Golden Entertainment Shareholders Approve Deal to Take Casino Operator Private

Two of Pahrump's three Golden Entertainment casinos are about to get a new landlord. Shareholders voted with near-unanimity on March 31 to approve a master transaction agreement that splits Golden Entertainment's Nevada empire in two: CEO Blake Sartini takes the operating assets private through his affiliate Argento LLC, while real-estate investment trust VICI Properties acquires the physical properties of seven Nevada casinos, including the Pahrump Nugget Hotel & Casino and Lakeside Hotel & Casino, for $1.16 billion. Gold Town Casino, also in Pahrump, is the exception; its real estate stays under Golden's ownership and is not part of the VICI transaction.

About 20.4 million votes supported the master transaction agreement, with nearly 78 percent of outstanding shares represented at the special meeting. The $30-per-share value assigned at signing represented roughly a 41 percent premium over Golden's November 5, 2025 closing price. Each shareholder receives approximately 0.902 shares of VICI stock plus $2.75 in cash per Golden share, and VICI agreed to assume and repay up to $426 million of the company's outstanding debt.

Under the sale-leaseback structure, VICI becomes the property owner while Sartini's private entity continues running the casino floors, hotel rooms, and food and beverage operations at the Pahrump Nugget and Lakeside under a 30-year triple-net master lease. That lease starts at $87 million in annual rent across the entire seven-property portfolio, escalating at 2 percent per year, with four five-year renewal options. For the roughly 5,000 employees Golden operates across Nevada, Sartini signaled continuity. "This mission will remain unchanged and I am incredibly honoured to lead Golden's 5,000 employees into the next stage of our evolution as a private company," he said when the deal was originally announced.

The near-term operational picture for Pahrump customers and workers is business as usual, but the shift in property ownership carries longer-term implications for capital spending. Under a triple-net lease, major renovations or capital improvements typically require coordination between the casino operator and the property-owning landlord, meaning VICI's strategic priorities will factor into whether the Pahrump Nugget's 343 slot machines and nine table games see upgrades and when.

Regulatory clearance from the Nevada Gaming Control Board and Nevada Gaming Commission remains the final major hurdle. The board's April 2026 agenda already lists Golden Entertainment under a petition to transfer control, putting the review process formally in motion. Golden expects to complete the full transition and delist from Nasdaq before the end of the second quarter of 2026, provided regulators sign off. Any changes to key personnel or ownership percentages affecting gaming licenses will generate public filings, giving Nye County residents a paper trail to track how the new private ownership structure takes shape on the ground.