VICI Properties Inc.

Good day, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to the VICHI Properties First Quarter 2019 Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in listen-only mode. Please note that this conference call is being recorded today, May 2, 2019. I will now turn the call over to Samantha Gallagher, General Counsel with VICHI Properties.

Thank you, Operator, and good morning. Everyone should have access to the company's first quarter 2019 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 use of words such as will, expect, should, guidance, intends, 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 conditions. During the call, we will discuss 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 in our first quarter 2019 earnings release and our supplemental information. Hosting the call today, we have Ed Petoniak, Chief Executive Officer, John Payne, President and Chief Operating Officer, David Kieske, Chief Financial Officer, and Gabe Wasserman, Chief Accounting Officer. 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 again, good morning, everyone. We're very excited to be here and appreciate you taking the time to join us for our first quarter 2019 earnings call. We released our first quarter results last evening. John and David will walk you through the quarter and recent activity. But first, I want to provide some context on how we view the start of 2019 in terms of our progress against our long-term strategic goals and how we continue to build on our foundation to be the next great American REIT. The first quarter of 2019 was the first full quarter in which the rewards from our significant transaction and capital market activity in 2018 were reflected in our financial results. The Q1 2019 net of the effects of the new lease accounting standard, which David will address in a moment, Our revenue increased by $13 million, and our operating income increased by $13.1 million, meaning we achieved 101% flow-through of revenue growth to profit growth. Our ability to turn acquired revenue into new profit and free cash flow is one of the hallmarks of our triple net business model. All told, this resulted in our shareholders' net income growing nearly 35% year over year, while AFFO was up almost 22% on an absolute dollar basis and approximately 3% on an AFFO per share basis. The increase in our AFFO was the result of the lease modifications we completed in the fourth quarter with Caesars, annual rent increases embedded in our leases, ownership of Harris, Philadelphia for an entire quarter, and almost a full quarter of rent from Margaritaville, which we closed on January 2nd. Our AFFO per share growth was reduced by the short-term dilutive impact of our very successful first follow-on equity offering we executed in November of 2018. As we have discussed with you, we are focused on building a leading REIT portfolio and corresponding balance sheet that can weather all cycles. As a result, we elected to over-equitize the balance sheet with the November follow-on offering in raising $724.5 million of gross equity proceeds. These additional proceeds have a near-term dilutive impact on our per share results, but position us for long-term success. Just to touch on Margaritaville for a moment, we have been very clear in building VG that we are laser-focused on providing our shareholders with best-in-class income quality, income resilience, and income transparency. A key element to To achieving this vision is tenant diversity. In January, when we closed on the acquisition of Margaritaville, we bought great real estate. But just as important, we officially launched our partnership with Penn National Gaming, one of the best gaming, leisure, and hospitality operators in the business. We have also partnered with Penn to acquire Greektown, which, as Penn noted this morning on their own earnings call, we anticipate closing by the end of May. Continuing on this diversification theme, John will provide additional details, but thanks to his deep industry connections, on April 5th, against a backdrop of decreasing overall commercial real estate transaction activity, we announced the first gaming transaction of the year in which we are partnering with Hard Rock International to acquire the Jack Cincinnati Casino. We are excited to partner with Hard Rock, a global investment-grade leader in gaming, hospitality, and leisure, and an experienced operator in the Ohio market. We look forward to expanding this relationship over time as both companies continue to execute on their growth strategies. We have achieved tenant diversification faster than any other gaming REIT through our relationship with Hard Rock, Penn, and our foundational tenant, Caesars. As it relates to Caesars, we are honored to be Caesars' real estate partner at the 21 properties where we currently do business together. As you heard on their call last night, Caesars continues to produce industry-leading results, demonstrating their strength as one of the top leisure and hospitality operators across the globe. As it relates to Caesars' valuation of paths for enhancing shareholder value and the potential impact of Vici, we would remind you that our leases and our call options are obligations of the entity and transfer with the entity should any transaction occur. In regards to the transaction committee that was formed, our fundamental thesis and our fundamental commitment, which we have expressed to Caesars, is that we are always here to help Caesars grow the performance and value of their business as we are for any partner we will do business with. We feel great about our start to the year and how we continue to progress on our strategy based on the three key drivers of value creation to our business model, namely, number one, our ability to deliver portfolio income of the highest character and quality, number two, a best-in-class and fully internalized governance and management structure, and three, one of the best embedded slash internal and external growth profiles across the REIT sector. Through these advantages, we believe we will provide our shareholders with superior returns. With that, I'll turn the call over to John to discuss our recent transactions and what we're seeing in the market. John, over to you.