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

Good day, everyone, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Vici Properties first quarter 2024 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in listen-only mode. Please note that this conference call is being recorded today, May 2nd, 2024. I will now turn the call over to Samantha Gallagher, General Counsel with Vici Properties.

Thank you, Operator, and good morning. Everyone should have access to the company's first quarter 2024 earnings release and supplemental information. The release and supplemental information can be found in the investor section of the Vici Properties website at www.viciproperties.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 a more detailed discussion of the risks that could impact future operating results and financial condition. 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 2024 earnings release, our supplemental information, and our filings with the SEC. For additional information with respect to non-GAAP measures of certain tenants and our counterparties discussed on this call, please refer to the respective companies' 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 Moira McCluskey, Senior Vice President of Capital Markets. Ed and team will provide some opening remarks, and then we'll open the call to questions. With that, I'll turn the call over to Ed.

Thank you, Samantha, and good morning, everyone. The first quarter of 2024 was, shall we say, an interesting quarter in the American equity marketplace. A fair part of the S&P 500 packed into a house and held a magnificent party. One Wall Street shop went so far as to say the party reached the rarefied state of euphoria. Euphoria, that sounds kind of fun. But to be clear, American wreaths were not invited to this party. Those of us who work within wreaths were out on the curb outside that party house. From the outside, one could wonder if this was a party in which new monarchs were being coronated for perpetual rule or the kind of party that eventually ends with ambulances and or cops being called and a few of the partygoers fleeing naked down the street out of their minds like Will Ferrell in old school. The first quarter of 2024 is now over. The ambulances or cops haven't necessarily showed up yet, but the party inside that magnificent house seems to be running out of steam. The move index, which measures U.S. Treasury market volatility, was relatively high but relatively steady through much of the first quarter and even fell a bit in late March in a flight to safety. But in early April, it started acting rowdy again. And it's much the same to the VIX equity volatility index, which, having slept through much of the magnificent party, recently spiked almost 50% since the start of the year before settling back down. Amidst all this noise, the general investment marketplace is having a hard time focusing on the income and capital appreciation dynamics of Goodreads. At Vici, we can deal with all of this. We don't spend a lot of time standing on curves, wondering or complaining about parties we're not invited to. We just keep doing what we do at Vici. And that's working within our resources and capabilities to keep improving and growing our company for the long-term benefit of our stakeholders. That's what we did in Q1 2024. The first quarter of 2024 was a quarter in which we produced 6.1% growth in AFFO per share over Q1 2023 and continued to flow our revenue growth through to the EBITDA line at what we believe is one of the higher rates among S&P 500 REITs. The first quarter of 2024 was also a quarter in which we focused on three key strategic imperatives. Imperative number one, expanding our scope and TAM of investment with our investment in Home Field Kansas City, a market-leading sports training complex that will also soon feature a Margaritaville resort. This is an investment that builds on our initial entry into the sports and recreation sector with the late 2023 acquisition of the primary leasehold interest in Chelsea Piers. An investment that validates the use of our lending platform to ultimately acquire a real estate interest. In this case, 780,000 magnificent square feet of New York recreational and entertainment space on the Hudson River. Imperative number two, being ready to refinance our maturing 2024 debt at an opportune time. Debt that would have come due on May 1st, yesterday, in other words. During Q1, May 1st seemed a fair way off, but given the volatility of market conditions, we didn't want to wait too long. We went to market on March 7th and did so in what turned out to be the second lowest point in March for U.S. 10-year yields. Yes, our timing was fortunate, but our good fortune relied on us being ready to go. imperative number three which we've just announced capitalizing on the scale and rarity of our existing assets by working throughout q1 with our partners at apollo to develop a property enhancement plan for the venetian which gives vt the opportunity to invest up to 700 million dollars of capital into this magnificent las vegas strip asset in a moment john and david will give you more color on each of these three q1 2024 imperatives I'll close out my opening remarks by saying the obvious. The first 16 or so weeks of 2024 haven't been a lot of fun for REIT investors. It's not clear at this point when the marketplace will recognize what we believe to be the total return value that REITs can and do represent at this point. Most, not all, but most REIT categories currently offer dividend yields that are materially in excess of the current inflation rates. And REIT dividends, unlike money market or bond interest payments, have the potential to grow over time, as Vici's has, with Vici posting a dividend growth CAGR of 7.9% since the first quarter of 2018 following our IPO. We've been living through a period in the equity marketplace in which the power of compounding has been somewhat ignored or forgotten. REITs can be powerful compounding tools. As a Vici shareholder, I haven't forgotten or ignored that compounding dynamic and benefit. I look forward to answering your questions, but first, a few words from John and David. John?