Mathew Ellis: Sure. Thanks, Chad. I think the place we see the biggest return is our developing markets. A great example is Nebraska. Those investments there, as that market ramps, the primary catalyst there now is increased demand as players in that market get used to the product and we see like the product. Again, the percentages are outrageous, but we’re starting at low numbers. But that market has turned EBITDA positive, and we expect to see decent growth out of it again. On the Illinois side, you can kind of divide it into two sort of investments. One is the investment in extending revenue, which while you don’t get that growth, you get that certainty in revenue and consistent revenue. The other half, you do get it where you’re taking out a less desirable machine with a better machine.
And you are able to work with that owner to drive more traffic because they have a better offering. So we are seeing those returns. The biggest return, again, would be in the developing markets. In Illinois, when you have that, I would say that it takes a little longer, obviously, particularly at your best location because the demand is there. And it’s more the players expect it rather than the demand at those locations change because new product comes. But in both cases, we are happy with the returns we’re seeing.
Chad Beynon: Great. Appreciate it. Nice quarter guys.
Andrew Rubenstein: Thanks, Chad.
Operator: Our next question comes from Greg Gibas with Northland. Please proceed.
Gregory Gibas: Great. Thank you. Just wanted to clarify, I think you said Illinois same-store sales up 3% for the full-year. Wondering if there were any differences in Q4. Was that just about in line with that 3%?
Mathew Ellis: So Q4 was a tad lower, as you saw in the press release. And again, I think the biggest thing is to just look at the weather. Again, play is consistent, right? It’s these other things we can’t control. Ironically, a nice mild weekend in the winter can really move the needle. And in 2022, we had good weather; 2023, overall, in this winter in the Midwest has been mild. But I don’t think there’s anything to look at other than more just you look at the overall local gaming space, and the demand is still there, Greg, in a good way. And we saw that again here, we had a few rough weekends in January. But overall, revenues coming in like we expect. Again, it’s a more modest growth than the old of mid-single digits, but we’re up a little. And it’s what we’d expect to see in an environment like this, which I think compared to overall sort of local gaming, our business is holding up very well.
Gregory Gibas: Okay. Great. And I just wanted to ask, if anything, regarding your prospects in Nebraska or Georgia. But specifically Nebraska, like how should we – has anything changed, I guess, in terms of the prospects you’re seeing there? And I think the rate – you’re close to 240 locations now versus 140 a year ago. Should we think about that rate of growth? Or do you think like an acquisition makes sense to kind of accelerate your presence in the market? Just curious how you’re thinking about growth within Nebraska?
Andrew Rubenstein: Yes. Thanks, Greg. We’re looking at acquisitions all the time. We’ve seen a lot of growth recently organically. It’s pretty clear that, like we are the premium preferred vendor and business partner to establishments, especially in Nebraska. I mean there’s a large gap. And I don’t think that gap is going to be closed anytime soon. So we’re winning these new partners over and over again. And I think the need for an acquisition isn’t as great. The other thing I will tell you is there are a couple opportunities that we’re evaluating. And I wouldn’t be surprised if, by the end of the year, one of them kind of decides, hey, this is my time and Accel is my partner.
Gregory Gibas: Great. Thanks. I guess a quick follow-up would just be, are you able to comment on maybe what market or markets that we’d be in if we were to see something before the end of the year?
Andrew Rubenstein: I mean, I think it’s hard to predict because the seller may be talking to us or may be engaged. I think you’ll see – we’ll probably do a couple of things outside of Illinois. And whether something happens in Illinois or not, really uncertain. But I think you’ll see some growth outside of Illinois. It’s one of our focuses, as we’ve discussed. Which market? Uncertain right now, but I think you’ll – we’ll definitely execute on that.
Gregory Gibas: Okay. That’s fair. Thank you.
Operator: Thank you all for your questions. There are currently no questions registered. [Operator Instructions] We have no questions waiting at this time. So I’d like to pass the conference to Andy Rubenstein for closing remarks.
Andrew Rubenstein: Thank you all for joining us today. Like we said, we had a very strong 2023; 2024 is definitely off to the right start. And we’re very optimistic that Accel will continue its growth trajectory. And as I just recently said that the opportunities outside of Illinois are presenting themselves every day. And the question is what we actually execute on and the performance that we’ll be able to provide whether it’s on the latter part of 2024 or that you’ll see in 2025. So thank you again, and look forward to reconvening in about three months. Thanks.
Operator: That will conclude today’s conference call. Thank you all for your participation. You may now disconnect your lines.
