As with the entire global business industry, gaming stock prices have plummeted because of the coronavirus. The casino ecosystem is at a virtual standstill due to the pandemic, and financial losses are projected to reach tens of billions of dollars, if not more. With trading already having been halted more than once recently due to extreme market weakness, the situation does have a bright side. It makes for a perfect buying opportunity and the chairman and CEO of Gaming and Leisure Properties (GLP), a casino-centric real estate investment trust, has taken full advantage of the downturn. Peter Carlino just picked up 80,000 shares in the company, currently worth about $2 million.

On February 21, GLP was trading at a six-month high of $50.30. Since then, it plunged to a low of $15.14 on March 18, recovering to $19.74 as of yesterday. Carlino, a former Penn National Gaming executive who helped facilitate the launch of GLP from the company in 2012, made his recent stake acquisitions from March 13 to March 16 as the share price continued to drop.

The purchases were confirmed by filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). They were, according to Carlino, designed to bolster investor confidence in the company – not, of course, because it was a perfect money-making exercise. When the stock recovers, which it eventually will, Carlino stands to almost triple his investment if the price returns to pre-coronavirus levels.

The way Carlino spins it sounds more entertaining, though. The last time he purchased company stock was just over two years ago, and he said in a statement about his latest acquisition, “I am purchasing GLPI shares because they are deeply undervalued and do not reflect the Company’s strong balance sheet, liquidity, growing free cash flow and EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization], its 14%+ dividend yield or its strong competitive position in the gaming REIT industry.”