Golden Entertainment is hoping that Nevada will share plenty of similarities with Montana. The Strat’s operator, as well Arizona Charlie’s and 60 Las Vegas pubs and taverns, thinks pent up demand could mean big revenues when Governor Steve Sisolak eventually allows Nevada gambling operations to resume.

Montana’s recently re-opened slot machine locations have revealed pent-up demand at pre-closure levels, causing CEO Blake Sartini to be optimistic on a conference call about what it could mean for Nevada locations, which they hope will reopen by the end of May. “We have not missed a beat in Montana,” Chief Financial Officer Charles Protell added.

But before getting to that good news, they covered the financial hit the company has taken. Golden Entertainment Inc has drawn from its $200 million credit facility and deferred capital expenses to endure the COVID-19 pandemic, and reported a 13.6 percent decline in revenue. Net losses are up by a multiple of four year over year.

“The COVID-19 pandemic forced the mandated closure of all our operations beginning in mid-March and continues to have an unprecedented impact on our business and the gaming and entertainment industry in general,” Sartini said. “This is reflected in our first-quarter financial results, notwithstanding our significant year-over-year growth through February prior to the suspension of our operations.”