The Golden Nugget is known for land-based casino gaming but has gained in popularity due to its online offering. In New Jersey, the Golden Nugget has several partners and offers premium online casino gaming. The brand is so popular that it continues to break new records in the industry and remains the operator to beat when it comes to market share. This week, the brand went before the Casino Control Commission to obtain licensing for its online arm, Golden Nugget Gaming LLC. The approval was given, which helps the brand move closer to become a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ.
What’s Going On?
The Golden Nugget is moving to make its online arm a stand-alone business, with full trading on NASDAQ. The licensing process in New Jersey was one step towards this process. Right now, the change has many wondering about the land-based operations in Atlantic City for the Golden Nugget. The brand sees most of its earnings from online gaming.
So far, the Golden Nugget has earned just over $342 million in revenues from all gaming operations. Almost 77% of that amount comes from online casino gaming. This shows that online gaming provides the largest percentage of revenues for the company.
Regulators are a bit concerned that the casino will shift its focus to online gaming more so than land-based and this will hurt the casino in Atlantic City. During the hearing this week, James Plousis, the chairman of the Casino Control Commission, addressed the matter.
Plousis said that the brand made assurances that they are committed to the ongoing financial stability of the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City. The chairman is convinced that Tilman Fertitta, the owner of the casino, will protect the brand and help support the growth of Atlantic City.
So, What Happens Now?
Now that the Golden Nugget Online Gaming LLC has been given licensing in New Jersey, what will happen next? Plans announcing the company was going public were announced back in June and everyone has been wondering how the company will proceed.
Right now, federal regulators must approve the deal. After the third-quarter earnings report was released by Golden Nugget Online Gaming, it appears as though the transaction will close at the end of November.
December starts next week, but we have no idea if the company will start trading at this time. The public listing will be just one step in which the company plans to move forward.
Next year, the brand will launch in three new states. Golden Nugget has plans to offer online gaming in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Michigan. The brand has yet to launch in another state aside from New Jersey, so all eyes will be on the launches in additional states.
Analysts are wondering how the brand will fare in new states. If the operations are successful like those in New Jersey, the brand has big growth ahead. We will stay tuned and see what happens as Golden Nugget moves forward. Big things are coming for the brand over the next few months.