MGM Growth Properties LLC Class A common shares representing limited liability company interests

Good day, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Vichy Properties first quarter 2022 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in listen-only mode. Please note that this conference call is being recorded today, May 5th, 2022. I will now turn the call over to Samantha Gallagher, General Counsel with Vichy Properties.

Thank you, Operator, and good morning. Everyone should have access to the company's first quarter 2022 earnings release and supplemental information. The release and supplemental information can be found in the investor section of the VG Properties website at www.vgproperties.com. Some of our comments today will be forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements, which are usually identified by the use of words such as will, believe, expect, should, guidance, intends, outlook, projects, or other similar phrases are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from what we expect. Therefore, you should exercise caution in interpreting and relying on them. I refer you to the company's SEC filings for more detailed discussion of the risks that could impact future operating results and financial conditions. During the call, we will discuss certain non-GAAP measures, which we believe can be useful in evaluating the company's operating performance. These measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for our financial results prepared in accordance with GAAP. A reconciliation of these measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measure is available on our website in our first quarter 2022 earnings release and our supplemental information. For additional information with respect to non-GAAP measures of certain tenants and or counterparties described herein, please refer to the respective company's public filings with the SEC. Hosting the call today, we have Ed Petoniak, Chief Executive Officer, John Payne, President and Chief Operating Officer, David Kieske, Chief Financial Officer, Gabe Wasserman, Chief Accounting Officer, and Danny Beloy, Vice President of Finance. Ed and team will provide some opening remarks, and then we will open the call to questions. With that, I'll turn the call over to Ed.

Thank you, Samantha, and good morning, everyone. Happy Cinco de Mayo. When we held our last earnings call in late February, we had just closed on our acquisition of the Venetian, one of the largest scale and highest quality single assets in American commercial real estate. As we speak with you today, we have just closed on our acquisition of MGM Growth Properties, MGP, one of the largest scale and highest quality portfolios of Class A real estate in American real estate investing. BG's story over the last 14 months since we first announced our acquisition of the Venetian, is a story of transformation. We have transformed the scale of our portfolio, our tenant and geographic diversity, and very importantly, the character and quality of our balance sheet. We've also become the leading real estate owner on what we believe is the most economically productive street in the world, the Las Vegas Strip. In a moment, John Payne will talk further about the transformation of our portfolio, and David Kieske will talk further about the transformation of our balance sheet. But let me first spend a few moments talking with you about what's been proven about our business model over the last two years and how timely our current transformation may prove to be from both offensive and defensive perspectives over a coming period of economic uncertainties. Over the last two years, COVID-19 proved the resiliency of Vici's business model because COVID proved the resiliency of our tenants' business models. Vici collected 100% of our rent in cash and on time throughout the COVID-19 crisis because of the operating excellence and operating liquidity of our tenants. Our operators have shown their ability to operate through thick and thin. The economic outlook for the next year or two may be murky, but we firmly believe that our operators have prepared their operating revenue, cost, and liquidity models for whatever may be coming. What about our view on Vichy's ability to continue to grow in the coming period? There are five key capabilities, as we see it, to growing at the net lease rate in all cycles. including whatever cycle may be about to ensue. Number one, same store NOI growth based on key lease terms regarding escalation and CPI protection. Number two, internal funding capability based on cash retention. Number three, the capability and opportunity to invest incrementally in existing assets in return for incremental rent. Number four, the ability to source acquisitions when the frequency and intensity of asset marketing processes lessen. Number five, access to investment grade credit when high yield markets may be constricted or costly. Let me say a few words about VG's growth capabilities in each of these five areas. Point number one, same store NOI growth. Green Street in a September 2021 analysis showed that Vici generates same-store NOI growth more than four times higher than net lease rates on average. And in terms of higher, in time, sorry, of higher inflation, Vici's same-store NOI superiority versus other net lease rates expands when factoring in the CPI elements of our leases. Point number two, internal funding capability. pro forma for the annualization of Vici's net income and debt service, having closed Venetian and MGP. If we maintain a dividend payout ratio between 75 and 80%, that would leave between $400 to $500 million of retained earnings available to us for investment annually, a competitive advantage during periods when markets may be constricted. Point number three, investing incrementally in existing property in return for incremental rent. Our assets measure, on average, over 2.5 million square feet and sit on many acres of land. That scale of building and land enable us to invest incrementally in our existing properties in ways generally not available to net lease REITs whose stores generally average around 25,000 square feet, one one-hundredth the size of our assets. Point number four, sourcing acquisitions when asset marketing processes lessen. You've heard us say before that we grow our business at Vici and our portfolio by growing our relationships. As we pursue both gaming and non-gaming investments in the coming years outside of marketing processes, we are confident that our ability to generate new relationships with operators who operate in net lease white space will give us growth advantages. Point number five, invest to investment grade when high-yield credit markets tighten. Through the great work of David Kieske, Aaron Ferreri, and other members of our finance team, we achieved investment grade status with S&P and Fitch about two weeks ago. We may be in the early stages of a challenging period for the high-yield credit market and CMBS financing. We believe that the relative competitiveness and attractiveness of our capital could increase during the coming period as experiential operators look to refinance their existing businesses and or fund their growth initiatives. To sum up, VG has gotten bigger and moreover stronger, and we believe advantages will accrue to those REITs that are bigger and stronger. I'll now turn the call over to John, who will talk about our new portfolio and operating positions, and to David, who will talk about our financial results and balance sheet upgrades. John?