Exclusive: VICI Properties CEO Talks Venetian Las Vegas On 'Power Hour'

VICI Properties Inc VICI CEO Ed Pitoniak appeared on Benzinga's YouTube show "Power Hour" for an exclusive interview Thursday. 

VICI Properties is an experiential real estate investment trust that owns one of the largest portfolios of gaming, hospitality and entertainment destinations.

VICI's Acquisition Assesment: The company looks at the demographic, economic and social trends of a market when considering whether to acquire a property, Pitoniak said.

Once VICI Properties identifies that a property is in a market it wants to be in, the company looks at the asset itself, he said.

The company looks at a property's attributes as a real estate asset including location relative to competition, curb appeal, condition and layout. 

Lastly, the company looks for operator expertise, vision and a balance sheet that ensures it can be successful, Pitoniak told Benzinga. 

VICI Buys The Venetian: VICI Properties announced on Mar. 3 that it entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Venetian Resort Las Vegas from Las Vegas Sands Corp LVS.

The Venetian is one of the most economically productive assets in all of American commercial real estate, The VICI Properties CEO said. The asset produced $1.8 billion in revenue in 2019, he said. 

The VICI Properties CEO said it raised the capital for the purchase in one day, noting that access to capital is a major benefit of being public.

As a public company, he emphasized the importance of making sure things go smoothly, adding that if the company "screws up" one time, no one will be willing to provide capital again moving forward. 

On April 29, VICI Properties announced record revenue growth of 46.8% and reaffirmed its guidance for full year 2021.

Related Link: Las Vegas Sands Sells Venetian, Expo Center For $6.25B: What Investors Need To Know

VICI Price Action: VICI Properties traded as high as $32.29 and as low as $13.97 over a 52-week period. At last check Thursday, the stock was down 1.28% at $30.80. 

Image by Michelle Raponi from Pixabay.