Brief: Profit falls for LV gaming company

Tuesday, Feb. 16, 1999 | 11:53 a.m.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization fell from $3.8 million last year to $3.3 million.

The company attributed the higher revenues to the opening of new locations of existing slot route chain store customers, and the lower earnings to decreases in revenues at existing locations, increases in depreciation expenses and lower nonoperating income.

Jackpot also said it bought back 163,200 shares of common stock in the six months that ended Dec. 31, and said it has bought back 785,385 shares since its buy-back program was announced in October, 1996.

Las Vegas-based Jackpot operates 4,200 gaming machines on a slot route at about 400 locations. The company also owns two small casinos in Northern Nevada it is trying to sell.

Last week, Jackpot said it would acquire Players International Inc., an Atlantic City-based company that owns riverboat casinos in the South and Midwest, for $424 million in cash, stock and debt. Last year, the company announced it would buy Miami-based casino operator and developer CRC Holdings Inc., for $71.3 million in stock. Neither purchase has been completed.

The Players deal will create "significant synergies and operational efficiencies that will enhance cash flow and earnings per share," said Don Kornstein, Jackpot's president and chief executive.