouri operations also generated the highest year-over-year percentage growth in gaming revenue of any casino operator in the state. So we remain very encouraged by the underlying strength of our Midwest region and the continued maturing of our Caruthersville investment. Let's shift now to -- over to the East region with Rocky Gap. Rocky Gap delivered a resilient second quarter despite a more challenging competitive and consumer environment. There were several encouraging underlying trends. Slot coin-in increased approximately 2%, golf cash revenue increased nearly 13% and hotel room nights increased. Net operating revenue was down slightly less than 1%, with essentially all of that decline concentrated in the hotel cash revenue and table games. Importantly, disciplined expense management helped offset those pressures and adjusted EBITDA essentially remained flat. That performance is notable given softer regional gaming trends and the April opening of Happy Valley Casino in State College, Pennsylvania. And we are also reminded that through the first half of the year, Rocky Gap's adjusted EBITDAR remained 9% ahead of prior year. We remain encouraged by the resilience of the business, and we'll continue leveraging Rocky Gap's unique position as a true destination resort. Also in our East region, Mountaineer remains one of the foundational assets within our U.S. portfolio. Once again, this quarter, Mountaineer generated the highest gaming revenue of any property in our company. This reflects the strength of its long-standing customer base in the market. And that market surrounding Mountaineer continues to evolve. Customers today have more gaming options than ever before, including online gaming and mature casino and sports wagering locations. Importantly, these developments do not suggest that demand for gaming has weakened, rather they reinforce that the way guests choose to engage with gaming and entertainment continues to change. We believe that creates an opportunity to deliver the experiences guests cannot replicate elsewhere. Mountaineer's combination of casino gaming, live horse racing, hotel, dinner and entertainment options provide a unique platform to compete in this changing environment. In quarter 2, Mountaineer saw growth in sports betting and iGaming and horse racing revenue increased nearly 40%. At the same time, slots, tables and hotel revenue were slightly softer. There were some encouraging customer trends. Gaming revenue from our highest value 400-plus ADT customers increased 7% and revenue from younger customers, 21 to 39 increased 31%. The hotel comparison also requires some context. Last year, second quarter benefited from a large construction group that contributed nearly $0.5 million of business before those days ended in June of 2025. Adjusting for that group, second quarter profitability would have been approximately flat with prior year. Again, through the first half of 2026, Mountaineer adjusted EBITDAR still remains 6% ahead of last year. Mountaineer provides opportunity as it also has the largest active customer database in our company, which provides a significant tool as we continue refining segmentation, reinvestment and player development. And the property's racing heritage remains an important differentiator. This year marks the 75th year of horse racing at Mountaineer. This weekend is the 56th running of the West Virginia Derby. Our focus is to build upon that heritage while creating gaming, entertainment and hospitality experiences that give customers compelling reasons to visit the property. Moving to Colorado. We see encouraging momentum. Central City delivered one of the strongest performances in the U.S. portfolio. Net operating revenue increased approximately 11.5%, while adjusted EBITDAR increased more than 32%. Guest volume increased 16%, coin-in increased nearly 20% and hotel occupancy reached 74%. Through the first half of 2026, Central City nearly doubled adjusted EBITDAR compared with the prior year. The quality of that growth is also encouraging. We saw improvement across carded and non-carded play, while marketing expenses declined as we shifted toward more targeted detailed initiatives. So Central City is not simply generating more revenue, we are becoming more efficient in how we generate it. At Cripple Creek, net operating revenue increased 2% and adjusted EBITDAR for the first 6 months is well ahead of last year. We also saw growth in both rated and unrated play and an increase in unique carded guests. Looking forward, we remain optimistic about both markets. In Central City, continued public investment in the Gregory Plaza in the historic district leading up to the Hill to Central City should create additional reasons for visitors to explore beyond Black Hawk's primary casino corridor. And in Cripple Creek, we continue to view the evolution of Chamonix as an opportunity in both the short and long term. As Chamonix continues refining its operations and guest experience, Century remains well positioned to compete for guests seeking a convenient and established alternative. Looking further ahead, we believe that a successful destination resort directly across the street has the potential to increase overall visitation to Cripple Creek, creating a larger and more vibrant market from which Century is in a great position to benefit. Taken together, our Colorado properties continue to illustrate an important element of Century's operating philosophy. While we cannot always control how our markets evolve, we can control how effectively we position ourselves to benefit from that evolution. As we look at all of our U.S. operations, what encourages us the most is not any single property, it is the consistency of the progress. Missouri continues its sustained quarter-over-quarter growth. Colorado continues to build momentum. The Nugget has now delivered 3 consecutive quarters of adjusted EBITDAR growth. And in our East region, we continue to protect profitability and build upon the unique strengths of those properties. Taken together, we believe this represents something larger than a single successful quarter. The operational foundation we have been building is producing more consistent, higher-quality results. Again, through the first half of 2026, net operating revenue at our U.S. properties increased approximately 5% and adjusted EBITDAR increased nearly 16%. This is not the result of any one promotion, entertainment, event or favorable comparison. It is the result of hundreds of operational decisions being made every day across 7 properties by teams that understand their markets. Looking ahead, our priorities remain clear. We will invest where we see the strongest returns. We will continue improving gaming floor productivity and becoming more sophisticated in how we engage our customers. We will maximize the value of our hotels, entertainment and other amenities. And importantly, we will continue sharing what works across the organization. We are building one operating philosophy around 7 authentic regional destinations. Each has its own history, each has its own competitive advantages. Our responsibility is to preserve what makes them unique while applying the operating discipline that can make each of them stronger. We remain confident that our U.S. operations are well positioned to deliver profitable growth, disciplined returns and long-term value for our shareholders. Thank you.