Golden Nugget Online Gaming gains market access to Illinois

Golden Nugget Online Gaming announced on Thursday a definitive agreement with Danville Development for market access to the State of Illinois for online sports wagering and I-gaming (when legalized). 

According to the agreement, Golden Nugget will enter into a joint venture agreement with Wilmot Gaming Illinois to build a new casino in Danville, Illinois, pending obtaining all regulatory approvals. The casino, when opened, will be branded Golden Nugget and feature a Landry's restaurant steakhouse.  Danville Development is a joint venture between Wilmot and GN Danville, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Golden Nugget. 

Under the definitive agreement, GNOG holds the exclusive right to offer online sports wagering and, if permitted by law in the future, online casino wagering.  In addition, GNOG has committed to providing a mezzanine loan in the amount of $30 million to Danville Development for the development and construction of the casino. GNOG's market access agreement is for a term of 20 years and requires GNOG to pay Danville Development a percentage of its online net gaming revenue, subject to minimum royalty payments over the term.

"Wilmot is pleased to deliver Golden Nugget and GNOG to the City of Danville and is excited to partner with Tilman J. Fertitta. The Golden Nugget is a nationally recognized brand and strengthens the submission, provides additional opportunities, and upgrades the overall project. The Wilmot family would also like to personally acknowledge the efforts and support of the City Council and Mayor of Danville, IL; without their diligence and attention to detail this project would not be possible," said James A. Wilmot, Vice President of Wilmot.

"This is Golden Nugget's first joint venture on a casino project, and we are honored to be the one selected amongst numerous bidders for this opportunity by the Wilmot family after a highly competitive process.  Having the ability to grow the Golden Nugget brand in Illinois in both the online and land based markets is an exciting opportunity," said Tilman J. Fertitta, owner and CEO of Golden Nugget and GNOG.

Thomas Winter, President of GNOG added, "we are thrilled to gain market access in Illinois, the 5th most populous US state and the largest to have regulated mobile wagering to date. This is a tremendous opportunity for us to further increase our US footprint and deliver on our ambitious growth plans.  We look forward to bringing our award-winning online offerings to the Prairie State."