Protell Charles 4

What Happened

• Charles Protell, President and Chief Financial Officer of Golden Entertainment (GDEN), exercised/converted a total of 53,178 derivative awards on Feb 27, 2026. Of those, 21,025 shares were withheld to satisfy tax withholding obligations at $28.90 per share, resulting in $607,623 withheld. After withholding, Protell received a net of 32,153 shares.
• On the same date he was also granted/awarded 78,005 derivative awards (40,890 and 37,115 RSU/PSU awards reported as grants at $0.00). The filings show the conversions/vests and the tax-withholding related to those derivative instruments.

Key Details

• Transaction date: 2026-02-27 (report filed 2026-02-27).
• Converted/exercised (code M): 8,758 + 18,204 + 11,780 + 14,436 = 53,178 shares.
• Tax withholding/payment (code F): 21,025 shares withheld at $28.90 = $607,623.
• Grants/awards (code A): 40,890 RSUs and 37,115 RSUs/PSUs granted (total 78,005).
• Net shares issued to Protell after withholding: 32,153 (53,178 converted - 21,025 withheld).
• Shares owned after transaction: not reported in this Form 4.
• Relevant footnotes:
  • RSUs convert one-for-one into common stock; each RSU is a contingent right to one share.
  • Shares were withheld to satisfy statutory income tax withholding upon vesting.
  • Some grants are time-based RSUs with multi-year vesting schedules; PSUs shown were earned under prior grants and vest per their terms.
  • Additional dividend-equivalent shares were included in the award totals and follow original vesting schedules.
• Filing timeliness: Filed same day as transactions (no late filing indicated).

Context

• These are compensation-related derivative conversions and awards (RSUs/PSUs) with shares withheld to cover taxes — a routine, non-open-market transaction. The withholding behaves like a "cashless" settlement for taxes (shares surrendered instead of cash).
• Such transactions are common for executives when awards vest or are settled and do not necessarily indicate a buy/sell market signal.