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Boyd Gaming Reports Record Results

LAS VEGAS – (PRESS RELEASE) -- Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE: BYD) today reported its financial results for the first quarter 2005. The Company reported record adjusted earnings(1) of $.64 per share, an increase of 121% over the $.29 per share reported in the first quarter last year. This result represents the third quarter in a row in which adjusted earnings per share were more than double the comparable quarter in the prior year. Adjustments for the first quarter were principally preopening expenses and a cumulative effect of a change in accounting principle. The adjustment for last year's first quarter was for an Indiana state income tax assessment. This quarter's results include the operations of the four properties of Coast Casinos, which the Company acquired on July 1, 2004, and Sam's Town Shreveport, which the Company acquired in May 2004. Per share amounts are reported on a diluted basis.

Dividend Payout Increased by 47%

The Company announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $.125 per share payable on June 1, 2005, to shareholders of record on May 13, 2005. This is the second time the Company has increased its dividend payout in the past nine months. On an annualized basis, the new dividend rate is $.50 per share, up from the previous annualized rate of $.34 per share.

First Quarter Results

The Company reported record EBITDA of $170 million for the first quarter, an increase of 111% over the $81 million reported for the first quarter last year. This is the third consecutive quarter in which the Company reported EBITDA more than double the amount reported in the comparable quarter a year earlier. On a same-store basis, EBITDA for the quarter was 17.1% above the first quarter 2004. All six of the Company's operating units reported year-over-year increases in revenue, EBITDA and EBITDA margin. The widespread nature of the EBITDA gains in this year's first quarter versus the prior year is evidenced by the following statistics:

* Boulder Strip EBITDA increased 12.8%

* Coast Casinos EBITDA, as compared to its first quarter results when it operated as an independent company, increased 29%

* Stardust EBITDA increased 30%

* Downtown Properties EBITDA increased 13.5%

* Central Region EBITDA increased 27% (an 8.8% increase on a same-store basis)

* The Company's share of Borgata's operating income (before amortization expense) increased 65%

Revenues for the first quarter were a record $567 million, an increase of 72% over the $330 million reported for the first quarter last year, principally due to the additions of the Coast and Shreveport properties. On a same-store basis, revenues were up 3.2% for the quarter versus the comparable quarter in the prior year. Income for the first quarter before the cumulative effect of a change in accounting principle was $56.5 million, or $.63 per share, versus $13.5 million, or $.20 per share, reported for the first quarter 2004. In this year's first quarter, the Company's weighted average diluted shares were 23.3 million greater than last year's average for the comparable quarter, due principally to shares issued in the Coast Casinos merger.

Regarding the cumulative effect charge, a recent change in accounting rules necessitated a change in the method used in the annual test for the value of intangible license rights that the Company had originally recorded when it acquired properties in limited license jurisdictions. This resulted in a first quarter non-cash charge, described as a cumulative effect of a change in accounting principle, of $25.4 million ($16.4 million, net of tax), or $.18 per share. The description of the accounting rule change and the first quarter charge, which occurred with respect to only one of the Company's properties, is more fully described in footnote (d) later in this release.

Bill Boyd, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Boyd Gaming, commented, "I am extremely pleased with the results of our Company's operations in the first quarter. Revenue and earnings gains were made across the board. In the booming Nevada market, our quarterly EBITDA broke the $100 million mark for the first time, nearly three and a half times what it was in last year's first quarter. The Las Vegas locals market remains one of the best places to operate in our business, and in the quarter we derived about half of our EBITDA from the stellar performances of our locals-oriented properties. And Borgata continues to prove what great results a fabulous, well-run facility can produce as it continues to outdistance the competition in the Atlantic City market.

"My enthusiasm for our operating results does not overshadow my enthusiasm for our growth prospects. The coming addition of South Coast to our Las Vegas locals portfolio, the expansions that are underway at Borgata, the major expansion now going on at Blue Chip, the just-opened expansion at Delta Downs, and the early planning efforts on an exciting major development on the 63-acre Stardust site will place great assets in proven successful markets. We believe we have among the best growth pipelines in the gaming industry today. Additionally, the substantial increase in our dividend payout reflects our confidence in both our current operations and prospects for continued earnings growth."

In footnote (1), you will find a discussion of how and why the Company uses adjusted earnings, adjusted earnings per share, EBITDA (non-GAAP measures of earnings as defined in footnote (1)) and EBITDA margin, performance measurements widely used in the gaming industry. As used in this release, EBITDA for a particular operating segment (adjusted EBITDA) is before corporate expense. Further in this release you will also find tables that reconcile certain non-GAAP measurements to GAAP financial information.

Borgata

The Company also reported first quarter results for Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa, the Company's joint venture property in Atlantic City. As an unconsolidated joint venture, Borgata's results appear in only two lines of the Company's consolidated statements of operations; therefore, more detailed financial information is presented in tables later in this release.

For the first quarter, Borgata reported gaming revenue of $162 million, an increase of 15.6% over the first quarter 2004, and non-gaming revenue of $53.5 million, an increase of 6.1% over the first quarter last year. Net revenues for the quarter were $172 million, a gain of 18.0% over last year's first quarter. Borgata reported EBITDA for the first quarter of $56.9 million, a 42% increase over the $40.1 million reported in last year's first quarter. Borgata's EBITDA margin for the quarter was 33.0% versus 27.5% reported in the prior period. Hotel occupancy for the quarter was 93%, well ahead of the same measure reported last year, and the average daily room rate was $123.

Borgata's casino win for the first quarter was the highest in the Atlantic City market, $15.6 million more than the much larger Bally's, which had the second highest casino win. In addition, Borgata's growth rate in casino win from the prior year was the highest in the market. Borgata's market-leading table game win for the quarter was up 8.0% over the same quarter last year, while the property's slot win for the quarter gained 18.5% over the prior year's first quarter. In win per unit, Borgata's tables won $4,574 per day for the quarter and its slots won $324 per day for the quarter, both leading the market by wide measures.

Bob Boughner, Chief Executive Officer of Borgata, said, "Our strong results for both this quarter and for the fourth quarter 2004 show that offering great experiences with excellent product and service can take most of the seasonality out of what has traditionally been a seasonal market. We hope to keep building on our success, both with what we offer today and also with the new amenities that we are adding in 2006 and 2007 to meet the large existing demand for our product."

Wholly-owned Properties

The Company reports results from its wholly-owned properties in five segments. For a listing of the specific properties in each unit, see the introduction to the tables appearing after the text of this release.

-Boulder Strip

The Las Vegas locals-oriented Boulder Strip properties, benefiting from a strong Las Vegas economy, reported record EBITDA and EBITDA margin for the first quarter. Notably, the unit's first quarter EBITDA exceeded the former record result, set in the previous quarter, by 12.5%. For this year's first quarter, revenues were up 6.2%, EBITDA was up 12.8% and EBITDA margin was up 1.8 percentage points, all as compared to the first quarter 2004.

-Coast Casinos

As the merger with Coast Casinos was completed on July 1, 2004, there are no results for Coast for the first quarter 2004 in the Company's financial statements. Therefore, all comparisons presented here are with Coast's pre-merger results of operations when they were an independent company, which results are reconciled in a table later in this release. Coast's revenues for the first quarter were a record $188 million, an increase of 14.2% over the first quarter last year. EBITDA for the first quarter was a record $68.2 million, a 29% increase over the prior period. EBITDA margin for the first quarter was a record 36.3%, up from 32.1% for the first quarter 2004, as 66% of the incremental revenue flowed through to the EBITDA line. These results continue to demonstrate the strength of the Las Vegas economy. An additional factor contributing to the unit's strong performance was the 461 new hotel rooms at The Orleans that came on line in the fourth quarter 2004.

-Stardust

The Stardust reported its best revenue and EBITDA quarter in many years. Revenues for the first quarter were $40.7 million, an increase of 5.1% over the $38.8 million reported for the first quarter last year, principally the result of a 14.0% increase in slot revenue. EBITDA for the first quarter was $7.1 million, a gain of 30% over the comparable quarter in the prior year. Notably, for the last four quarters, Stardust EBITDA totaled just slightly under $20 million, representing a strong recovery from the results of recent years.

-Downtown Properties

Revenues for the Downtown Properties increased 5.7% for the first quarter versus the prior year's first quarter. EBITDA for the first quarter was $11.4 million, a 13.5% increase over the $10.1 million reported in the prior year's first quarter. This strong gain was reported despite a $1.3 million increase in the cost of jet fuel in the unit's air charter operations, when compared with the first quarter last year.

-Central Region

The six Central Region properties reported a 22% increase in revenues and a 27% increase in EBITDA for the first quarter versus the comparable quarter in 2004. This quarter's results include Sam's Town Shreveport, which the Company acquired in May 2004. On a same-store basis, first quarter revenues increased 1.3% and EBITDA rose 8.8% over the first quarter 2004. Four of the five properties that operated in both periods reported higher EBITDA in the quarter versus the comparable quarter last year, with only Sam's Town Tunica reporting a decline. Contributing to the EBITDA gains were Par-A-Dice, due to lower 2005 gaming tax expense; Delta Downs, helped by the completion of construction in March; and Sam's Town Shreveport, which reported its best quarter since the Company's acquisition as the property's rebranding efforts took hold.

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