American Casino & Entertainment Properties LLC ('ACEP') Today Reported Financial Results for the Second Quarter Ended June 30, 2010

LAS VEGAS, Aug. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Net revenues were $86.6 million for the second quarter 2010 compared to $94.1 million for the second quarter of 2009, a decrease of 8.0%.  Primarily as a result of our lower Net revenues, an impairment charge at Stratosphere and increased expenses associated with our restructured debt, ACEP reported a Net loss for the second quarter of $7.7 million compared to a Net loss of $844 thousand in the second quarter of 2009. Adjusted EBITDA decreased 19.1% to $17.2 million compared to $21.3 million in 2009.

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The Stratosphere – The Stratosphere experienced an overall decrease in Net revenue due to decreases in occupancy, average daily room rate, and an overall decrease in spend by guests throughout the property.  As a result, we recorded a $2 million non-cash impairment charge to Stratosphere's tradenames. Although Net revenue has continued to decline at Stratosphere, the year-over-year decrease for the three months ended June 30, 2010 was approximately 10.5% compared to year-over-year decreases of 10.8% in the first quarter of 2010 and 13.9% in the three months ended June 30, 2009. In addition, Stratosphere reported its second straight sequential improvement in quarterly Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin.

Arizona Charlie's – The Arizona Charlie's properties experienced an overall decrease in Net revenues with the greatest percentage impact occurring due to decreases in occupancy and average daily room rate.  Although Net revenue decreased at Arizona Charlie's, the year-over-year decrease for the three months ended June 30, 2010 was approximately 10.2% compared to a year-over-year decrease of 18.2% in the three months ended June 30, 2009. The Las Vegas local market continues to be characterized by heavy promotional activity by our competitors.

The Aquarius – The Aquarius experienced a slight decrease in Net revenues. Aquarius' Net revenues decreased 1.2% year-over-year for the three months ended June 30, 2010 compared to a year-over-year decrease of 12.6% for the three months ended June 30, 2009. The most significant decrease was in Food & beverage revenues.

Conference Call Information:

We will hold our second quarter earnings conference call today (Wednesday, August 11, 2010) at 11:30 a.m. (Eastern Time). To attend dial 877-852-6543 (domestic toll-free). The pass code is 8220422. A recording of the call will be available on American Casino & Entertainment Properties LLC's website Investor Relations page, www.acepllc.com.

For more information regarding American Casino & Entertainment Properties LLC, please visit our web site at www.acepllc.com.

Please see the comments at the end of this release for information about non-GAAP financial measures.

Numbers may vary due to rounding.

Numbers may vary due to rounding.

Following are selected statistics related to revenues that we use to make strategic decisions in the day-to-day evaluation of our business, which we believe will be useful to investors when evaluating the performance of our business:

Numbers may vary due to rounding.

1. Win per Unit-Slots represents the total amount wagered in slots less amounts paid out to players, amounts paid on participations and discounts divided by the average number of slot units and days during the period.
2. Win per Unit-Tables represents the total amount wagered on tables less amounts paid out to players and discounts divided by the average number of table units and days during the period.
3. Average Daily Room Rate is the average price of occupied rooms per day.
4. Hotel Occupancy Rate is the average percentage of available hotel rooms occupied during a period.
5. Net Revenues are the gross revenues less promotional allowances.

Non-GAAP Measures:

We have included certain "non-GAAP financial measures" in this earnings release. We believe that EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin are supplemental measures of our operating performance to investors. Management uses these non-GAAP financial measures to evaluate our operating performance and make strategic decisions about our business on a day-to-day basis. EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin are also a commonly used performance measure in our industry: hotel and gaming. We believe EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin together with performance measures calculated in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, GAAP, provide investors a more complete understanding of our operating results before the impact of investing transactions, financing transactions and income taxes, and facilitates more meaningful comparisons between ACEP and its competitors. We calculate EBITDA as earnings before interest expense, depreciation and amortization, and income taxes. Adjusted EBITDA is EBITDA plus gains/losses on the disposal of assets, non-cash impairment charges, loss on the early extinguishment of debt, pre-opening expenses, and management fees. Adjusted EBITDA Margin is calculated by dividing Adjusted EBITDA by Net revenues.

SOURCE American Casino & Entertainment Properties, LLC