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Current Report · Items 5.02, 8.01, 9.01 · 8-K

Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc.

PLAYNASDAQEQUITYCurrent

Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements · Other Events

Item 5.02. Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers. Appointment of Amanda Busby as Chief Operations Officer On August 11, 2026, the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (the “Company”) appointed Amanda Busby as Chief Operations Officer. Ms.…

Filed Sep 21, 2026Accepted Sep 21, 2026, 2:16 PM EDTCIK 1525769Accession 0001525769-26-000041
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Company context

Founded in 1982 and headquartered in Coppell, Texas, Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. is the owner and operator of 250 stores in North America that offer premier entertainment and dining experiences to guests through two distinct brands: Dave & Buster’s and Main Event. The Company has 184 Dave & Buster’s branded stores in 43 states, Puerto Rico, and Canada and offers guests the opportunity to “Eat Drink Play and Watch” all in one location. Each store offers a full menu of entrées and appetizers, a complete selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, and an extensive assortment of entertainment attractions centered around playing games and watching live sports and other televised events. The Company also operates 66 Main Event branded stores in 24 states across the country, and offers state-of-the-art bowling, laser tag, hundreds of arcade games and virtual reality, making it the perfect place for families to connect and make memories. Internationally, the Company is in early-stage growth as a franchisor of its brands with six Dave & Buster’s franchise stores currently open. For more information about each brand, visit daveandbusters.com and mainevent.com.

Current securities

Recent company filings

  1. 4/A filingSep 17, 2026
  2. Results of Operations and Financial ConditionSep 14, 2026
  3. 10-Q filingSep 14, 2026
  4. 4 filingSep 2, 2026
  5. 4 filingAug 13, 2026

Registered securities in this filing

DAVE & BUSTER’S ENTERTAINMENT, INC. · 8-K · Filed 2026-09-21

As filed in this accession. Current/historical status below comes from the governed listing record; the cover itself remains exact to this filing.

Common Stock $0.01 par value

Symbol
PLAY
Exchange
NASDAQ
Classification
COMMON
Status
Current
Filing context

Context: c-2

Dimensions: Not supplied

Accession 000152576926000041 · 1 registered-security cover member

Read the exact SEC filing ↗

Disclosure sections

Items 5.02, 8.01, 9.01

Select an item to read the extracted section. The as-filed document remains the primary evidence.

Item 5.02Item 5.02 - Departure/Election of Directors
Item 5.02. Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers. Appointment of Amanda Busby as Chief Operations Officer On August 11, 2026, the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (the “Company”) appointed Amanda Busby as Chief Operations Officer. Ms. Busby, age 53, brings more than 30 years of leadership experience across the restaurant, hospitality and entertainment industries. Prior to joining the Company, Ms. Busby served as President of Operational Excellence, Commercial, Culinary and Marketing of SSP America, Inc. (“SSP America”) from July of 2025 to August of 2026 and Chief Operating Officer of SSP America from January of 2022 to July of 2025, where she led operations for a business consisting of more than 450 restaurants across nearly 60 airports throughout North America. Prior to SSP America, Ms. Busby spent 19 years with Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc., ultimately serving as Vice President of Operations. Effective as of August 11, 2026, in connection with Ms. Busby’s appointment as Chief Operations Officer of the Company, Ms. Busby and the Company entered into an employment agreement (the “Busby Agreement”), which provides for, among other things, (i) an annualized base salary of $450,000 per year, (ii) an annual cash bonus with a target bonus of 70% of Ms. Busby’s annual salary, (iii) eligibility to participate in the Dave & Buster’s Entertainment, Inc. 2025 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “LTIP”) and (iv) eligibility to participate in the Company’s employee benefit plans as in effect from time-to-time on the same basis as generally made available to other similarly situated employees of the Company. In connection with her appointment, on August 31, 2026, Ms. Busby received a one-time grant of (a) 72,464 restricted stock units (“RSUs”) that will vest in three substantially equal installments on each of the first, second and third anniversaries of the date of the grant, (b) a stock option representing the right to purchase 74,294 shares of the Company’s common stock (the “Common Stock”) with an exercise price of $8.97 per share that will become earned if the Company’s stock price reaches specified multiples of the exercise price by August 31, 2029 and will vest annually in three substantially equal installments thereafter, and (c) performance stock units (“PSUs”) representing up to 55,741 shares of Common Stock that will vest based upon the Company’s achievement of certain same store sales targets over the performance period. Upon a termination of the Busby Agreement for reasons other than a termination by Ms. Busby without “good reason” or for “cause” by the Company (as such terms are defined in the Busby Agreement), subject to the execution of a release of claims and continued compliance with the restrictive covenants contained in the Busby Agreement, Ms. Busby is entitled to (i) continued payment of her base salary for 12 months, (ii) any unpaid bonus for a completed fiscal year based on actual performance, (iii) a pro-rata bonus for the fiscal year of termination based on actual performance and (iv) continued payment of monthly medical premiums under the Company’s group health insurance plan for 12 months. Ms. Busby has also agreed to a non-competition covenant that extends for up to one year following termination and a non-solicitation covenant that extends for up to two years following termination. The foregoing description of the Busby Agreement does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the text of the Busby Agreement, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit 10.1 and is incorporated herein by reference. There are no family relationships between Ms. Busby and any director or executive officer of the Company, and there are no transactions involving Ms. Busby requiring disclosure under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K. Appointment of Derek Sample as Chief Accounting Officer On August 11, 2026, the Board appointed Derek Sample as Chief Accounting Officer of the Company, and on August 25, 2026, the Board designated Mr. Sample as the principal accounting officer of the Company. Mr. Sample, age 40, brings more than 20 years of finance and accounting leadership experience across the leisure and hospitality, aviation, energy and professional services industries. Most recently, he served as Vice President of Business Transformation of Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (“Six Flags”) from July of 2024 to July of 2026. Prior to that role, Mr. Sample served as Chief Accounting Officer of Six Flags prior to the merger of Six Flags and Cedar Fair, L.P., from September of 2022 to July of 2024. Mr. Sample also served as Corporate Controller for PHI Aviation, LLC, from June of 2021 until September of 2022. He began his career with KPMG LLP. Effective as of August 11, 2026, in connection with Mr. Sample’s appointment as Chief Accounting Officer of the Company, Mr. Sample and the Company entered into an employment agreement (the “Sample Agreement”), which provides for, among other things, (i) an annualized base salary of $315,000 per year, (ii) an annual cash bonus with a target bonus of 50% of Mr. Sample’s annual salary (prorated for fiscal year 2026), (iii) eligibility to participate in the LTIP and (iv) eligibility to participate in the Company’s employee benefit plans as in effect from time-to-time on the same basis as generally made available to other similarly situated employees of the Company. In connection with his appointment, on August 31, 2026, Mr. Sample received a one-time grant of (a) 39,019 RSUs that will vest in three substantially equal installments on each of the first, second and third anniversaries of the date of the grant, (b) a stock option representing the right to purchase 52,006 shares of Common Stock with an exercise price of $8.97 per share that will become earned if the Company’s stock price reaches specified multiples of the exercise price by August 31, 2029 and will vest annually in three substantially equal installments thereafter, and (c) PSUs representing up to 39,019 shares of Common Stock that will vest based upon the Company’s achievement of certain same store sales targets over the performance period. Upon a termination of the Sample Agreement for reasons other than a termination by Mr. Sample without “good reason” or for “cause” by the Company (as such terms are defined in the Sample Agreement), subject to the execution of a release of claims and continued compliance with the restrictive covenants contained in the Sample Agreement, Mr. Sample is entitled to (i) continued payment of his base salary for 12 months, (ii) any unpaid bonus for a completed fiscal year based on actual performance, (iii) a pro-rata bonus for the fiscal year of termination based on actual performance and (iv) continued payment of monthly medical premiums under the Company’s group health insurance plan for 12 months. Mr. Sample has also agreed to a non-competition covenant that extends for up to one year following termination and a non-solicitation covenant that extends for up to two years following termination. There are no family relationships between Mr. Sample and any director or executive officer of the Company, and there are no transactions involving Mr. Sample requiring disclosure under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.
Item 8.01Item 8.01 - Other Events
Item 8.01 Other Events Additional Leadership Appointments and Promotions On August 24, 2026, the Company issued a press release announcing the appointments of Ms. Busby and Mr. Sample, as well as additional executive leadership appointments and promotions, including Jeremy Tucker as Chief Marketing Officer, Kevin Fish as Chief Technology and Digital Officer, Rachel Morgan as Chief Legal and Administrative Officer and Corporate Secretary, and Aldo Rosales as Chief Strategy and Revenue Management Officer. A copy of the press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated herein by reference. Section 9 - Financial Statements and Exhibits
Filed exhibits (1)
EX-99.1 (by filename) play-2026leadership8kxex991.htm

Exhibit 99.1 Dave & Buster’s Strengthens Executive Leadership Team to Support Growth, Operational Excellence and Innovation DALLAS, August 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLAY) (“Dave & Buster's” or “the Company”), an owner, operator, and franchisor of entertainment and dining venues, today announced a series of executive leadership appointments and promotions designed to strengthen the company's capabilities across operations, marketing, strategy, finance, revenue management, technology, and governance. In addition to the recent announcement of the appointment of Darin Harper as Chief Executive Officer, the Company is pleased to announce additional recent hires and promotions. Amanda Busby joined the Company this month as Chief Operations Officer, coming with decades of experience at SSP America and Red Robin. Additionally, the Company recently promoted Rachel Morgan to serve as Chief Legal and Administrative Officer & Corporate Secretary, expanding her responsibilities to include oversight of both the legal and human resources organizations. The Company also promoted Aldo Rosales to Chief Strategy & Revenue Management Officer. These

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