Peter Carlino: You know, the quick answer for me is, I haven’t a clue of what they’d be thinking. I honestly, honestly don’t. We certainly, even PENN, we haven’t any reason to believe that they’re not, I think they are, proceeding the pace with all the projects that they’ve got. And they’ve got the longest list that’s on our list, so to speak. But others are there as well. So do I think M&A is an answer? I don’t see it, but I’m looking around the table to see if anyone has a different view.
Steven Ladany: I think the short answer is, what you said is we don’t know, I think it could be. It could be an answer to some of what they have on their balance sheets and what they’re looking at, but it’s not something we’ve seen, but it doesn’t mean that it isn’t.
John DeCree: Fair enough. Thanks, everybody.
Peter Carlino: Thank you.
Operator: Thank you. Our next question is coming from the line of Chris Darling with Green Street. Please proceed with your question.
Chris Darling: Thanks. Good morning, everyone.
Peter Carlino: Good morning.
Chris Darling: First, just a quick clarification for Desiree. Regarding the percentage rent resets, can you remind me, are those already contemplated in your guidance range, or does the current guidance range only account for the base rent escalations?
Desiree Burke: No. So the high end of the range includes the contingent escalators that I mentioned.
Chris Darling: Okay. I appreciate that.
Desiree Burke: And the percentage rent resets, they’re both — they’re all in there.
Chris Darling: Okay. And then maybe just more broadly for the group, probably one aspect I don’t think we’ve covered is just how your own internal underwriting standards may have changed. I ask thinking not only to the last question about, operating expenses and kind of the growth therein remaining a little bit stickier, but also what I think remains a pretty difficult backdrop for consumer savings, discretionary spending. So curious how your own internal underwriting standards may have changed, thinking about some of those factors?
Peter Carlino: Well, look, we’re as rigorous as ever. Any fool can do a bad deal and we don’t want to be on that list of foolish people. So we’re pretty rigorous in how we consider what we’re willing to do with our capital. So I don’t expect that we’ll make any adjustment. I think I’ve forgotten, so.
Steven Ladany: I think we’ll continue to focus on the rent coverage. And to your point, on the OpEx side of things, I think we will make sure that you’re not going to see us doing a deal that’s sub 1.8 times rent coverage and we have not done that historically. But I think even more we’re going to be scrutinizing rent coverages to ensure that what we’re looking at historically and in the last 12 months is what we would assume and believe to be the forecasted performance going forward and in the future. So I do think that’s an area where you might see transactions start to look and feel a little different, is that we’re going to obviously have to make sure we’re underwriting to not only for the past, but for the future a little more carefully.
Brandon Moore: Yeah. Let me suggest that we’re very aggressive around our analysis and in a number of cases have and will continue to hire outside consultants to analyze a market the same way we would if we were doing a project or an expansion or something ourselves, so that we have as much third party judgment as well. So it’s — no, I can’t emphasize enough, nothing in the current climate has changed, maybe down the road, but at the moment it’s business as usual. Standards the same?
Steven Ladany: Yeah, I think the current climate affects pricing and the way we think about it, and where we think about pricing these deals more so than it affects our underwriting process. So the process is the same. It’s just the outcome can be a little bit different in how we price these transactions based upon the risk profile that we — we determine through that underwriting process.
Chris Darling: Okay. All helpful comments. Just one last quick one. Thinking about the Rockford development. Anything new you can share in terms of the developers’ intentions, you know, in terms of perhaps selling the property over time?
Steven Ladany: With respect to the sale or potential sale of the building improvements, we have not had further conversations with them about that, and they have not expressed an interest to pursue those discussions, while they’re under construction. So we have no update to provide on that.
Chris Darling: Okay. Fair enough. Thanks for all the color.
Brandon Moore: The construction is going well.
Peter Carlino: The things are going —
Steven Ladany: On time and on budget.
Chris Darling: Appreciate it.
Operator: Thank you. The next question is coming from David Hargreaves with Barclays. Please proceed with your question.
David Hargreaves: Hi. I appreciate your clarity on the — on the rent coverage comments before, those are useful. Lincoln came up in the conversation earlier and I’m wondering if the Mashpee Wampanoag decision that recently came up, how you view that, and if it factors into your appetite for that transaction? Thank you.
Steven Ladany: Sure. So, look, I think with respect to that decision, you know, I think at this time, I’m not, well, I probably shouldn’t comment on. I think we’ll see if that does ultimately come to fruition or not. I think only time will tell, and a lot depends on presidential elections and things of that nature. Outside of that, I think that asset, Lincoln as an asset, is one that we’ve always looked at as a premier property in that region. We believe that Bally’s, as well as other gaming operators look at it as a premier property in that region, and it’s one that, of course, we would want to own. We also own the Tiverton asset and Plainridge, which are all in that area as well. And so, clearly, we will be very closely monitoring what we think the ultimate impact is to each of those properties across the various tenants that own them as we move forward in that area.
David Hargreaves: Thanks. And then turning to Vegas, I mean, the numbers have been so strong. I’m wondering if you had any insight as to sort of the timing of the Tropicana closure, and if you were consulted about it? Was it running EBITDA negative or — I wonder why now closing it and if you had any thoughts? Thank you.
Peter Carlino: Yeah, I’m going to let Brandon handle that. It was positive. So I think that the performance — I mean it just wasn’t part of the long term strategy for that parcel, but go ahead, Brandon, please.
Brandon Moore: Well, I think that’s right. I mean, it was positive, but in order to back to work backwards from the first pitch in the A stadium, I think you’d find that the closing of the Tropicana was pretty much right on time. So that’s been closed to make way for the liquidation of the assets. And ultimately the demolition of the property, which gets a shovel in the ground in 2025 to begin the As project and the integrated resort. So I don’t think it was a matter of closing it early, because to save costs and expenses, I think it was a matter of on time closure. And with the employees in that market knowing that, that casino was closing, I think Bally’s would tell you they’re having a difficult time keeping appropriate staff in there to keep that project open. So I don’t think it was a function of it performing poorly. I think it’s just timing of this project — project and process.
David Hargreaves: Okay. I might have misunderstood. I thought the original plans had caused — called for keeping it open for a while, maybe that would — maybe that had changed?
Brandon Moore: You would have to ask Bally’s that question. I don’t think we here at GLPI had any expectation that it would be open any longer than what it was.
David Hargreaves: Okay, thank you. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.
Brandon Moore: Yeah, of course.
Steven Ladany: Thank you.
Peter Carlino: I think we can take, Joe, one more question or operator.
Operator: I apologize. We appear to have no additional questions at this time. So I’d like to pass the floor back over to Mr. Carlino for any additional or concluding remarks.
