Twin River Worldwide Holdings has announced that it aims to reopen 90% of its US bricks-and-mortar casinos by June 8, following a period of temporary closure due to the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
The Dover Downs Hotel and Casino in Dover, Delaware, will resume operations from today (June 1), with its Twin River Casino Lincoln and Tiverton facilities in Rhode Island to reopen on June 8.
Dover Downs will operate at 30% capacity, which will allow for approximately 950 video lottery terminals (VLTs) in operation. However, table games and its hotel will not open in the first phase of resuming operations.
In Rhode Island, initially only invited guests will be permitted to visit its casinos, with the Lincoln casino to run 1,570 VLTs and the Tiverton facility 375 machines.
Twin River last month also recommenced operations at its Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Biloxi in Mississippi. The site reopened on May 21 and is operating in line with new measures and requirements set out by the Center for Disease Control, aimed at slowing the spread of Covid-19.
According to Twin River, the Hard Rock Biloxi saw a 30% year-on-year increase in slots win during the first 10 days after reopening, as well as 150% rise in table games win.
“We are very excited to continue to progress on our reopening plan and with the prospect of having our full portfolio opened by the beginning of July,” Twin River president and chief executive George Papanier said.
“As evidenced by our successful reopening at Hard Rock Biloxi, there is strong market demand for which we are well-positioned as a regional gaming company focused on local and regional visitation.”
Meanwhile, Twin River has issued an update on its acquisitions of both the Isle of Capri Kansas City in Missouri and Lady Luck Vicksburg in Mississippi from Eldorado Gaming, saying both deals are expected to close in early July.
Twin River also has agreements in place to purchase the Eldorado Shreveport Resort and Casino in Louisiana and the Mont Bleu Casino Resort & Spa in Lake Tahoe, as well as Caesars Entertainment’s Bally’s Atlantic City.
“As we continue to reopen our properties, we are also looking forward to closing our previously announced acquisitions to expand our geographic footprint in attractive markets,” Papanier said.
“Along with our recently closed acquisition in Black Hawk, Colorado, the five new properties we now have under contract are expected to drive sustained growth and enhance our already strong free cash flow profile.”
Twin River last month reported a 9.5% year-on-year decline in revenue for the first quarter of the year, after a strong performance in January and February was offset by casino closures in March.
For the two months to February 28, revenue was up 23.4% at $90.3m, with the business benefiting from the addition of Dover Downs and the acquisition of the Golden Gates, Golden Gulch and Mardi Gras casinos in Colorado.