Buyout causes rise in operator’s earnings

Thursday, April 20, 2000 | 11:04 a.m.

Lakes Gaming Inc., a Minneapolis-based operator of tribal casinos across the country, reported net income of $16.1 million, or $1.52 per share, for the quarter ending April 2.

The figure represented a 90 percent increase over Lakes' earnings per share in the year-ago quarter. Revenues rose 106 percent to $31.1 million.

All of those increases, however, were caused by the early buyout of Lakes' management contract to operate the Grand Casino Avoyelles for the Tunica-Biloxi tribe of Louisiana. This buyout raised Lakes' revenues by $16 million and expenses by $1.4 million.

Excluding the effect of the buyout, Lakes earned 71 cents per share, an 11 percent decline from the year-ago quarter.

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