Ark Restaurants Corp. (NASDAQ:ARKR) Q1 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Unidentified Analyst: Yes, good morning. Just on the Meadowlands, can you give just your best guess, it can be a wild guess in terms of the possible timing? I realize its forces beyond our control, including government officials and all that. But what would be your best guess if you had to make money?

Michael Weinstein: I think you got – I differ a little bit from my partners. We’re the third largest shareholder. A developer in New York is the largest shareholder and then Hard Rock is a 20% shareholder. And I guess, on a fully diluted basis, we’re at 7.8% of the casino. I want to remind everybody that we have exclusivity on all the food and beverage – if the casino is built with the exception of a carve-out for a Hard Rock cafe. So – my partners strongly believe that it’s not the issuance of downstate licenses that will be the tipping point to get New Jersey moving, but really to have casinos open in New York and it ensure we’ll see what that’s doing to Atlantic City. I take the attitude that once the – this whole thing will go into motion once they start to issue licenses.

And if they issue a license in Manhattan, and there are several groups we later being one of them. And Hard Rock being another one, by the way, interested in casino licenses within the Manhattan area, not in Queens and not in Long Island. I would think that would be enough to get New Jersey moving. So, I think we’re a year away from that. And then – there has to be a referendum to change state constitution to allow for a casino outside of Atlantic City. So I think we’re two years away, that’s what I think.

Unidentified Analyst: That’s helpful, thank you. And are there – what is like the governor’s position or the senator’s position? Has there been any conversation among the higher level politicians?

Michael Weinstein: Murphy has always been in favor of it from what I’m told. I think he’s had some direct conversations where he had said that. The legislature I think is more inclined positively than they have been in the past, because the new legislative body from the last election, I think is better for us, if I look at the key people who would move the legislation forward. So, I think the situation has improved, but it’s still very speculative so.

Unidentified Analyst: Understood, thank you. And then – can you give us an update on any possible acquisitions? And are we correct in sort of thinking that the acquisitions that you’d like to make are going to be more and more in the Southeast and the Gulf states or is that just been the recent trend?

Michael Weinstein: I’d like to say one more thing about the Meadowlands just so you get an idea of why we think we’re in such a strong position. The Meadowlands does more sports betting than all the Atlantic City casinos put together. And I think it’s either the first or second best sports betting site in the country. So there would be an inclination, I think, given that traffic and the amount of betting that’s already taking place the Meadowlands that, that would be the favorite site for casino in the North. So in answer to your other question, we’re constantly looking. We happen to have two very smart business brokers in Florida who show us deals. Recently, we’ve been looking at four deals. We sort of discarded – and we look and we go, this is it, and we kicked the tires and we have our criteria.