The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has announced its approval of American regional casino operator Boyd Gaming Corporation’s plan to purchase the Valley Forge Casino Resort from current owner Valley Forge Convention Center Partners LP.
Las Vegas-based Boyd Gaming Corporation inked a deal in late-December that saw it agree to pay approximately $280.5 million for the Montgomery County venue, which has been operated by Valley Forge Convention Center Partners LP since March of 2011. The recent approval also includes a $1.35 million change of control fee.
“The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board today approved the change of control of the Category Three slot machine licensee Valley Forge Convention Center Partners LP, operator of the Valley Forge Casino Resort in Montgomery County, to Boyd Gaming Corporation,” read a Wednesday statement from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
Located around 20 miles northwest of central Philadelphia in the small community of King of Prussia, Valley Forge Casino Resort features eight bars and restaurants alongside in excess of 100,000 sq ft of meeting, convention and exhibition space. Its 40,000 sq ft casino offers 600 slots and 50 gaming tables. The almost 500-room venue racked up nearly $9.55 million in total gaming revenues for November, which represented an increase of 12.4% year-on-year. Boyd Gaming Corporation earlier declared that it intends to bring a further 250 slots to its first property in Pennsylvania following the completion of the purchase.
Boyd Gaming Corporation earlier declared that its purchase of Valley Forge Casino Resort will see its portfolio grow to encompass 29 venues spread across ten states while moreover giving it direct access to the over 7.2 million people that live in and around the city of Philadelphia.
Keith Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer for Boyd Gaming Corporation, previously described his company’s acquisition of Valley Forge Casino Resort as ‘another excellent opportunity to further grow and diversify our nationwide portfolio’ and explained that the deal is to see the firm enter ‘the second-largest gaming state in the country’.
“Thanks to Pennsylvania’s recent passage of gaming expansion legislation, there are new opportunities to drive incremental growth at Valley Forge [Casino Resort] through the expansion of the property’s slot capacity and the introduction of new forms of gaming,” read a December 20 statement from Smith.