Golden Entertainment continues wholly-owned tavern expansion in 2017 - Seven new Las Vegas Valley locations planned for development

January 10, 2017

Golden Entertainment continues wholly-owned tavern expansion in 2017 Seven new Las Vegas Valley locations planned for developmentLAS VEGAS (January 10, 2017) – Golden Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:GDEN), the largest traditional tavern gaming operator in Nevada, announced Tuesday the company currently plans to open seven new taverns in the Las Vegas Valley that are scheduled for completion in 2017.Five of the taverns will be located in the growing southwest region of Clark County. A sixth location is in the City of Las Vegas’ northwest area near Centennial Hills. The seventh tavern is in the Green Valley Ranch section of Henderson. The seven locations include six greenfield developments plus the acquisition of an existing tavern operated by a third party.The development plans will give Golden Entertainment a total of 60 taverns in Nevada by the end of 2017 and follows the company’s 2016 growth activities, which saw Golden Entertainment open five new taverns. The company’s tavern brands include PT’s Pub, PT’s Gold, PT’s Ranch, PT’s Brewing Co., Sean Patrick’s, Sierra Gold and SG Bar.“Last year marked a milestone of the organic growth of our tavern business, and our 2017 openings will continue our company’s goal of expanding our presence and reinvesting in Nevada,” said Blake L. Sartini II, senior vice president of distributed gaming for Golden Entertainment. “We expect the continued strength of the Las Vegas local economy to support not only our currently planned 2017 openings but additional future taverns across all our brands.”The locations currently planned for the 2017 expansion include: - 7355 South Buffalo Drive near West Warm Springs Road – near the Rhodes Ranch residential and golf community. - South Valley View Boulevard north of Interstate 215 in an existing tavern site. - 4880 West Silverado Ranch Boulevard near South Decatur Boulevard. - A development site on Blue Diamond Road and South El Capitan Way, near the Mountain’s Edge residential community. - 8275 South Fort Apache Road near Huntington Cove Parkway, situated just west of Rhodes Ranch. - 7550 Oso Blanca Road, near North Durango Drive in Centennial Hills. - A development site in the Green Valley Ranch community of Henderson.Each new tavern location will offer up to 15 video gaming devices and a wide variety of dining and beverage selections, including award-winning bar food and happy hour options. The seven taverns are expected to create more than 200 full-time and part-time jobs for Southern Nevada residents.Golden Entertainment, Inc. owns and operates gaming properties across two divisions – distributed gaming and casino operations. Golden Entertainment operates more than 12,000 gaming devices and nearly 30 table games in Nevada, Maryland and Montana. The Company owns four casino properties, more than 50 taverns and operates approximately 980 distributed gaming locations in multiple jurisdictions. Golden Entertainment is focused on leveraging its scale, market leadership and proven management capabilities to maximize profitability of its operations and value for its shareholders. For more information, visit www.goldenent.com.Forward-Looking Statements This press release may be deemed to contain forward-looking statements regarding future events and our future results that are subject to the safe harbors created under federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by the use of words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “intend,” “plan,” “project,” “potential,” “seek,” “should,” “think,” “will,” “would” and similar expressions. In addition, forward-looking statements include statements regarding the Company’s strategies, objectives, business opportunities and plans for future expansion, developments or acquisitions (including the anticipated timing of construction and completion of additional taverns and the expected size, scope, designs and features thereof, such as brewing capacity and breadth of product offerings), anticipated future growth and trends in the Company’s business or key markets, projections of future financial condition, operating results, income, capital expenditures, costs or other financial items, anticipated regulatory and legislative changes, the Company’s ability to utilize the net operating loss carryforwards (“NOLs”) to offset future taxable income, as well as other statements that are not statements of historical fact. Forward-looking statements are based on the Company’s current expectations and assumptions regarding the Company’s business, the economy and other future conditions. These forward-looking statements are subject to assumptions, risks and uncertainties that may change at any time, and readers are therefore cautioned that actual results could differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include: unanticipated design, permitting, construction and regulatory risks and delays, customer acceptance of the Company’s new product offerings, the Company’s ability to realize the anticipated cost savings, synergies and other benefits of the merger with Sartini Gaming, Inc. and the acquisitions of distributed gaming assets in Montana, and integration risks relating to such transactions, changes in national, regional and local economic and market conditions, legislative and regulatory matters (including the cost of compliance or failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations), increases in gaming taxes and fees in the jurisdictions in which the Company operates, litigation, increased competition, the Company’s ability to renew its distributed gaming contracts, reliance on key personnel (including our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer), the level of the Company’s indebtedness and the Company’s ability to comply with covenants in its debt instruments, terrorist incidents, natural disasters, severe weather conditions, the effects of environmental and structural building conditions, the effects of disruptions to the Company’s information technology and other systems and infrastructure, the occurrence of an “ownership change” as defined in Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code, and factors affecting the gaming, entertainment and hospitality industries generally. In addition, please refer to the risk factors contained in the Company’s SEC filings available at www.sec.gov, including the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements for any reason.Investor Relations Contact: Ryan Ripley, Director of Financial Reporting (702) 891-4264 [email protected] Relations Contact: Howard Stutz, Vice President of Corporate Communications (702) 495-4490 [email protected]###