Golden Entertainment secures video gaming licence in Illinois

asino gaming and resort operator Golden Entertainment Inc has today announced that it has secured a video gaming terminal (VGT) operator licence from the Illinois Gaming Board.

The licence allows Golden Entertainments subsidiary, Golden Route Operations to place VGT’s in bars, restaurants, truck stops and certain social clubs in the state.

According to statistics published by the Illinois Gaming Board in May, there were over 26,000 VGT’s operating in over 6,000 locations throughout the state.

Golden Entertainment is currently licensed in Nevada, Montana and Maryland, operating over 12,000 gaming devices and nearly 30 table games across the three states.

It also owns four casino properties and recently agreed a deal to acquire three additional properties in Las Vegas including the Stratosphere Casino Hotel & Tower, Arizona Charlie’s Decatur and Arizona Charlie’s Boulder, as well as the Aquarius Casino Resort in nearby Laughlin.

In a statement announcing the deal, Blake L. Sartini, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Golden Entertainment said: “We thank the Illinois Gaming Board for its consideration and approval of our license application and look forward to participating in the state’s growing distributed gaming market.

Illinois is an important and growing market for distributed gaming where we are considering both organic and acquisition opportunities to establish our presence.”