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DATE

Friday, Aug. 7, 2026 at 10 a.m. ET

CALL PARTICIPANTS

  • Co-Chief Executive Officer - Peter Hoetzinger
  • Co-Chief Executive Officer - Erwin Haitzmann
  • Chief Financial Officer - Margaret Stapleton
  • Executive VP of U.S. Operations - Lyle Randolph

TAKEAWAYS

  • Net Operating Revenue -- $152 million, a 1% increase year over year at Century Casinos, Inc. (CNTY +1.68%) reflecting growth in North American play.
  • Adjusted EBITDA -- $31.7 million, representing a 5% increase and an all-time record for the second quarter.
  • U.S. Net Operating Revenue -- $111.6 million, up 5% for the period due to consistent progress across all seven properties.
  • U.S. Adjusted EBITDAR -- $28.9 million, a 12% increase year over year representing operating leverage as earnings grew twice as fast as revenue.
  • Nugget Net Operating Revenue -- $111.6 million, an increase of 16% driven by a strong entertainment calendar and improved hotel occupancy.
  • Nugget Adjusted EBITDAR -- up 93% following three consecutive quarters of year-over-year growth.
  • Missouri Net Operating Revenue -- up over 8% across combined properties, representing the seventh consecutive quarter of EBITDAR growth in the state.
  • Caruthersville Rated Gaming Revenue -- up 32% year over year as the transition to a land-based facility expanded the geographic reach of the property.
  • Central City Adjusted EBITDAR -- up more than 32% behind a 16% increase in guest volume and a 20% increase in coin-in.
  • Canadian Net Operating Revenue -- $20.4 million, a 2.2% increase driven by record quarterly performances at the Century Mile property.
  • Canadian Adjusted EBITDA -- $6.2 million, up 11% year over year while total operating expenses declined 1.3%.
  • Poland Adjusted EBITDA -- $100,000, down from the prior year due to the closure of the Hilton Warsaw casino and an unusually low table game hold.
  • Cash and Cash Equivalents -- $60.2 million as of June 30, 2026, a slight increase from the first quarter.
  • Total Debt Outstanding -- $336.5 million with no debt maturities scheduled until the second quarter of 2029.
  • Net Debt-to-EBITDA Ratio -- 6.5x, which management expects to reduce to below 6x by the end of the 2026 fiscal year.
  • Capital Expenditures -- $15 million projected for the full 2026 year, a reduction from the $18 million spent in the prior year.
  • Nugget Hotel Cash Revenue -- up more than 36% year over year, with transient corporate room nights increasing over 300%.
  • Cape Girardeau Adjusted EBITDAR -- up 9.6% year over year reflecting benefits from the Riverview Hotel and other non-gaming amenities.
  • U.S. Property Operating Margin -- increased from 24% to 26% year over year due to disciplined expense management and higher efficiencies.
  • Canadian Property Operating Margin -- grew from 28% to 30% for the period.
  • Rocky Gap Golf Cash Revenue -- up nearly 13% for the quarter despite slightly lower overall net operating revenue.
  • Mountaineer Horse Racing Revenue -- up nearly 40% year over year, though overall profitability was impacted by the loss of a large construction group contract.
  • Poland Revenue Loss -- approximately $1 million in gaming revenue was lost in June due to table game hold falling significantly below historical averages.
  • Nugget Slot Coin-in -- up approximately 6% year over year as gaming floor optimization initiatives gained traction.

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RISKS

  • Hoetzinger stated, "Poland is the more difficult one with the war next door and that challenging regulatory environment," while discussing the complexities of monetizing international assets to reduce corporate leverage.

SUMMARY

Management reported that the second quarter represented a period of harvesting returns from previous capital investments, with record revenues and EBITDA driven primarily by North American operations. The company stated that 90% of total results are now generated in North America, where every property has shown year-to-date growth in revenue and EBITDA. The strategy remains focused on improving operating efficiencies, optimizing gaming floors, and transitioning toward a fully U.S.-centric business model through the potential sale of international assets in Poland and Canada. Management indicated that the regional consumer remains resilient despite economic pressures, with recent performance trends showing continued momentum into the third quarter.

  • Peter Hoetzinger noted that early data for the third quarter is positive, stating, "July seems very much like another month with double-digit EBITDA growth."
  • Lyle Randolph highlighted the diversification of the U.S. portfolio, stating, "Century does not simply operate 7 casinos. We operate 7 unique destinations across 5 gaming jurisdictions."
  • Management is currently evaluating two packages for the sale of Canadian assets, with one package potentially reaching a public disclosure stage before the end of the year.
  • Erwin Haitzmann reported that the transition of the Polish portfolio is complete, with "no gaming license expirations scheduled over the next 2 years," providing a more stable outlook.
  • The company indicated that the court-ordered restart of the Camrose Casino relocation process has delayed a potential new competitor near the Century Mile property in Edmonton.
  • Lyle Randolph attributed growth in high-value customers to slot floor optimization, noting a 20% increase in guests generating more than $400 in average daily theoretical win at the Nugget.

INDUSTRY GLOSSARY

  • ADT (Average Daily Theoretical): The expected house advantage or win from a specific player based on their volume and the statistical edge of the games played.
  • Coin-in: The total dollar amount of wagers placed by players in slot machines or video lottery terminals.
  • EBITDAR: A non-GAAP financial metric representing earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, and rent or restructuring costs.
  • Resino: A gaming facility that combines a horse racing track with casino gaming operations.
  • Table Game Hold: The percentage of chips purchased by players that is ultimately retained by the casino as gaming win.

Full Conference Call Transcript

Operator: Good day, everyone, and welcome to today's Century Casinos Q2 2026 Earnings Call. [Operator Instructions] Please note, this call is being recorded, and I will be standing by you. It is now my pleasure to turn the conference over to Peter Hoetzinger. Please go ahead, sir.

Peter Hoetzinger: Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining our earnings call. First, we would like to remind everyone that we will be discussing forward-looking information under the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws. The company undertakes no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements, and actual results may differ from those projected. Throughout our call, we refer to several non-GAAP financial measures, including, but not limited to, adjusted EBITDA. Reconciliations of our non-GAAP measures to the appropriate GAAP measures can be found in our news releases and SEC filings available in the Investors section of our website at cnty.com.

With me today are my co-CEO, Erwin Haitzmann; our CFO, Margaret Stapleton; as well as our new Executive VP of U.S. Operations, Lyle Randolph. After our prepared remarks, we'll open the call for questions from analysts. I'm pleased to report that our diversified portfolio delivered a strong solid quarter as net operating revenue came in at $152 million, a 1% increase over Q2 of last year. Adjusted EBITDA was $31.7 million, a 5% increase. Both are all-time records for us. We've never had higher revenues and higher EBITDA in the second quarter in the history of the company. Congrats to all staff members and management teams at our properties.

The results reflect the continued benefits of our diversified business model, the success of our recent capital investment program and growth in play across our casino portfolio. Poland spoiled the party a bit. That segment was underperforming due to the closure of the casino at the Hilton hotel in Warsaw as well as an unusually low hold on the gaming tables. But we are hopeful and already see signs for improved performance over the next several quarters. But moving away from Poland, I want you to focus on the North American operations, which had a great quarter and which generate around 90% of our total results.

Going forward, the core operational metric that we will focus on will be U.S. plus Canada plus corporate. That EBITDA was up a strong 12% in Q2 and up 17% year-to-date. Every single property in our North American portfolio has grown revenue as well as EBITDA year-to-date with most properties growing EBITDA by double digits year-over-year. In more detail, in the second quarter, U.S. revenue and EBITDA were up 5% and 12%, respectively, and Canadian revenue and EBITDA were up 2% and 11%, respectively, Q-over-Q. Highlights of the quarter were the tremendous performance of the Nugget with revenue and EBITDA up 16% and 93%, respectively, as well as strong performances in both Missouri and Colorado.

We continue to increase operating efficiencies throughout the business, delivering higher property operating margins than last year. The average margin of U.S. properties increased from 24% to 26%. In Canada, the margin grew from 28% to 30%. In the quarter, we benefited from growth across all and retail customers as well as from a predominantly local repeat customer base, our diversified portfolio and limited exposure to new supply. As mentioned in our last call, we've been seeing solid customer trends since around December of last year despite higher gas prices. In most of our properties, the majority of our customers live within a 45-minute drive and the overall economy, inflation and special employment are more impactful than gas prices alone.

I would say we also benefit from guests staying closer to home and spending their dollars closer to home over the last several quarters as a result of the general economic factors, including high airfares and gas prices. And last but not least, we benefited from strong returns from the capital investments we made over the last 2-plus years. These investments have finally entered the contribution phase, contributing to meaningful EBITDA growth. With that, I'm very happy to introduce you to Lyle Randolph, our new Executive VP of U.S. Operations. Lyle will provide more granularity and background on our U.S. properties, which drive approximately 75% of our total revenue and EBITDA. Lyle, go ahead, please.

Lyle Randolph: Thank you, Peter. Good morning, everyone. Across our U.S. operations, a clear pattern continues to emerge. We are seeing a portfolio that is performing with greater consistency. We are seeing operational improvements translating into stronger financial results. And most importantly, we're seeing the operational work of the past several years begin to pay off. Across our 7 U.S. properties, we have invested in our gaming floors, improved our marketing, strengthened our operations and remain focused on creating a better guest experience. None of this happened overnight, but those efforts are coming together and the second quarter provides another strong example. During Q2, our U.S. operations generated $111.6 million of net operating revenue, an increase of 5% over the prior year.

Adjusted EBITDAR increased 12% to $28.9 million. Importantly, adjusted EBITDAR grew more than twice as fast as revenue, demonstrating continued operating leverage across the portfolio. And that momentum extends beyond the quarter. Through the first 6 months of 2026, U.S. net operating revenue increased 5%, while adjusted EBITDAR increased 16% over the first half of 2025. That is an increase of $7.2 million in adjusted EBITDAR in the first half of the year from the U.S. properties. And that consistency in growth is the real story. As we take a step back and look broadly across the portfolio, we're reminded that Century does not simply operate 7 casinos.

We operate 7 unique destinations across 5 gaming jurisdictions, each with its own history, customer base and competitive position. Together, they represent an important piece of America's regional gaming heritage. From Rocky Gap, the only casino resort operating within a state park in America to Mountaineer, where the world's first resino pioneered a new chapter of regional gaming to the riverboat gaming history of Missouri, to Colorado's historic gold mining communities and finally, to the Nugget, one of Northern Nevada's iconic gaming brands. Each property brings something different. Our strategy is to preserve what makes each one unique while applying a disciplined operating approach that drives stronger and more consistent results.

Beginning in the West, the Nugget continues to demonstrate why we believe it represents one of the greatest opportunities within our U.S. portfolio. Net operating revenue increased 16%, while adjusted EBITDAR increased more than 93%. And more importantly, this was just -- this was Nugget's third consecutive quarter of year-over-year adjusted EBITDAR growth. The Nugget had a strong entertainment calendar in the second quarter. The Brooks & Dunn concert in April sold more than 7,800 tickets and the Keith Urban show in June contributed to over $0.25 million in incremental profit. But the Nugget story is much broader than concerts. Slot coin-in increased approximately 6%. Hotel cash revenue increased more than 36%.

Hotel occupancy increased 19% and year-to-date retail room nights reached a 3-year high. We are also making better use of the hotel during historically softer periods. Transient corporate room nights increased more than 300% during the quarter. And we continue to improve the casino itself through gaming floor optimization, stronger marketing, player development and a greater focus on the local customer. We are also seeing improvement in the quality of the business. The number of guests generating more than 400 in average daily theoretical increased approximately 20%. The Nugget is an iconic brand with a significant hotel and convention operation and includes a major entertainment venue. Our opportunity continues to be to make all of those pieces work better together.

And the last 3 quarters of the Nugget tell us that the strategy is not only gaining traction, but we still believe there is still significant runway ahead. Moving on to the Midwest region. Our Missouri properties continue to be consistent performers. Our Missouri properties combined have now delivered 7 consecutive quarters of year-over-year adjusted EBITDAR growth. Combined net operating revenue increased over 8% in the second quarter combined. Adjusted EBITDAR increased 9.6% at Cape Girardeau and 5.5% at Caruthersville. Just as encouraging is the breadth of that growth. Across Missouri, theoretical win increased across all of our broader player segments.

At Cape Girardeau, we continue to see the benefits of improving an established property and becoming more sophisticated in how we engage with our customers. The Riverview Hotel, our food and beverage amenities, our event center, our retail BetMGM Sportsbook provide additional reasons to visit and more opportunities to extend the customer relationship beyond the casino floor. At Caruthersville, the story is the continued maturing of our investment in that market. Second quarter net operating revenue increased nearly $1.2 million, rated gaming revenue increased 32% and unique guests increased 9%. More importantly, unique guests traveling more than 50 miles increased 15%.

That tells us that the new property is not simply serving the existing local customer, it is expanding Caruthersville's geographic reach. During the quarter, Caruthersville generated its highest quarterly gross gaming revenue, net revenue, coin-in and slot win in the property's history. And the performance stands out beyond just our own portfolio. For Missouri's fiscal year reported by the Missouri Gaming Commission ending in June, Caruthersville recorded the highest percentage increase in adjusted gross revenue among all 13 casinos in the state. Collectively, Century's Missouri operations also generated the highest year-over-year percentage growth in gaming revenue of any casino operator in the state.

So we remain very encouraged by the underlying strength of our Midwest region and the continued maturing of our Caruthersville investment. Let's shift now to -- over to the East region with Rocky Gap. Rocky Gap delivered a resilient second quarter despite a more challenging competitive and consumer environment. There were several encouraging underlying trends. Slot coin-in increased approximately 2%, golf cash revenue increased nearly 13% and hotel room nights increased. Net operating revenue was down slightly less than 1%, with essentially all of that decline concentrated in the hotel cash revenue and table games. Importantly, disciplined expense management helped offset those pressures and adjusted EBITDA essentially remained flat.

That performance is notable given softer regional gaming trends and the April opening of Happy Valley Casino in State College, Pennsylvania. And we are also reminded that through the first half of the year, Rocky Gap's adjusted EBITDAR remained 9% ahead of prior year. We remain encouraged by the resilience of the business, and we'll continue leveraging Rocky Gap's unique position as a true destination resort. Also in our East region, Mountaineer remains one of the foundational assets within our U.S. portfolio. Once again, this quarter, Mountaineer generated the highest gaming revenue of any property in our company. This reflects the strength of its long-standing customer base in the market. And that market surrounding Mountaineer continues to evolve.

Customers today have more gaming options than ever before, including online gaming and mature casino and sports wagering locations. Importantly, these developments do not suggest that demand for gaming has weakened, rather they reinforce that the way guests choose to engage with gaming and entertainment continues to change. We believe that creates an opportunity to deliver the experiences guests cannot replicate elsewhere. Mountaineer's combination of casino gaming, live horse racing, hotel, dinner and entertainment options provide a unique platform to compete in this changing environment. In quarter 2, Mountaineer saw growth in sports betting and iGaming and horse racing revenue increased nearly 40%. At the same time, slots, tables and hotel revenue were slightly softer.

There were some encouraging customer trends. Gaming revenue from our highest value 400-plus ADT customers increased 7% and revenue from younger customers, 21 to 39 increased 31%. The hotel comparison also requires some context. Last year, second quarter benefited from a large construction group that contributed nearly $0.5 million of business before those days ended in June of 2025. Adjusting for that group, second quarter profitability would have been approximately flat with prior year. Again, through the first half of 2026, Mountaineer adjusted EBITDAR still remains 6% ahead of last year. Mountaineer provides opportunity as it also has the largest active customer database in our company, which provides a significant tool as we continue refining segmentation, reinvestment and player development.

And the property's racing heritage remains an important differentiator. This year marks the 75th year of horse racing at Mountaineer. This weekend is the 56th running of the West Virginia Derby. Our focus is to build upon that heritage while creating gaming, entertainment and hospitality experiences that give customers compelling reasons to visit the property. Moving to Colorado. We see encouraging momentum. Central City delivered one of the strongest performances in the U.S. portfolio. Net operating revenue increased approximately 11.5%, while adjusted EBITDAR increased more than 32%. Guest volume increased 16%, coin-in increased nearly 20% and hotel occupancy reached 74%. Through the first half of 2026, Central City nearly doubled adjusted EBITDAR compared with the prior year.

The quality of that growth is also encouraging. We saw improvement across carded and non-carded play, while marketing expenses declined as we shifted toward more targeted detailed initiatives. So Central City is not simply generating more revenue, we are becoming more efficient in how we generate it. At Cripple Creek, net operating revenue increased 2% and adjusted EBITDAR for the first 6 months is well ahead of last year. We also saw growth in both rated and unrated play and an increase in unique carded guests. Looking forward, we remain optimistic about both markets.

In Central City, continued public investment in the Gregory Plaza in the historic district leading up to the Hill to Central City should create additional reasons for visitors to explore beyond Black Hawk's primary casino corridor. And in Cripple Creek, we continue to view the evolution of Chamonix as an opportunity in both the short and long term. As Chamonix continues refining its operations and guest experience, Century remains well positioned to compete for guests seeking a convenient and established alternative.

Looking further ahead, we believe that a successful destination resort directly across the street has the potential to increase overall visitation to Cripple Creek, creating a larger and more vibrant market from which Century is in a great position to benefit. Taken together, our Colorado properties continue to illustrate an important element of Century's operating philosophy. While we cannot always control how our markets evolve, we can control how effectively we position ourselves to benefit from that evolution. As we look at all of our U.S. operations, what encourages us the most is not any single property, it is the consistency of the progress. Missouri continues its sustained quarter-over-quarter growth. Colorado continues to build momentum.

The Nugget has now delivered 3 consecutive quarters of adjusted EBITDAR growth. And in our East region, we continue to protect profitability and build upon the unique strengths of those properties. Taken together, we believe this represents something larger than a single successful quarter. The operational foundation we have been building is producing more consistent, higher-quality results. Again, through the first half of 2026, net operating revenue at our U.S. properties increased approximately 5% and adjusted EBITDAR increased nearly 16%. This is not the result of any one promotion, entertainment, event or favorable comparison. It is the result of hundreds of operational decisions being made every day across 7 properties by teams that understand their markets.

Looking ahead, our priorities remain clear. We will invest where we see the strongest returns. We will continue improving gaming floor productivity and becoming more sophisticated in how we engage our customers. We will maximize the value of our hotels, entertainment and other amenities. And importantly, we will continue sharing what works across the organization. We are building one operating philosophy around 7 authentic regional destinations. Each has its own history, each has its own competitive advantages. Our responsibility is to preserve what makes them unique while applying the operating discipline that can make each of them stronger. We remain confident that our U.S. operations are well positioned to deliver profitable growth, disciplined returns and long-term value for our shareholders.

Thank you.

Erwin Haitzmann: All right. Thank you, Lyle, and I will now give more color on Canada and Poland, our international operations. Century Casino's Canadian operations delivered another solid quarter with net operating revenue increasing 2.2% year-over-year to $20.4 million and adjusted EBITDA increasing 11% to $6.2 million. This performance reflects the results of the capital investments and operational improvements we have made in Canada over the last several quarters. Growth was broad-based with all 4 Alberta properties contributing higher net operating revenue, led by strong performances at Century Mile and Century St. Albert. Century Mile achieved its highest quarterly EBITDA since opening, surpassing its previous record established in the first quarter, while Century St.

Albert delivered record coin-in during both May and June, following the benefits of its 2025 property enhancements. We also demonstrated expense discipline as total operating expenses declined 1.3%, driven primarily by lower payroll costs. Operationally, the Alberta portfolio continues to benefit from growing customer awareness of the newly introduced Celly's Sports Bar & Lounge concept while market share trends remain encouraging. Century Mile significantly outpaced overall Edmonton market growth with coin-in increasing 11.2% year-over-year and Century St. Albert also exceeded the broader market with 6.2% growth.

Looking ahead, management is focused on leveraging Alberta's newly launched open online sports betting and iGaming market by utilizing upgraded sportsbook-ready facilities across all 4 properties while monitoring any long-term impact on visitation and gaming revenue. The company also continues to defend its competitive position in the Edmonton market following the court decision requiring the proposed Camrose Casino relocation process to restart, delaying a potential new competitor near Century Mile. With continued investment in player development, disciplined capital spending and favorable competitive dynamics, the Canadian operations remain well positioned to build on their strong first half performance. Poland. Century Casinos operation in Poland continued through a period of significant portfolio transition during the second quarter, making year-over-year comparisons less meaningful.

Results reflect the closure of the Hilton Warsaw Casino in June 2025, following the nonrenewal of its gaming license as well as the continued ramp-up of the company's Wroclaw's operations. The newly opened Wroclaw Casino, which began operations in February 2026 in the historic Hotel Corona overlooking Wroclaw's renowned Market Square, generated expected start-up losses as the property builds awareness and establishes its customer base. Wroclaw is Poland's fourth largest city and one of the country's fastest-growing economic centers, recognized for its thriving technology sector, major universities and vibrant tourism industry. Although start-up costs weighed on second quarter results, management believes this flagship location represents an attractive long-term opportunity as visitation and customer awareness continue to build.

In addition, table game hold at the presidential Warsaw Casino was significantly below historical averages during June, reducing gaming revenue by approximately $1 million versus theoretical expectations. These factors contributed to the reported net operating revenue of $19.9 million and adjusted EBITDA of approximately $0.1 million for the quarter. Despite these temporary headwinds, the underlying outlook for the Polish business is increasingly stable. Prior year comparisons were also affected by approximately $450,000 of onetime adjusted EBITDA add-backs recorded in the second quarter of 2025, consisting of preopening costs and expenses related to the Hilton Warsaw closure, further reducing comparability between periods.

More importantly, Century has now completed the transition of its portfolio with no gaming license expirations scheduled over the next 2 years. Now back to you, Peter.

Peter Hoetzinger: Thank you, Erwin. And I'll now go over some balance sheet items and share our outlook for the rest of the year with you. Our cash and cash equivalents as of June 30 were $60.2 million, up slightly from the first quarter. During Q2, we invested $3.1 million in CapEx, primarily on gaming equipment, bringing year-to-date CapEx to $5.7 million. For the second half of the year, the CapEx forecast is approximately $9.5 million, resulting in total CapEx for 2026 of about $15 million. Total debt outstanding was $336.5 million, resulting in net debt of $276.3 million, a small improvement over the previous quarter.

At the end of the quarter, our net debt-to-EBITDA ratio improved to 6.5x, which excludes the onetime deferred rent [indiscernible], which we paid off earlier this year. We now expect that ratio to further reduce to well below 6x by the end of the year. We are now heading into our strongest cash flow quarter and are seeing positive indications that the business is on the right track to more manageable levels of leverage. And as liquidity improves, we look for opportunities to reduce our debt balances. I'd also like to note that we have no debt maturities for 3 years from now, that is until Q2 of 2029.

As mentioned in previous earnings calls, 2026 is a year of execution and harvesting for us, and we're off to a good start. I would say that July seems very much like another month with double-digit EBITDA growth, which is great. Across the board, we're actually feeling really good for the remainder of the year. Even Poland had a much better July, generating almost as much EBITDA in the month as it did in the entire first half of the year. The regional consumer has been remarkably resilient through the noise that we've seen in the last couple of quarters. Regional and local business is solid.

We expect to continue to benefit from strong improvements and performances at the Nugget as well as in Colorado and from the continued ramp of the new land-based facility in Caruthersville. Cash flow-wise, in addition to higher EBITDA, we expect to benefit from decreasing CapEx. Whilst we spent a total of $18 million last year, we expect that to come down to around $15 million this year. As things move forward, we remain focused on improving our free cash flow generation by optimizing our corporate overhead and remaining disciplined with our capital.

So in all, we are pleased with our second quarter performance, which was driven by our diversified business model, broad-based growth in play from our core customers and the success of our recent capital investments. This concludes our remarks, and we are now ready to take questions from analysts. Operator, go ahead, please.

Operator: [Operator Instructions] And our first question comes from Jeff Stantial of Stifel.

Jeffrey Stantial: Maybe starting off in the U.S. and specifically in Missouri, really strong quarter here. Curious just how much you think this has been driven or helped by the February ruling on skill gains and enforcement that seem to start, call it, late Q1, early Q2. And then moving forward, if this has been a big tailwind for those assets, how do you think about this moving forward just based on your read of how many machines that are -- were previously in the state have been rendered inactive and sort of the pace of enforcement going forward?

Erwin Haitzmann: Okay. Thanks for the question, Jeff. Lyle, why don't you take that, please?

Lyle Randolph: Yes, absolutely. Obviously, we're very excited about the action that the Missouri Attorney General took this spring and with the ruling regarding these illegal games in the state. And so we do think that there's positive impact. In Q2, those impacts were likely kind of spread toward the -- closer to the end of the quarter as we still saw locally, especially still locations that had those games. And in fact, we still see some of those. So we think that there's still continued improvement with the enforcement that we may even see additional opportunity as Missouri begins to enforce the law and get those illegal games out of these locations.

Operator: And our next question comes from Jordan Bender of Citizens.

Jordan Bender: Lyle, welcome. And I actually want to maybe start with you, and you ran through a lot of comments and a very comprehensive kind of overview of the portfolio. In the couple of months that you've been here, I guess, can you just talk about any of the low-hanging fruit that you think can immediately be addressed to help -- the assets seem to be performing pretty well. But are there any kind of low-hanging fruit to help these assets perform even better that you can see over the last couple of months?

Lyle Randolph: As I mentioned, there were -- a lot of the groundwork has been set, but certainly, one of the keys is that we want to ensure that our slot floors are maximized for each of the markets. One of the things we're seeing is that the slot customer is changing. Today, a customer makes a game on social media. They may watch an influencer playing it and they come in, they expect to find that game. And we want to be competitive in that environment. That means getting newer games and product on the floor, whether that's conversions, just making sure we're utilizing our leased product as best we can.

We're going to be very careful about how we do that. We just want to maximize our return on that investment. We may not, in some of our markets, have -- be able to compete with the newest building or -- but what we can do is we can compete on the quality of the gaming experience in those gaming floors. So to me, that's the key piece. And that's what the rest of the business will revolve around, right?

The making sure that we have the games people want to play, the slot floor is optimized and then all the other pieces start to come together, then we can start driving database marketing and pushing those people in to give us another try. I mean there's large opportunities within the -- within our inactive and really those -- that deep inactive to get people back to these properties and to show them the improvements that we've made. So again, I think there's -- I see opportunity really across the portfolio.

Jordan Bender: That was great. And then maybe on the follow-up or just in general, Alberta online gaming just launched a couple of weeks ago. Are you guys seeing any cannibalization from your properties for people who are now just playing iCasino online?

Erwin Haitzmann: Thanks for the question. No, we don't. Maybe it's too early, but maybe it's not happening at all. It may well be that it's a neutral fertilization to an extent.

Operator: And our next question comes from Chad Beynon of Macquarie Group.

Aaron Lee: This is Aaron on for Chad. Nice results in the Nugget again this quarter. It looks like everything is coming together really nicely there. Can you just remind us what operational initiatives, if any, remain unfinished at that property? And how much incremental EBITDA opportunity you believe remains over the next, let's say, 12 to 24 months?

Erwin Haitzmann: Yes. Great question, Chad. It's a question we asked ourselves, and we can give you a detailed answer. And again, Lyle, why don't you take it and guide Chad through what we've mapped out?

Lyle Randolph: Yes. I think that -- I mean we -- these initiatives are ongoing, and we're seeing the results of those each week. And as we see the results coming in, we're continuing to see where we've made adjustments, and we're seeing the positive results from that. With that being said, we still think that there's a lot of ramp-up and a lot of opportunity as we move forward. And we're going to try to get to that. We're going to try to, again, as was previously mentioned, look for that -- the lowest hanging fruit and try to adjust those things. The things we can move quickly are the -- making sure that, obviously, expenses that we're controlling those pieces.

But again, driving additional gaming revenue that's going to flow quickly and again, making sure that our database marketing and our marketing efforts in general are focused on driving the right things. If you would go out to the nugget and you would see I mean these entertainment events, all the different things that we had the 4th of July celebration that brought 10,000 people to the property around our facility. Those things are bringing people and the market is there. Again, we just have to make sure we're prepared to maximize the revenue and the profitability as we bring those folks in, and that's what we're going to be focused on.

Aaron Lee: Great. That's perfect. And then maybe one on Poland. Can you just give us some more color on the signs of improvement that you mentioned in that market and how we should be thinking about the balance of the year as Wroclaw ramps?

Erwin Haitzmann: Yes. That's harder to predict. But by experience, we know every time we open a new location, there's a certain ramp-up time, and we see that now with the Wroclaw Casino as well. So we hope that in the second quarter, this new second Wroclaw Casino will ramp up to the full capacity. And other than that, it's really -- we've just been rattled with these changes in the licensing. So that is now more quiet. It's stable. As we said earlier, we don't have any new licenses coming up during the next 2 years. So whilst it's hard to predict, we are positive that all the various elements that we had will come back together again soon.

Operator: And our next question comes from Ryan Sigdahl of Craig-Hallum Capital Group.

Ryan Sigdahl: Welcome, Lyle, to the call. Lyle, you mentioned theoretical win increased across several of the properties. I guess I know slot optimization you mentioned. But I guess curious given fairly known casino floor win -- theoretical wins, I guess, what's the driving force there?

Erwin Haitzmann: We absolutely have seen the improved player. I think part of -- most of that is really driven in 2 aspects. Again, we're making sure that we have the slot product that people want to play on the floor, particularly those higher-value customers and then marking to them in the right way. And so those 2 pieces, and again, we see that across multiple properties, even in some properties where we may have a little bit of decline in some of the lower segments, all of our properties saw that higher ADT customer improve.

And again, I think that's what you're going to see as we continue to work to make sure that we've optimized the slot floor and then really trying to go out and we have to then tell the people, tell those customers that maybe have not visited in a while, here's the reason to come back.

Ryan Sigdahl: And then maybe for Peter, Erwin. Poland, historically, I thought of this as kind of a $10 million a year EBITDA business. I know several negative moving pieces in Q2 that sound like they've improved in July. But I guess, is that still the right assumption? Or how should we think about that business? Or how do you think about it on a go-forward basis?

Erwin Haitzmann: I'm hesitant to predict, Peter, how do you feel about it. I mean the elements are there to come back to the $10 million, but it's hard to say how and how quickly.

Peter Hoetzinger: Yes. I would say also that the table hold has normalized since June. That's also the July results. But overall, I think $10 million was really the upper range that we saw over the last, say, 5, 6, 7 years. I think we had it right after COVID. But the normalized number is more around $8 million, I would say. And as you know, we own 2/3 of it.

Operator: [Operator Instructions] And our next question comes from Connor Parks of CBRE.

Connor Parks: With all the major properties performing well, another quarter of solid growth here and free cash flow turning a quarter, how has this impacted the portfolio sale discussions and M&A conversation, if at all? And then I guess somewhat related to that, my usual question on the term loan, where are we kind of in the review process? And what are the puts and takes of how you are thinking about the deleveraging discussion?

Erwin Haitzmann: Okay. Peter, can you take that, please?

Peter Hoetzinger: Yes, happy to. In terms of the sales process, as you know, over the last about 3 quarters or so, we have looked very hard at that. And given the diverse nature of our portfolio, we've explored a number of different avenues to unlock value. And we are currently focused on monetizing our international operations to become a fully U.S.-centric company and reduce leverage. We make progress on these initiatives slowly but surely. Poland is the more difficult one with the war next door and that challenging regulatory environment. Currently, 2 groups are in due diligence works. We have not given exclusivity to anybody. So let's see what the outcome there is.

We should get more clarity in a couple of months, but very hard to say. And in Canada, we have 2 packages. I mean we could sell all 4 together or we go the direction of selling the 2 resino in 1 package and the 2 commercial casinos in another package. There's interest for both. And again, one is a little bit more ahead than the other. I think that at least for one of those packages, we should be able to publicly disclose something before the end of the year.

And that impacts the Term Loan B paydown because with our current cash position, yes, we have some free available, but we'd rather wait until we have more clarity on the asset sales and then we can make a meaningful pay down. Also, we are in discussion with our lenders to get more flexibility. So this is all ongoing, and that's all I can comment on. We continue to make progress on all these initiatives, and we'll update the market when we have definitive transactions to announce.

Connor Parks: Great. I really appreciate the color there. And then maybe just last one for me. To ask the Alberta iGaming and sports betting question the other way, is there any opportunity in Alberta to be able to partner with any of these operators that have entered the market? Or is there a potential for new customers coming into the casinos as they're exposed to iGaming opportunities or anything of that sort?

Erwin Haitzmann: I wouldn't see anything...

Peter Hoetzinger: For the sportsbook, that's a possibility for our retail sportsbook. Not so much for, I would agree with Erwin. And it also depends on how those sales negotiations are developing because some interested parties have their own goals or ways of handling that and some not. So we -- at the moment, we play it by year. Some of those sports betting companies have knocked on our doors, and we are in, let's say, early stage talks again because we want to wait and see what those sales processes bring.

Operator: And that is all the time we have for today. If we did not get to your question, please reach out to the company using the Investor Relations page at cnty.com. I will now turn the call back to Mr. Hoetzinger for closing remarks.

Peter Hoetzinger: I thank everybody, and we appreciate you joining our call today. We'll talk again in early November to discuss the results of the third quarter. Until then, thanks a lot, and goodbye.

Operator: Thank you. This does conclude today's Century Casinos Q2 2026 Earnings Call. Thank you for your participation. You may disconnect at any time.