GOLDEN ENTERTAINMENT, INC. - Quarter Report: 2016 September (Form 10-Q)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form 10-Q

(Mark One)

For the quarterly period ended September 30, 2016

or

For the transition period from            to            

Commission File No. 000-24993

Golden Entertainment, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(702) 893-7777

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.  Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate website, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).  Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).  Yes  ☐    No  ☒

As of November 3, 2016, there were 22,229,646 shares of Common Stock, $0.01 par value per share, outstanding.

GOLDEN ENTERTAINMENT, INC.

FORM 10-Q

INDEX

Part I. Financial Information

ITEM 1.  FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 

GOLDEN ENTERTAINMENT, INC.

Consolidated Balance Sheets

(In thousands)

(Unaudited)

The accompanying condensed notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

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GOLDEN ENTERTAINMENT, INC.

Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss)

(In thousands, except per share data)

(Unaudited)

The accompanying condensed notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

2

GOLDEN ENTERTAINMENT, INC.

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(In thousands)

(Unaudited)

The accompanying condensed notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

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GOLDEN ENTERTAINMENT, INC. 

Condensed Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited)

Note 1 – Nature of Business and Basis of Presentation

Overview

Golden Entertainment, Inc. (formerly named Lakes Entertainment, Inc.) and its wholly owned subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company”) is a diversified group of gaming companies that focus on distributed gaming (including tavern gaming) and casino and resort operations. On July 31, 2015, the Company acquired Sartini Gaming, Inc. (“Sartini Gaming”) through the merger of a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company with and into Sartini Gaming, with Sartini Gaming surviving as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company (the “Merger”). The results of operations of Sartini Gaming and its subsidiaries have been included in the Company’s results subsequent to that date. In connection with the Merger, the Company’s name was changed to Golden Entertainment, Inc. See Note 2, Merger and Acquisitions, for information regarding the Merger.

The Company conducts its business through two reportable operating segments: Distributed Gaming and Casinos. The Company’s Distributed Gaming segment involves the installation, maintenance and operation of gaming and amusement devices in certain strategic, high-traffic, non-casino locations (such as grocery stores, convenience stores, restaurants, bars, taverns, saloons and liquor stores) in Nevada and Montana, and the operation of traditional, branded taverns targeting local patrons, primarily in the greater Las Vegas, Nevada metropolitan area. The Company’s Casinos segment consists of the Rocky Gap Casino Resort in Flintstone, Maryland (“Rocky Gap”) and three casinos in Pahrump, Nevada: Pahrump Nugget Hotel Casino (“Pahrump Nugget”), Gold Town Casino and Lakeside Casino & RV Park.

On January 29, 2016, the Company completed the acquisition of approximately 1,100 gaming devices from a distributed gaming operator in Montana, as well as certain other non-gaming assets and the right to operate within certain locations (the “Initial Montana Acquisition”). Additionally, on April 22, 2016, the Company completed the acquisition of approximately 1,800 gaming devices from a second distributed gaming operator in Montana, as well as amusement devices and other non-gaming assets and the right to operate within certain locations (the “Second Montana Acquisition” and, together with the Initial Montana Acquisition, the “Montana Acquisitions”). See Note 2, Merger and Acquisitions, for information regarding the Montana Acquisitions.

On October 28, 2015, the Company’s Board of Directors approved a change in the Company’s fiscal year from a 52- or 53-week fiscal year ending on the Sunday closest to December 31 of each year to a calendar year ending on December 31, effective as of the beginning of the third quarter of 2015. As a result of this change, the Company’s fiscal quarters for 2015 ended on March 29, 2015, June 28, 2015, September 30, 2015 and December 31, 2015. From and after January 1, 2016, the Company’s fiscal quarters end on March 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31.

Basis of Presentation

The unaudited consolidated financial statements of the Company have been prepared pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) applicable to interim financial information. Accordingly, certain information normally included in the annual financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) has been condensed and/or omitted. For further information, please refer to the audited consolidated financial statements of the Company for the year ended December 31, 2015 and the notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K previously filed with the SEC. In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements contain all adjustments, which include only normal recurring adjustments, necessary to present fairly the Company’s results for the periods presented. Results for interim periods should not be considered indicative of the results to be expected for the full year.

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its subsidiaries. All material intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. In addition to recasting segment information for the prior year period to reflect the new segment structure adopted by the Company in connection with the Merger, certain other minor reclassifications have been made to the prior year period amounts to conform to the current presentation. 

New Accounting Standards 

While management continues to assess the possible impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements of the future adoption of new accounting standards that are not yet effective, management currently believes that the following new standards may have a material impact on the Company’s financial statements and disclosures:

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No other recently issued accounting standards that are not yet effective have been identified that management believes are likely to have a material impact on the Company's financial statements.

Note 2 – Merger and Acquisitions

Montana Acquisitions

On January 29, 2016, the Company completed the Initial Montana Acquisition, which involved the acquisition of approximately 1,100 gaming devices, as well as certain other non-gaming assets and the right to operate within certain locations, from C. Lohman Games, Inc., Rocky Mountain Gaming, Inc. and Brandy’s Shoreliner Restaurant, Inc., for total consideration of $20.1 million, including the issuance of $0.5 million of the Company’s common stock (comprising 50,252 shares at fair value at issuance of $9.95 per share). In connection with the Initial Montana Acquisition, the Company is required to pay the sellers contingent consideration of up to a total of $2.0 million in cash paid in four quarterly payments beginning in September 2017, subject to certain potential adjustments. See Note 11, Financial Instruments and Fair Value Measurements, for further discussion regarding the estimated fair value of the contingent consideration. The preliminary allocation of the $20.1 million purchase price to the assets acquired as of January 29, 2016 includes $1.7 million of cash, $2.4 million of property and equipment, $14.2 million of intangible assets and $1.9 million of goodwill. The preliminary amounts assigned to intangible assets include customer relationships of $9.8 million with an economic life of 15 years, non-compete agreements of $3.9 million with an economic life of five years and trade names of $0.5 million with an economic life of four years.

On April 22, 2016, the Company completed the Second Montana Acquisition, which involved the acquisition of approximately 1,800 gaming devices, as well as amusement devices and certain other non-gaming assets and the right to operate within certain locations, from Amusement Services, LLC, for total consideration of $25.7 million. The preliminary allocation of the $25.7 million purchase price to the assets acquired as of April 22, 2016 includes $0.3 million of cash, less than $0.1 million of prepaid gaming license fees, $7.8 million of property and equipment, $11.1 million of intangible assets and $6.3 million of goodwill. The preliminary amounts assigned to intangible assets include customer relationships of $9.1 million with an economic life of 15 years, non-compete agreements of $1.8 million with an economic life of five years and trade names of $0.2 million with an economic life of four years.

The goodwill recognized in the Montana Acquisitions is primarily attributable to potential expansion and future development of, and anticipated synergies from, the acquired businesses and is expected to be deductible for income tax purposes. The Company's estimation of the fair value of the assets acquired in the Montana Acquisitions as of the respective dates of the acquisitions was determined based on certain valuations and analyses that have yet to be finalized, and accordingly, the assets acquired are subject to adjustment once such analyses are completed. The Company may record adjustments to the carrying value of assets acquired with a corresponding offset to goodwill during the applicable measurement period, which can be up to one year from the date of the consummation of the relevant acquisition.

The Company reports the results of operations from each of the Montana Acquisitions, subsequent to their respective closing date, within its Distributed Gaming segment. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016, net revenues from the Montana Acquisitions totaled $15.1 million and $32.0 million, respectively. For the three months ended September 30, 2016, there were no transaction-related costs for the Montana Acquisitions. For the nine months ended September 30, 2016, transaction-related costs for the Montana Acquisitions totaled $0.2 million and were included in preopening expenses. The Company may incur additional transaction-related costs related to the Montana Acquisitions in future periods. Pro forma information is not being presented

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as there is no practicable method to calculate pro forma earnings given that the Montana Acquisitions were asset purchases that represented only a component of the businesses of the sellers. As a result, historical financial information obtained would have required significant estimates.

Merger with Sartini Gaming, Inc.

On July 31, 2015, the Company acquired Sartini Gaming through the consummation of the Merger. At the effective time of the Merger, all issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of Sartini Gaming were canceled and converted into the right to receive shares of the Company’s common stock. At the closing of the Merger, the Company issued 7,772,736 shares of its common stock to The Blake L. Sartini and Delise F. Sartini Family Trust (the “Sartini Trust”), as sole shareholder of Sartini Gaming in accordance with the agreement and plan of merger (the “Merger Agreement”). In addition, at the closing of the Merger, the Company issued 457,172 shares of its common stock to holders of warrants issued by a subsidiary of Sartini Gaming that elected to receive shares of the Company’s common stock in exchange for their warrants. The total number of shares of the Company’s common stock issued in connection with the Merger was subject to adjustment pursuant to the post-closing adjustment provisions of the Merger Agreement. In connection with such post-closing adjustment, the Company issued an additional 223,657 shares of its common stock to the Sartini Trust. As a result, the value of the purchase consideration following such adjustment was $77.4 million. This amount is the product of the 8,453,565 shares of the Company’s common stock issued in the aggregate in connection with the Merger and the closing price of $9.15 per share of the Company's common stock on July 31, 2015. In August 2016, the 777,274 shares previously held in escrow as security in the event of any claims for indemnifiable losses in accordance with the Merger Agreement were released to the Sartini Trust in accordance with the terms of the escrow agreement.

Under the Merger Agreement, the number of shares of the Company’s common stock issued in connection with the Merger reflected the pre-Merger value of Sartini Gaming relative to the pre-Merger value of the Company, which pre-Merger values were calculated in accordance with formulas set forth in the Merger Agreement. To determine the number of shares of the Company’s common stock issued in connection with the Merger, the sum of the number of shares of the Company’s common stock outstanding immediately prior to the Merger and the number of shares issuable upon the exercise of outstanding in-the-money stock options was divided by the percentage of the total pre-Merger value of both companies that represented the Company’s pre-Merger value to determine the total number of fully diluted shares immediately following the Merger. The number of shares of the Company’s common stock issued in connection with the Merger was the difference between the total number of fully diluted shares immediately following the Merger and the total number of fully diluted shares immediately prior to the Merger. No fractional shares of the Company’s common stock were issued in connection with the Merger, and any fractional share was rounded to the nearest whole share.

The Merger Agreement specified the procedure for determining the pre-Merger values of Sartini Gaming and the Company. The final pre-Merger values of the Company and Sartini Gaming were determined and approved during the fourth quarter of 2015, pursuant to the post-closing adjustment provisions of the Merger Agreement.  

The total number of shares of the Company’s common stock issued in connection with the Merger was as follows:

Merger Accounting. The Merger has been accounted for under the purchase method of accounting in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification Topic 805, Business Combinations. Under the purchase method, the total purchase price, or consideration transferred, was measured at the Merger closing date. The purchase price of the acquisition was allocated to the tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their estimated fair values at the acquisition date. The excess of the purchase price over the estimated fair values was recorded as goodwill. The goodwill recognized in the Merger was primarily attributable to potential expansion and future development of, and anticipated synergies from, the tavern brands and the acquired distributed gaming and casino businesses, while enhancing the Company’s existing brand and casino portfolio. None of the goodwill recognized is expected to be deductible for income tax purposes. The Company allocated the goodwill to each reporting unit at the conclusion of the measurement period.

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Measurement Period Adjustments. The final pre-Merger values of the Company and Sartini Gaming were determined and approved during the fourth quarter of 2015, pursuant to the post-closing adjustment provisions of the Merger Agreement. As a result of this post-closing adjustment calculation, the number of shares issued in connection with the Merger was increased by an additional 223,657 shares, and the 388,637 shares of the Company's common stock held in escrow as security for the post-closing adjustment were released to the Sartini Trust. The effect of the issuance of these additional shares on the purchase price consideration calculation was an increase of $2.1 million to $77.4 million. This amount is the product of the 8,453,565 total shares of the Company’s common stock issued in connection with the Merger on July 31, 2015 and issued pursuant to the post-closing “true-up” adjustment and the $9.15 per share closing price of the Company's common stock on July 31, 2015. The Company accounted for the issuance of the additional 223,657 shares, and the adjustment of the purchase price consideration, during the fourth quarter of 2015 when the additional shares were issued.

The measurement period for the Merger ended on July 31, 2016. In addition to the issuance of the additional shares pursuant to the post-closing adjustment calculation mentioned above, during the measurement period, the Company:

Allocation. The final allocation of the $77.4 million purchase price to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed as of July 31, 2015 was as follows (in thousands):

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The amounts assigned to property and equipment by category are summarized in the table below (in thousands):

The amounts assigned to intangible assets by category are summarized in the table below (in thousands):

The trade names acquired encompass the various trade names utilized by the three casinos located in Pahrump, Nevada: Pahrump Nugget, Gold Town Casino and Lakeside Casino & RV Park. Additionally, the acquired branded taverns utilize various trade names to market and create brand identity for their services and for marketing purposes, including: PT’s Pub, PT’s Gold, Sierra Gold and Sean Patrick’s. The trade names for the Pahrump casinos and taverns have indefinite lives.

Player relationships acquired include relationships with players frequenting the Company’s branded taverns and Nevada casinos. These player relationships comprise Golden Rewards members for the taverns and Gold Mine Rewards members for the Nevada casinos, and such relationships are expected to lead to recurring revenue streams, as well as new revenue opportunities arising from the reputations of the taverns and Nevada casinos.

Customer relationships relate to relationships with the Company’s third party distributed gaming customers that have been developed over many years and are expected to lead to recurring revenue streams, as well as new revenue opportunities arising from the Company’s reputation. The economic life of the customer relationships was determined to be 13 to 16 years, depending on the customer, and was based on the estimated present value of cash flows attributable to the asset.

The Nevada casinos maintain gaming licenses that allow them to operate in their current capacity. The Nevada gaming licenses have an indefinite life.

Other intangible assets acquired include internally developed software and non-compete agreements. The software is utilized for accounting and marketing purposes and is integrated into the Company’s gaming devices in its distributed gaming operations. The economic life of this software was determined to be 10 years based on the expected future utilization of the software in its current form. In conjunction with the Merger Agreement, key employees executed non-competition agreements. The economic life of these non-compete agreements was determined to be two years based on the contractual term of the agreements.

Estimated future amortization expense related to the finite-lived intangible assets acquired in the Merger is as follows:

See Note 11, Financial Instruments and Fair Value Measurements, for further discussion regarding the valuation of the tangible and intangible assets acquired through the Merger.

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Credit Agreement. In connection with the Merger, the Company entered into a Credit Agreement with Capital One, National Association (as administrative agent) and the lenders named therein (the “Credit Agreement”) to refinance the outstanding senior secured indebtedness of Sartini Gaming and the Company’s financing facility with Centennial Bank. See Note 5, Debt, for a discussion of the Credit Agreement and associated refinancing.

Selected Financial Information Related to the Acquiree. The consolidated financial position of Sartini Gaming is included in the Company’s consolidated balance sheets as of September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015 and Sartini Gaming’s consolidated results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 are included in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations and cash flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2016. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016, the Company recorded net revenues of $71.0 million and $217.8 million, respectively, and net income of $4.8 million and $19.3 million, respectively, from the operations of Sartini Gaming’s distributed gaming and casino businesses. Total assets related to Sartini Gaming’s distributed gaming and casino businesses were approximately $235.5 million and $70.7 million, respectively, as of September 30, 2016, which consisted primarily of property and equipment and intangible assets, including goodwill. 

Unaudited Pro Forma Combined Financial Information. The following unaudited pro forma combined financial information is presented as if the Merger had occurred at the beginning of the period presented:

This unaudited pro forma combined financial information has been prepared for illustrative purposes only and is not necessarily indicative of or intended to represent the results that would have been achieved had the Merger been consummated as of the date indicated or that may be achieved in the future. The unaudited pro forma combined financial information does not reflect any operating efficiencies and associated cost savings that may be achieved as a result of the Merger.

The following adjustments have been made to the pro forma combined net income and pro forma combined net income per share in the table above:

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Note 3 – Property and Equipment, Net

The following table summarizes the components of property and equipment, net:

As of September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015, the furniture and equipment balance contained approximately $4.2 million and $4.8 million, respectively, of gaming device equipment that the Company had not yet placed into service and therefore had not begun depreciating.

Note 4 – Goodwill and Intangible Assets, Net

Goodwill and intangible assets, net, consist of the following:

Goodwill represents the original goodwill allocation related to the Merger and final adjustments to purchase price allocations during the measurement period. The impact of the final purchase price allocation adjustments related to the Merger on the Company's results of operations and financial position was immaterial. The Company may continue to record adjustments to the carrying value of assets

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acquired with a corresponding offset to goodwill during the measurement period related to the Montana Acquisitions, which can be up to one year from the date of the consummation of the acquisitions. See Note 2, Merger and Acquisitions, for a description of the intangible assets acquired through the Merger and the Montana Acquisitions.

Total amortization expense related to intangible assets was $2.0 million and $1.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively, and $5.4 million and $1.2 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively.  Estimated future amortization expense related to intangible assets, which includes acquired intangible assets recorded on a preliminary basis, is as follows: 

Note 5 – Debt

Credit Agreement

On July 31, 2015, the Company entered into a Credit Agreement with the lenders named therein and Capital One, National Association (as administrative agent). The Credit Agreement was amended on March 25, 2016 to, among other matters, increase the size of the senior secured revolving credit facility under the Credit Agreement (the “Revolving Credit Facility”) from $40.0 million to $50.0 million and to provide for the borrowing of an additional $40.0 million in aggregate principal amount of incremental senior secured term loans under the Credit Agreement (the “Incremental Term Loans”). As of September 30, 2016, the facilities under the Credit Agreement consisted of $160.0 million in senior secured term loans (the “Term Loans,” which include the Incremental Term Loans) and a $50.0 million Revolving Credit Facility (together with the Term Loans, the “Facilities”). The Company used the proceeds from the Incremental Term Loan borrowings to repay all of the Company’s then-outstanding borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility. As of September 30, 2016, the Company had $153.0 million in principal amount of outstanding Term Loan borrowings and $25.0 million in principal amount of outstanding borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility. The Facilities mature on July 31, 2020.

Borrowings under the Credit Agreement bear interest, at the Company’s option, at either (1) the highest of the federal funds rate plus 0.50%, the Eurodollar rate for a one-month interest period plus 1.00%, or the administrative agent’s prime rate as announced from time to time, or (2) the Eurodollar rate for the applicable interest period, plus, in each case, an applicable margin based on the Company’s leverage ratio. As of September 30, 2016, the weighted average effective interest rate on the Company’s outstanding borrowings under the Credit Agreement was approximately 3.02%.

Outstanding borrowings under the Term Loans must be repaid in two quarterly payments of $1.5 million each (which commenced on December 31, 2015), followed by two quarterly payments of $2.0 million each (which commenced on June 30, 2016), followed by eight quarterly payments of $3.0 million each (commencing December 31, 2016), followed by four quarterly payments of $4.0 million each (commencing December 31, 2018), followed by three quarterly payments of $6.0 million each (commencing December 31, 2019), followed by a final installment of $95.0 million at maturity on July 31, 2020. The commitment fee for the Revolving Credit Facility is payable quarterly at a rate of between 0.25% and 0.30%, depending on the Company’s leverage ratio.

The Credit Agreement is guaranteed by all of the Company’s present and future direct and indirect wholly owned subsidiaries (other than certain insignificant or unrestricted subsidiaries), and is secured by substantially all of the Company’s and the subsidiary guarantors’ present and future personal and real property (subject to receipt of certain approvals).

Under the Credit Agreement, the Company and its subsidiaries are subject to certain limitations, including limitations on their ability to: incur additional debt, grant liens, sell assets, make certain investments, pay dividends and make certain other restricted payments. In addition, the Company will be required to pay down the Facilities under certain circumstances if the Company or any of its subsidiaries sells assets or property, issues debt or receives certain extraordinary receipts. The Credit Agreement contains financial covenants regarding a maximum leverage ratio and a minimum fixed charge coverage ratio. The Credit Agreement also prohibits the occurrence of a change of control, which includes the acquisition of beneficial ownership of 30% or more of the Company’s equity securities (other than by certain permitted holders, which include, among others, Blake L. Sartini, Lyle A. Berman and certain affiliated entities) and a change in a majority of the members of the Company’s Board of Directors that is not approved by the Board. If the Company defaults under the Credit Agreement due to a covenant breach or otherwise, the lenders may be entitled to, among other things, require the immediate repayment of all outstanding amounts and sell the Company’s assets to satisfy the obligations thereunder. The Company was in compliance with its financial covenants under the Credit Agreement as of September 30, 2016.

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Hedging Activities

Borrowings under the Company’s Facilities bear interest at a variable rate. To hedge the associated interest rate risk, in September 2016, the Company entered into an interest rate swap agreement that has the economic effect of modifying the variable interest obligations associated with 75% of the Company’s projected outstanding borrowings under the Company’s Facilities so that the LIBOR portion of the interest payable thereunder will effectively be fixed at 0.98% per annum. This agreement covers the period from December 30, 2016 through December 31, 2020 and changes in the cash flows of the interest rate swap are expected to be highly effective in offsetting the forecasted changes in interest rate payments associated with interest rate fluctuations on the portion of the Company's variable rate debt for which it applies.  

The material terms of the interest rate swap agreement match the material terms of the Facilities that the interest rate swap agreement pertains to, including the notional amounts and maturity date. The Company has designated this interest rate swap agreement as a qualifying hedging instrument and will account for it as a fair value hedge pursuant to ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging. The transaction is characterized as a fair value hedge for financial accounting purposes because it protects the Company against changes in the fair value of certain of the Company’s variable-rate borrowings due to benchmark interest rate movements. The Company does not use any interest rate swap agreements for trading purposes.

Summary of Outstanding Debt

Long-term debt, net is comprised of the following: 

Note 6 – Promotional Allowances

The retail value of food and beverages, rooms and other services furnished to customers without charge, including coupons for discounts when redeemed, is included in gross revenues and then deducted as promotional allowances. The estimated retail value of the promotional allowances was as follows:

The estimated cost of providing these promotional allowances, which is primarily included in gaming expenses, was as follows:

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Note 7 – Shareholders’ Equity

On December 9, 2015, the Company sold its $60.0 million subordinated promissory note (“Jamul Note”) from the Jamul Indian Village (“Jamul Tribe”) to a subsidiary of Penn National Gaming, Inc. for $24.0 million in cash. Under the terms of the Merger Agreement with Sartini Gaming and subject to applicable law, the Company agreed that the proceeds received from the sale of the Jamul Note, net of related costs, would be distributed in a cash dividend to its shareholders holding shares as of the record date for such dividend (other than shareholders that had waived their right to receive such dividend). Under the terms of the Merger Agreement, Sartini Gaming’s former sole shareholder, for itself and any related party transferees of its shares, waived their right to receive such dividend with respect to their shares (which totaled 7,996,393 shares in the aggregate). Also in connection with the Merger, holders of an additional 457,172 shares waived their right to receive such dividend. On June 17, 2016, the Board of Directors of the Company approved and declared the special dividend to the eligible shareholders of record on the close of business on June 30, 2016 (the “Record Date”) of cash in the aggregate amount of approximately $23.5 million (the “Special Dividend”), which was paid on July 14, 2016. The $1.71 per share amount of the Special Dividend was calculated by dividing the aggregate amount of the Special Dividend by 13,759,374 outstanding shares of common stock held by eligible shareholders on the close of business on the Record Date (rounded down to the nearest whole cent per share).  

Note 8 – Share-Based Compensation

On August 27, 2015, the Board of Directors of the Company approved the Golden Entertainment, Inc. 2015 Incentive Award Plan (the “2015 Plan”), which was approved by the Company’s shareholders at the Company’s 2016 annual meeting. The 2015 Plan authorizes the issuance of stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units, dividend equivalents, stock payment awards, stock appreciation rights, performance bonus awards and other incentive awards. The 2015 Plan authorizes the grant of awards to employees, non-employee directors and consultants of the Company and its subsidiaries. Options generally have a ten-year term. Except as provided in any employment agreement between the Company and the employee, if an employee is terminated (voluntarily or involuntarily), any unvested options as of the date of termination will be forfeited.

The maximum number of shares of the Company’s common stock for which grants may be made under the 2015 Plan is 2.25 million shares, plus an annual increase on each January 1 during the ten-year term of the 2015 Plan equal to the lesser of 1.8 million shares, 4% of the total shares of the Company’s common stock outstanding (on an as-converted basis) and such smaller amount as may be determined by the Board in its sole discretion. In addition, the maximum aggregate number of shares of common stock that may be subject to awards granted to any one participant during a calendar year is 2.0 million shares. The annual increase on January 1, 2016 was 874,709 shares.

The 2015 Plan provides that no stock option or stock appreciation right (even if vested) may be exercised prior to the earlier of August 1, 2018 or immediately prior to the consummation of a change in control of the Company that would result in an “ownership change” as defined in Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. There were 2,813,070 stock options outstanding under the 2015 Plan as of September 30, 2016, of which 444,301 have vested. As of September 30, 2016, a total of 311,639 shares of the Company’s common stock remained available for grants of awards under the 2015 Plan.

In June 2007, the Company’s shareholders approved the 2007 Lakes Stock Option and Compensation Plan (the “2007 Plan”), which is authorized to grant a total of 1.25 million shares of the Company’s common stock. Vested options are exercisable for ten years from the date of grant; however, if the employee is terminated (voluntarily or involuntarily), any unvested options as of the date of termination will be forfeited. There were 402,671 stock options outstanding under the 2007 Plan as of September 30, 2016, all of which were fully vested. As of September 30, 2016, a total of 282,635 shares of the Company’s common stock remained available for grants of awards under the 2007 Plan.

The Company also has a 1998 Stock Option and Compensation Plan (the “1998 Plan”). There were 11,202 stock options outstanding under this plan as of September 30, 2016, all of which were fully vested. No additional options will be granted under the 1998 Plan.

Share-based compensation expense related to stock options was $1.7 million and $0.3 million for the three months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively, and $2.5 million and $0.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

The Company uses the Black-Scholes option pricing model to estimate the fair value and compensation cost associated with employee incentive stock options, which requires the consideration of historical employee exercise behavior data and the use of a number of assumptions including volatility of the Company’s stock price, the weighted-average risk-free interest rate and the weighted-average expected life of the options. There were 905,000 and 1,128,070 stock options granted under the 2015 Plan during the three and nine

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months ended September 30, 2016, respectively, with a weighted-average grant date fair value of $4.80 per share and $4.83 per share, respectively. There were 1,610,000 options granted during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015.

The following table summarizes the Company’s stock option activity during the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and September 30, 2015: 

In connection with the Special Dividend discussed in Note 7, Shareholders’ Equity, and in accordance with the Company’s equity incentive plans approved by the Company’s shareholders, equitable anti-dilutive adjustments were made to the exercise prices of outstanding stock options to purchase shares of Company common stock, in order to preserve the value of such stock options following the Special Dividend.  Accordingly, effective as of the close of business on July 14, 2016, the exercise price of each outstanding stock option under the 2015 Plan, the 2007 Plan and the 1998 Plan (collectively, the “Adjusted Options”) was reduced by $1.71 per share. The weighted average exercise price of the Adjusted Options presented in the table above has been adjusted accordingly. The Adjusted Options had a weighted average exercise price of $7.04 per share after giving effect to such anti-dilutive adjustments. The Adjusted Options have varying remaining terms, which were not affected by the adjustments. The Company measured the incremental compensation cost as the excess of the fair value of the Adjusted Options immediately following such anti-dilutive adjustments over the fair value of the Adjusted Options immediately prior to such anti-dilutive adjustments. Of the 2,337,643 Adjusted Options, 1,908,070 were unvested and 429,573 were vested. The incremental fair value related to the unvested Adjusted Options resulting from the anti-dilutive adjustments was estimated to be $1.7 million, which will be recorded over the remaining vesting period of such Adjusted Options. The incremental fair value related to the vested Adjusted Options resulting from the anti-dilutive adjustments, determined using the Black-Scholes option pricing model, was $0.7 million and has been recorded as share-based compensation expense during the three months ended September 30, 2016.

As of September 30, 2016, the outstanding stock options had a weighted-average remaining contractual life of 8.3 years, weighted-average exercise price of $8.57 per share and an aggregate intrinsic value of $12.6 million. As of September 30, 2016, the outstanding exercisable stock options had a weighted-average remaining contractual life of 2.0 years, weighted-average exercise price of $4.50 per share and an aggregate intrinsic value of $3.3 million.

There were 15,700 and 310,656 options exercised during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016, respectively. The total intrinsic value of options exercised during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 was $0.1 million and $1.7 million, respectively. There were 2,500 and 5,000 options exercised during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015, respectively. The total intrinsic value of options exercised during both the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015 was less than $0.1 million. The Company’s unrecognized share-based compensation expense related to stock options was approximately $10.9 million as of September 30, 2016, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 3.2 years.

The Company issues new shares of common stock upon the exercise of stock options.

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Note 9 – Net Income (Loss) per Share of Common Stock

For all periods, basic net income (loss) per share is calculated by dividing net income (loss) by the weighted-average common shares outstanding. Diluted net income per share in profitable periods reflects the effect of all potentially dilutive common shares outstanding by dividing net income by the weighted-average of all common and potentially dilutive shares outstanding. Weighted-average shares related to potentially dilutive stock options of 616,968 for the three months ended September 30, 2015, and 127,299 and 221,667 for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively, were not used to compute diluted net income (loss) per share because the effects would have been anti-dilutive. For the three months ended September 30, 2016, all weighted-average shares related to potentially dilutive stock options were used to compute diluted net income (loss) per share.

Note 10 – Income Taxes

The Company’s effective tax rate was 10.7% and (109.6)% for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively. For the nine months ended September 30, 2016, the effective tax rate differed from the federal tax rate of 35% due primarily to changes in the valuation allowance for deferred tax assets. For the nine months ended September 30, 2015, the effective tax rate differed from the federal tax rate of 35% due primarily to the $12.7 million release of an existing valuation allowance and the limitation of the income tax benefit due to the uncertainty of its future realization.

Income tax expense was $0.8 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016, which was attributed primarily to tax amortization of indefinite-lived intangibles and measurement period adjustments to goodwill. Income tax benefit was $12.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2015, which was related to the release of an existing valuation allowance resulting from the assumption of a $12.7 million net deferred tax liability generated from intangible assets acquired in the Merger.

In connection with the Merger, on July 31, 2015, the Company entered into a NOL Preservation Agreement with the Sartini Trust, Lyle A. Berman (a director and shareholder of the Company), as well as certain other shareholders of the Company affiliated with Mr. Berman or another director of the Company. The NOL Preservation Agreement is intended to help minimize the risk of an “ownership change,” within the meaning of Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, that would limit the Company’s ability to utilize its federal net operating loss carryforwards to offset future taxable income.

Deferred tax assets are evaluated by considering historical levels of income, estimates of future taxable income and the impact of tax planning strategies. Management has evaluated all available evidence and has determined that negative evidence continues to outweigh positive evidence for the realization of deferred tax assets and as a result continues to provide a full valuation allowance against its deferred tax assets as of September 30, 2016.

The Company's income taxes receivable of $2.4 million as of September 30, 2016, and $2.1 million as of December 31, 2015, primarily relates to 2012 taxable losses carried back to a prior year. The Company is currently under IRS audit for the 2009 through 2013 tax years and the IRS has proposed certain adjustments to the tax filings for those years. However, the Company believes it is more likely than not that it will prevail in challenging the proposed adjustments and maintains that the positions taken were proper and supported by applicable laws and regulations. The Company does not believe that this dispute, when resolved, will have a material effect on its consolidated financial statements.

Note 11 – Financial Instruments and Fair Value Measurements

Overview

Estimates of fair value for financial assets and liabilities are based on the framework established in the accounting guidance for fair value measurements. The framework defines fair value, provides guidance for measuring fair value and requires certain disclosures. The framework discusses valuation techniques, such as the market approach (comparable market prices), the income approach (present value of future income or cash flow) and the cost approach (cost to replace the service capacity of an asset or replacement cost). The framework utilizes a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value into three broad levels. The following is a brief description of those three levels:

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The Company’s financial instruments consist of cash and cash equivalents, accounts payable, interest rate swaps and debt.

For the Company’s cash and cash equivalents, accounts payable and current portion of long-term debt, the carrying amounts approximate fair value because of the short duration of these financial instruments. As of September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015, the fair value of the Company’s long-term debt approximates the carrying value based upon the Company’s expected borrowing rate for debt with similar remaining maturities and comparable risk. See Note 5, Debt, for a discussion of the Company’s interest rate swap agreements.

In connection with the Montana Acquisitions, the Company preliminarily recognized the acquired assets at fair value. All amounts are recognized as Level 3 measurements due to the subjective nature of the unobservable inputs used to determine the fair values. Additionally, in connection with the Initial Montana Acquisition, the Company is required to pay the sellers contingent consideration of up to a total of $2.0 million in cash paid in four quarterly payments beginning in September 2017, subject to certain potential adjustments based upon the availability of certain gaming machines and, if applicable, the performance of replacement games. The fair value of the Company’s contingent consideration recorded in connection with the Initial Montana Acquisition was estimated to be $2.0 million as of September 30, 2016. Changes to the estimated fair value of the contingent consideration will be recognized in earnings of the Company. See Note 2, Merger and Acquisitions, for a discussion of the Montana Acquisitions.

Balances Measured at Fair Value on a Non-recurring Basis

Land, land improvements and building and improvements acquired in connection with the Merger were measured using unobservable (Level 3) inputs at an estimated fair value of $37.8 million. This fair value estimate was calculated considering each of the three generally accepted valuation methodologies including the cost, the sales comparison and the income capitalization approaches. Significant inputs included consideration of highest and best use, replacement cost, recent transactions of comparable properties and the properties’ ability to generate future benefits (see Note 2, Merger and Acquisitions). 

Leasehold improvements, furniture, fixtures and equipment, and construction in process acquired in connection with the Merger were measured using unobservable (Level 3) inputs at an estimated fair value of $45.4 million. Property and equipment acquired in connection with the Montana Acquisitions were measured using unobservable (Level 3) inputs at an estimated fair value of $7.8 million for the Second Montana Acquisition and $2.4 million for the Initial Montana Acquisition. These fair value estimates were calculated with primary reliance on the cost approach with secondary consideration being placed on the market approach. Significant inputs included consideration of highest and best use, replacement cost and market comparables (see Note 2, Merger and Acquisitions).

The identified intangible assets acquired in connection with the Second Montana Acquisition, Initial Montana Acquisition and Merger have been valued on a preliminary basis using unobservable (Level 3) inputs at a fair value of $11.1 million, $14.2 million and $80.5 million, respectively (see Note 2, Merger and Acquisitions).

The Company owns various parcels of developed and undeveloped land relating to its casinos in Pahrump, Nevada, as well as parcels of undeveloped land in California held for sale that related to the Company’s previous involvement in a potential Indian casino project with the Jamul Tribe (“Jamul Land”). The Company performs an impairment analysis on the land it owns at least quarterly and determined that no impairment had occurred as of September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015.

On October 19, 2016, the Company completed the sale of the Jamul Land for $5.5 million and will recognize a gain on sale of land held for sale of $4.2 million during the fourth quarter of 2016.

Note 12 – Commitments and Contingencies

Rocky Gap Lease

The Company has an operating ground lease with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources for approximately 270 acres in the Rocky Gap State Park in which Rocky Gap is situated. The lease expires in 2052, with an option to renew for an additional 20 years.

Under the lease, rent payments are due and payable annually in the amount of $275,000 plus 0.9% of any gross operator share of gaming revenue (as defined in the lease) in excess of $275,000, and $150,000 plus any surcharge revenue in excess of $150,000. Surcharge revenue consists of amounts billed to and collected from guests and are $3.00 per room per night and $1.00 per round of golf. Rent expense (net of surcharge revenue) associated with the lease was approximately $0.1 million for each of the three months ended September 30, 2016 and September 30, 2015, and $0.2 million for each of the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and September 30, 2015.

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Gold Town Casino Leases

The Company’s Gold Town Casino is located on four leased parcels of land, comprising approximately nine acres in the aggregate, in Pahrump, Nevada. The leases are with unrelated third parties and have various expiration dates beginning in 2026 (for the parcel on which the Company’s main casino building is located, which we lease from a competitor), and the Company subleases approximately two of the acres to an unrelated third party. Rental income during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 was less than $0.1 million related to the sublease of the two acres in Pahrump, Nevada.

Other Leases

The Company leases its branded tavern locations, office headquarters building, equipment and vehicles under noncancelable operating leases that are not subject to contingent rents. The original terms of the current branded tavern location leases range from one to 14 years with various renewal options from one to 15 years. The Company has operating leases with related parties for certain of its tavern locations and its office headquarters building. The lease for the Company’s office headquarters building expires in July 2025. A portion of the office headquarters building is sublet to a related party. Rental income during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 was less than $0.1 million for the sublet portion of the office headquarters building. See Note 14, Related Party Transactions, for more detail. Gaming device placement contracts in the form of space lease agreements are also accounted for as operating leases. Under space lease agreements, the Company pays fixed monthly rental fees for the right to install, maintain and operate its gaming devices at business locations, which are recorded in gaming expenses.

Operating lease rental expense, which is calculated on a straight-line basis, net of surcharge revenue, associated with all operating leases was as follows:

The current and long-term obligations under capital leases are included in “Current portion of long-term debt, net” and “Long-term debt, net,” respectively. The majority of the capital leases relate to vehicles with minimum lease payment terms of three to four years.

As of September 30, 2016, future minimum lease payments, excluding contingent rents, were as follows: