LOUISVILLE, Ky., May 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Churchill Downs Incorporated (“CDI” or “the Company”) (Nasdaq: CHDN) announced today plans to reopen its two properties in Mississippi. Harlow’s Casino Resort & Spa in Greenville and Riverwalk Casino Hotel in Vicksburg will recommence operations on Thursday, May 21, 2020, in compliance with state and local requirements and with modified amenity offerings.

• Churchill Downs Online Casino Nj
• Oak Grove Casino Churchill Downs
• Churchill Downs Casino Louisville Kentucky

“We are pleased to continue reopening our properties across the country and to, once again, be able to provide extraordinary service and entertainment experiences to our guests,” said Bill Carstanjen, CEO of CDI. “Our teams have worked diligently to develop and implement new health and safety protocols that meet and exceed the requirements of each jurisdiction to protect our guests, our team members and our communities.”

Properties Churchill Downs Churchill Downs Churchill Downs Racetrack Louisville, Kentucky derby city gaming Louisville, Kentucky Online Wagering Online Wagering TwinSpires.com BetAmerica Gaming Gaming Calder Casino & Race Course Miami Gardens, Florida Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots New Orleans, Louisiana Harlow’s Casino Resort & Spa Greenville, Mississippi Lady Luck Casino Nemacolin. Churchill Downs, the owner of the iconic horse race the Kentucky Derby and operator of around 11,000 slots in eight states, is to open new facilities in its home state. The company will launch its simulcast and historical racing machine operations at Oak Grove Racing.

All CDI properties will implement and practice the “CDI 360 Degree Approach to Safety,” which includes initiatives to facilitate social distancing, personal protection and enhanced cleaning. Some of these protocols include:

• Increased frequency of cleaning and sanitizing of all high-touch surfaces, including door handles, gaming machines, table games, handrails, and elevator buttons;
• Mandatory temperature checks of all guests and team members upon entering the building;
• Installation of plexiglass or polycarbonate dividers in areas of high touch transactions;
• Increased placement of hand sanitizer dispensers and sanitary wipes throughout our properties;
• Providing personal protective equipment (PPE) to team members;
• Utilizing visual aids to assist with measuring social distancing;
• Capacity restrictions across all customer and team member areas, including casino floors and restaurants; and
• Required training for all team members on our safety protocols.

CDI reopened its 12 Off-Track Betting (“OTB”) locations featuring video poker and simulcast wagering in Louisiana on Monday, May 18, 2020. Spectator-free live horse racing resumed at Churchill Downs Racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky on Saturday, May 16, 2020. CDI will provide the reopening status of additional properties in other states as the dates are confirmed.

About Churchill Downs Incorporated
Churchill Downs Incorporated is an industry-leading racing, online wagering and gaming entertainment company anchored by our iconic flagship event - The Kentucky Derby. We own and operate Derby City Gaming, a historical racing machine facility in Louisville, Kentucky. We also own and operate the largest online horse racing wagering platform in the U.S., TwinSpires.com, and we operate sports betting and iGaming through our BetAmerica platform in multiple states. We are also a leader in brick-and-mortar casino gaming with approximately 11,000 slot machines and video lottery terminals and 200 table games in eight states. Additional information about CDI can be found online at www.churchilldownsincorporated.com.

Information set forth in this news release contains various “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the “Act”), which provides certain “safe harbor” provisions. All forward-looking statements made in this news release are made pursuant to the Act. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by the use of terms such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” “seek,” “should,” “will,” and similar words, although some forward-looking statements are expressed differently.
Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations include the following: the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and related economic matters on our results of operations, financial conditions and prospects; the effect of economic conditions on our consumers' confidence and discretionary spending or our access to credit; additional or increased taxes and fees; public perceptions or lack of confidence in the integrity of our business or any deterioration in our reputation; loss of key or highly skilled personnel; restrictions in our debt facilities limiting our flexibility to operate our business; general risks related to real estate ownership, including fluctuations in market values and environmental regulations; catastrophic events and system failures disrupting our operations; online security risk, including cyber-security breaches; inability to recover under our insurance policies for damages sustained at our properties in the event of inclement weather and casualty events; increases in insurance costs and inability to obtain similar insurance coverage in the future; inability to identify and complete acquisition, expansion or divestiture projects, on time, on budget or as planned; difficulty in integrating recent or future acquisitions into our operations; costs and uncertainties relating to the development of new venues and expansion of existing facilities; risks associated with equity investments, strategic alliances and other third-party agreements; inability to respond to rapid technological changes in a timely manner; inadvertent infringement of the intellectual property of others; inability to protect our own intellectual property rights; payment-related risks, such as risk associated with fraudulent credit card and debit card use; compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or applicable money-laundering regulations; risks related to pending or future legal proceedings and other actions; inability to negotiate agreements with industry constituents, including horsemen and other racetracks; work stoppages and labor issues; changes in consumer preferences with respect to Churchill Downs Racetrack and the Kentucky Derby; personal injury litigation related to injuries occurring at our racetracks; weather and other conditions affecting our ability to conduct live racing; the occurrence of extraordinary events, such as terrorist attacks and public health threats; changes in the regulatory environment of our racing operations; increased competition in the horseracing business; difficulty in attracting a sufficient number of horses and trainers for full field horseraces; our inability to utilize and provide totalizator services; changes in regulatory environment of our online horseracing business; number of people wagering on live horse races; increase in competition in our online horseracing; uncertainty and changes in the legal landscape relating to our online wagering business; continued legalization of online sports betting and iGaming in the United States and our ability to predict and capitalize on any such legalization; inability to expand our sports betting operations and effectively compete; failure to manage risks associated with sports betting; failure to comply with laws requiring us to block access to certain individuals could result in penalties or impairment with respect to our mobile and online wagering products; increased competition in our casino business; changes in regulatory environment of our casino business; and concentration and evolution of slot machine manufacturing and other technology conditions that could impose additional costs; and inability to collect gaming receivables from the customers to whom we extend credit.

Investor Contact: Nick Zangari (502) 394-1157 Nick.Zangari@kyderby.com

Media Contact: Tonya Abeln (502) 386-1742 Tonya.Abeln@kyderby.com

Churchill Downs Incorporated will soon be bringing a mobile sports betting and an online casino to New Jersey.

During the company’s third-quarter report Thursday, CEO Bill Carstanjen said CDI will take its first steps into the NJ sports betting industry before the year runs out.

“We are in the process of obtaining our company and key employee gaming licenses. In addition, our gaming technology partner, SBTech, is in the process of getting their platform licensed. We believe we will be operational in the fourth quarter with the suite of online casino and sports betting products.”

CDI piggybacks on Golden Nugget license

While Carstanjen noted that CDI is “currently pursuing business operations” in several states with legalized sports betting, New Jersey sits atop the company’s list.

In May, CDI reached an agreement with Golden Nugget in Atlantic City to allow the Kentucky-based company to enter the NJ online gambling industry.

At the time of the announcement, CDI targeted launching its product in the first quarter of 2019. Obviously, the company has done well enough to fast-track its plans.

“In New Jersey we’ve entered into what is known as a skins agreement with the Golden Nugget casino to gain access to the New Jersey iGaming and sports wagering market,” Carstanjen said.

“We do not have a casino in New Jersey to enter the market directly but have an arrangement with Golden Nugget, which will allow us full management and control of our own site.”

Churchill Downs Online Casino Nj

What exactly the online casino product will include is not clear, but a robust selection including slot machines and tables games is likely.

Joining a powerful Golden Nugget team

The AC casino has long established itself as the premier online casino in New Jersey, frequently finishing atop the Garden State market in terms of revenue.

In September, Golden Nugget reported its second-best month in industry history, a robust $9.28 million that fell just shy of its July report of $9.3 million.

As Golden Nugget continues to excel and expand, the casino welcomes yet another entity to continue boosting numbers.

Said GN senior vice president and general manager, online gaming Thomas Winter at the time of May’s announcement:

“We welcome Churchill Downs, a respected U.S. gaming operator with online wagering experience, to New Jersey. The addition of their offering will allow Golden Nugget Atlantic City to cater to an even larger demographic of New Jersey online players.”

Churchill Downs already operates the largest legal online horse wagering business in the country. Now CDI will use Golden Nugget as its foray into New Jersey.

CDI enters crowded NJ sports betting market

Should CDI follow through with its expectation to join the online NJ sports betting industry within the next two months, it will be the ninth mobile sportsbook in the Garden State.

A week before entering a partnership with Golden Nugget, Churchill Downs struck a deal with sports betting tech provider SBTech.

The NJ sports betting industry has grown exponentially within the past few months. Online and mobile sportsbooks accepted nearly$105 million in wagers in September, more than $82 million wagered in August, the first month of mobile sports betting in New Jersey.

Oak Grove Casino Churchill Downs

The mobile market surpassed retail handle, which stood at $79 million in September.

Churchill Downs Casino Louisville Kentucky

For Golden Nugget, CDI serves as something of a replacement for SugarHouse Sportsbook, which dropped its sports betting partnership with Golden Nugget in October to operate under the Monmouth Park license.

One reason for the jump: Golden Nugget cannot offer bets on NBA games, as owner Tilman Fertitta also owns the Houston Rockets. As a result, when CDI launches its sports betting product, it will not be able to offer NBA action.