Buena Vista Gaming Authority — Moody’s upgrades Buena Vista Gaming Authority’s CFR to Caa1, outlook stable

Rating Action: Moody’s upgrades Buena Vista Gaming Authority’s CFR to Caa1, outlook stableGlobal Credit Research – 02 Apr 2021New York, April 02, 2021 — Moody’s Investors Service (“Moody’s”) today upgraded Buena Vista Gaming Authority’s (“Buena Vista”) Corporate Family Rating (“CFR”) to Caa1 from Caa3, Probability of Default Rating (“PDR”) to Caa1-PD from Caa3-PD, and 13% senior secured notes due April 2023 to Caa1 from Caa3. The outlook was changed to stable from negative.Buena Vista, an unincorporated governmental instrumentality of the Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians (“Tribe), was created in 2009. Buena Vista owns Harrah’s NorCal, a Class III gaming facility that originally opened in April 2019 near Ione, California, about 45 miles southeast of Sacramento, California. Harrah’s NorCal Casino is operated under a consulting agreement with Caesars Entertainment, Inc. Harrah’s NorCal temporarily closed on March 18, 2020 due to coronavirus concerns. Operations were reinstated on June 1, 2020.The upgrade considers Buena Vista’s EBITDA performance since Harrah’s NorCal re-opened last June. EBITDA for the quarter ended 30-Sep-2020 more than doubled from the comparable prior year period and was about 40% higher than what Moody’s initially projected the quarter would be. This, along with the expectation that Buena Vista’s EBITDA improvements will continue, and for fiscal 2021 will generate between $10 million and $15 million positive free cash flow after cash interest,…