Gaming REITs are under pressure, but is the selloff an opportunity hiding in plain sight?
In this C-Suite Series interview, Brad Thomas sits down with Ed Pitoniak, CEO of VICI Properties (ticker: VICI), to break down the Caesars overhang, the MGM privatization news and why Las Vegas demand drivers remain as strong as ever.
We cover:
✔️ Why VICI's underperformance is idiosyncratic (not secular or cyclical) and why that matters
✔️ The Tilman Fertitta/Caesars acquisition: what it means for VICI's largest tenant relationship
✔️ Barry Diller's MGM move and what it signals about the long-term g...
What Edward Pitoniak said
Written from the verified transcript and checked against it. Every figure links to the moment it was said.
Edward Pitoniak, CEO of Vici Properties, discussed the company's stock correction, attributing it to an idiosyncratic factor: the overhang from its largest tenant, Caesars, which accounts for 38% of rent roll. He expressed optimism about Tilman Fertitta's proposed $17.6 billion acquisition of Caesars, seeing it as a potential catalyst to reduce exposure and improve lease coverage. Pitoniak also praised Barry Diller's involvement with MGM, viewing both as endorsements of the gaming industry. He highlighted online gaming's strategic and economic benefits, and confirmed Vici owns the land under the Sphere, noting its success. He discussed the Club Med deal in St. Croix, a $75 million investment, as part of diversification. On fundamentals, he cited lower leverage (8.5x to 5x), a 75% payout ratio, and projected 4% AFFO growth with a 5-6% dividend yield, targeting 8-10% total returns. He concluded that both VICI and GLPI trade below fair value.
Key takeaways
Caesars' 38% rent roll exposure is the key idiosyncratic drag on VICI's stock, but it is fixable.
Tilman Fertitta's $17.6 billion Caesars acquisition could enable VICI to reduce exposure and improve lease coverage.
VICI targets 4% AFFO per share growth and 5-6% dividend yield for 8-10% total returns.
VICI invested $75 million in the Club Med Caneel Bay property in St. Croix for diversification.
VICI's leverage has been reduced from 8.5x to about 5x, with a 75% payout ratio.
Hello everyone, it's Brad Thomas and welcome back to the Wide Moat show. Today I'm joined with our C-suite series with a CEO from Wheatland, Ed Pitoniak with VICI Properties, ticker VICI. Ed, it's good to see you today.
Great. Well, I know we've had many conversations in the past. Thank you for joining us today. This is really a timely interview because we're always looking for companies with wide moats trading at a margin of safety. So I want to start with the volatility we've seen and the VICI story in general. Is this correction a rate issue or how do you see the broader macroeconomic theme behind VICI?
Yeah, Brad, when I think about how to understand the trajectory of a given stock, I always want to know if it's one of three factors: a secular explanation, a cyclical explanation, or an idiosyncratic explanation. For VICI, what we have generally been enduring is not a secular or cyclical downtrend, but an idiosyncratic impact from one very specific issue: the overhang on our stock associated with our exposure to Caesars, our largest tenant at 38% of our rent roll. Because of operator performance, we have seen a decline in lease coverage, especially for the regional portfolio that Caesars leases from us. The key question is whether that idiosyncratic factor is fixable, and as this conversation goes on, we can talk about how we believe it is a fixable situation.
For those watching, Caesars was the original portfolio tenant for VICI. You had 100% exposure day one, now down to 38%. MGM is another relevant topic, about 32% of annual revenue. So let's start with Caesars. Tilman Fertitta agreed to acquire Caesars for $17.6 billion, taking it private. From an investor perspective, what are the advantages and disadvantages of this transaction?
Since day one, our strategy has been dedicated to reducing our exposure to Caesars. We started at 100%, now at 38% after about 8 years. Reducing exposure is not about Caesars being problematic, but part of creating a better REIT with no inordinate single-tenant exposure. With the arrival of Tilman Fertitta, we're quite excited. He has a track record of value creation. Should that deal be consummated, it could be a catalyst for us to continue reducing exposure and improving the lease coverage situation. It's a positive development. We wouldn't anticipate incremental sale-leasebacks from Caesars, but there could be value transfers enabling us to acquire new properties with new tenants.
On transparency: if the Caesars takeover succeeds, there will still be public debt disclosures. Regarding Barry Diller, I'd say the same as for Tilman: you want to be in a business where highly successful people want to increase their exposure. Both Barry Diller and Tilman Fertitta are ringing endorsements of the gaming business. Diller's expression of conviction that MGM can continue to grow as a preeminent entertainment, leisure, and hospitality company. We take confidence that both Caesars and MGM are fundamentally great businesses. Despite the regional lease coverage issue, Caesars has been producing nearly a billion dollars of free cash flow. Good businesses that could get even better.
Online gaming provides both strategic and economic benefits. Strategically, it gives operators like Caesars and MGM an opportunity to engage a younger clientele through digital channels and convert them to omni-channel customers who visit brick and mortar. Economically, these are significantly profitable businesses that enhance the corporate guarantee we enjoy in our leases.
Last point on Vegas. You have two wealthy players making big bets in Las Vegas. Does VICI still own the land underneath the Sphere? And talk about the dynamics of the market in terms of demand drivers.
Yes, we own the land underneath Sphere. I was there on Friday night to see Kenny Chesney's show. Sphere is one of the greatest entertainment venues on Earth. It's also become a leading place to see movies in a unique way. The Wizard of Oz movie at Sphere just crested $400 million in ticket sales — that's in one single theater. This is part of Vegas being an innovative entertainment, leisure, and hospitality destination, now with major sports as well. The US News just named Las Vegas the number one conference destination in America, and The Venetian the foremost conference center. Yes, Las Vegas had a downturn last year, but operators are constantly looking for ways to regenerate demand. We expect a resurgence.
12 more exchanges in this transcript
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Pitoniak, E. (2026, June 29). Why This REIT CEO Isn't Worried About Caesars, MGM or the Selloff (VICI CEO Interview) [Interview transcript]. Wide Moat Research. CEOInterviews.AI. https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1050924/
MLA
Edward Pitoniak. "Why This REIT CEO Isn't Worried About Caesars, MGM or the Selloff (VICI CEO Interview)." Wide Moat Research, 29 Jun. 2026. Transcript, CEOInterviews.AI, https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1050924/.
BibTeX
@misc{pitoniak2026_1050924,
author = {Edward Pitoniak},
title = {Why This REIT CEO Isn't Worried About Caesars, MGM or the Selloff (VICI CEO Interview)},
howpublished = {Interview transcript, Wide Moat Research. CEOInterviews.AI},
year = {2026},
month = {jun},
url = {https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1050924/},
note = {Speaker-attributed transcript with timestamps}
}
