Exhibit 99.1

GOLDEN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTS 2018 THIRD QUARTER RESULTS

Third Quarter Highlights:

- Strong Laughlin and Las Vegas Locals Property Performance

- Stratosphere Renovations and Capital Plan on Schedule and on Budget

- Acquisition of Two Casino Resorts in Laughlin Anticipated to Close in Q1 2019

- Board of Directors Authorizes $25 Million Share Repurchase Program

LAS VEGAS – November 8, 2018 – Golden Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:GDEN) (“Golden Entertainment” or the “Company”) today reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2018. The Company also announced that its Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of up to $25 million of its common stock.

Blake L. Sartini, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Golden Entertainment, commented, “Despite strong performance from our Laughlin and Las Vegas Locals properties, we experienced a challenging third quarter primarily due to weaker than expected results at the Stratosphere and at chain store locations in our Nevada distributed gaming business. We remain confident in the Company’s long-term prospects given the overall health of the Las Vegas economy, the expected benefits from our investments in the Stratosphere, anticipated near-term improvements with our Nevada distributed business and our pending acquisition of two additional casino resorts in Laughlin.”

Mr. Sartini continued, “We are seeing improving trends early in the fourth quarter and expect stronger performance in 2019, particularly at the Stratosphere following the renovation of over 750 rooms and the opening of our new sports book, lounge, and tap room concept. We also expect the closing of the acquisition of the Edgewater and Colorado Belle Resorts to solidify our market leading position in Laughlin and be immediately accretive to our free cash flow. Golden Entertainment remains well-positioned for future growth from these opportunities, as well as the expected addition of six new wholly-owned taverns over the next twelve months and the integration of our player database with a one-card solution across both our casino and distributed gaming businesses.

“Based on the belief that our prospects to create long-term shareholder value are not reflected in our current valuation, our Board has authorized an initial $25 million share repurchase program.”

The Company reported third quarter revenues of $210.3 million, up from $107.7 million in the third quarter of 2017. Net loss for the third quarter of 2018 was $3.1 million or a loss of ($0.11) per diluted share, compared to net income of $8.6 million or earnings of $0.36 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2017. Adjusted EBITDA was $38.1 million for the third quarter compared to $15.1 million for the third quarter of 2017. Adjusted EBITDA was down 7.1%, when compared to Pro Forma Combined Adjusted EBITDA of $41.0 million for the third quarter of 2017, which includes the results of American Casino & Entertainment Properties, LLC (“American”). American was acquired in October 2017.

Casinos

Casino segment revenues grew to $128.8 million in the third quarter of 2018 compared to $27.4 million in the third quarter of 2017. Including the results of American, Pro Forma Combined Revenues would have been $134.3 million in the third quarter of 2017. Casino segment Adjusted EBITDA grew to $37.7 million compared to $8.9 million in the same quarter of 2017. Adjusted EBITDA declined 7.7% when compared to the segment Pro Forma Combined Adjusted EBITDA of $40.8 million for the third quarter of 2017, which includes the results of American.

For our Nevada Casinos, third quarter revenues were $110.1 million, down from $115.6 million compared to Pro Forma Combined Revenues in the prior year period, which includes the results of American, while Adjusted EBITDA of $31.5 million was down 8.8% from Pro Forma Combined Adjusted EBITDA of $34.5 million for the segment in the prior year period. The decline was primarily due to weaker than expected performance at Stratosphere partially offset by strength in both our Laughlin and Las Vegas Locals properties.

Our Rocky Gap Resort in Maryland generated revenue of $18.8 million in the quarter, while Adjusted EBITDA declined 1.6% to $6.2 million, compared to the prior year period.

Distributed Gaming

Distributed Gaming segment revenues increased to $81.2 million, up 1.3% from $80.1 million in the third quarter of 2017. Adjusted EBITDA declined 6.8% to $10.4 million from $11.2 million in the same period of 2017.

In our Nevada distributed gaming business, total revenues during the third quarter were $65.5 million, a year-over-year increase of 0.4%. Adjusted EBITDA of $8.4 million was down 8.2% compared to the same period last year as EBITDA growth in our wholly-owned tavern portfolio continued to be offset by weaker performance from our chain store locations.

Our Montana distributed gaming business generated revenues of $15.7 million in the third quarter, an increase of 5.4% compared to last year. Adjusted EBITDA for the Montana distributed gaming business was $2.0 million for the third quarter, flat to the prior year.

Stratosphere Renovations Update

Stratosphere renovations began in May 2018, including room renovations, the installation of state-of-the-art exterior signage and lighting, as well as the addition of a unique tap room concept connected to a newly renovated sports book and lounge that will be completed in the first quarter of 2019. By the end of 2018, the renovation of 317 rooms will be completed. The Company plans on renovating over 450 additional rooms in 2019 as well as additional food and beverage outlets and a portion of the casino.

Golden Entertainment’s total budget for the Stratosphere renovations continues to be $140 million, with the full project expected to be completed in 2021. When complete, the Stratosphere will have remodeled 1,133 of 2,429 rooms, refreshed the interior and exterior of the property, provided guests with new premium food and beverage outlets and added attractive group meeting space. As of September 30, 2018 the Company had spent approximately $17 million on Stratosphere renovations.

Balance Sheet & Liquidity

As of September 30, 2018, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of approximately $132.4 million and total outstanding debt of approximately $999.7 million, and the Company’s net leverage ratio (total debt less cash to Adjusted EBITDA for the 12 months ended September 30, 2018) was 5.3x. There continues to be no outstanding borrowings under the Company’s revolving credit facility which, today, was upsized to $200 million.

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Share Repurchase Authorization

The Board of Directors has authorized the Company to repurchase up to $25 million shares of common stock, subject to available liquidity, general market and economic conditions, alternate uses for the capital and other factors. Share repurchases may be made from time to time in open market transactions, block trades or in private transactions in accordance with applicable securities laws and regulations and other legal requirements, including compliance with the Company’s finance agreements. There is no minimum number of shares that the Company is required to repurchase and the repurchase program may be suspended or discontinued at any time without prior notice.

Investor Conference Call and Webcast

The Company will host a webcast and conference call today, November 8, 2018 at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time, to discuss the third quarter 2018 results. The conference call may be accessed live by dialing (844) 465-3054 or (480) 685-5227 for international callers and entering the passcode 7967628. A replay will be available beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET on November 8, 2018 and may be accessed by dialing (855) 859-2056 or (404) 537-3406 for international callers; the passcode is 7967628. The replay will be available until November 11, 2018. The call will also be webcast live through the “Investors” section of the Company’s website, www.goldenent.com. A replay of the audio webcast will also be archived on the Company’s website, www.goldenent.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding future events and our future results that are subject to the safe harbors created under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by the use of words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “project,” “potential,” “seek,” “should,” “think,” “will,” “would” and similar expressions, or they may use future dates. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, without limitation, statements regarding: the pending Laughlin acquisition and the expected timing of the closing thereof; the benefits of and realization of cost synergies from the American and Laughlin transactions; estimated future financial and operating results and future net leverage ratio; proposed future capital expenditures, investments and property improvements, including the Stratosphere redevelopment plan and anticipated opening of new tavern locations, and their associated timing, source of funding and cost; and the Company’s plans, strategic priorities, objectives, expectations, intentions, including with respect to its growth prospects and growth opportunities and potential acquisitions. Forward-looking statements are based on our 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 materially include: the failure of our pending Laughlin acquisition to close as anticipated; the Company’s ability to realize the anticipated cost savings, synergies and other benefits of the American and Laughlin transactions and its other acquisitions, and integration risks relating to such transactions; changes in national, regional and local economic, political 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 the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Strategy and 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; factors affecting the gaming, entertainment and hospitality industries generally; and other risks and uncertainties discussed in the Company’s filings with the SEC,

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including the “Risk Factors” sections of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 and most recent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. All forward-looking statements in this press release are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement the Company’s consolidated financial statements presented in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), the Company uses Adjusted EBITDA, Pro Forma Combined Revenues, Pro Forma Combined Net Income and Pro Forma Combined Adjusted EBITDA which measures the Company believes are appropriate to provide meaningful comparison with, and to enhance an overall understanding of, the Company’s past financial performance and prospects for the future. The Company believes Adjusted EBITDA and Pro Forma Combined Adjusted EBITDA provide useful information to both management and investors by excluding specific expenses and gains that the Company believes are not indicative of core operating results. Further, Adjusted EBITDA is a measure of operating performance used by management, as well as industry analysts, to evaluate operations and operating performance and is widely used in the gaming industry. Other companies in the gaming industry may calculate Adjusted EBITDA differently than the Company does.

Pro Forma Combined Revenues, Pro Forma Combined Net Income and Pro Forma Combined Adjusted EBITDA represent historical revenues, net income and Adjusted EBITDA of American (for periods prior to the American acquisition) and Golden on a pro forma combined basis, as if the American acquisition had occurred on the first day of the period presented. All pro forma combined financial information is unaudited. The pro forma combined financial information has been prepared by the Company’s management for illustrative purposes only and does not purport to be indicative of what its results of operations, financial condition or other financial information would have been if the American acquisition and related transactions had occurred at the beginning of the period presented. In addition, the pro forma combined financial information does not reflect non-recurring charges incurred in connection with the American acquisition, nor any cost savings and synergies expected to result from the American acquisition (and associated costs to achieve such savings or synergies), nor any costs associated with severance, restructuring or integration activities resulting from the American acquisition.

The presentation of this additional information is not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliations of Adjusted EBITDA to net income (loss) are provided in the financial information tables below. Additionally, a reconciliation of Pro Forma Combined Revenues to revenues is provided in the financial information tables below.

The Company defines “Adjusted EBITDA” as earnings before interest and other non-operating income (expense), income taxes, depreciation and amortization, acquisition expenses, loss on disposal of property and equipment, share-based compensation expenses, preopening expenses, class action litigation expenses, executive severance, gain on change in fair value of derivative, and other gains and losses. Adjusted EBITDA for a particular segment or operation is Adjusted EBITDA before corporate overhead, which is not allocated to each segment or operation.

About Golden Entertainment, Inc.

Golden Entertainment, Inc. owns and operates gaming properties across two divisions – resort casino operations and distributed gaming. The Company operates approximately 16,000 gaming devices, 121 table games, 5,164 hotel rooms, and provides jobs for over 7,000 team members. Golden Entertainment owns eight resort casinos – seven in Southern Nevada and one in Maryland. Through its distributed gaming business in Nevada and Montana, Golden Entertainment operates slot machines at over 1,000 locations and owns 60 traditional taverns in Nevada. The Company is licensed in Illinois to operate video gaming terminals. Golden Entertainment is focused on maximizing the value of its portfolio by leveraging its scale, leadership position and proven management

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capabilities across its two divisions. On July 16, 2018, the Company announced that it entered into an acquisition agreement for the Edgewater Hotel & Casino Resort and the Colorado Belle Hotel & Casino Resort in Laughlin, Nevada, with the transaction expected to close in the 2019 first quarter. For more information, visit www.goldenent.com.

Contacts

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Golden Entertainment, Inc.

Consolidated Statements of Operations

(Unaudited, in thousands, except per share data)

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Golden Entertainment, Inc.

Supplemental Pro Forma Combined Financial Information

(Unaudited, in thousands)

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Golden Entertainment, Inc.

Supplemental Pro Forma Combined Financial Information (continued)

(Unaudited, in thousands)

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Golden Entertainment, Inc.

Reconciliation of Net Income (Loss) to Adjusted EBITDA

(Unaudited, in thousands)

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Golden Entertainment, Inc.

Reconciliation of Net Income (Loss) to Adjusted EBITDA (continued)

(Unaudited, in thousands)

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Golden Entertainment, Inc.

Consolidated Balance Sheets

(Unaudited, in thousands)