EBITDAR increased 65% to $347 million as we posted companywide operating margins of 39.5%, once again proving our ability to deliver strong operating margins.
Our fourth-quarter operating margin was almost 640 basis points ahead of the fourth quarter record we set 12 months ago and was up more than 1,200 basis points from the fourth quarter of 2019.
Revenues grew more than 38% year over year and were up nearly 6% from the fourth quarter of 2019.
Every segment of our business contributed to this exceptional performance with 24 of our 27 open properties growing revenues at a double-digit rate during the quarter.
And 26 of our properties achieved double-digit EBITDAR increases.
In Las Vegas Locals business, revenues rose 46% over the prior year.
EBITDAR was up 76% and margins exceeded 52%.
This marks the fourth straight quarter that we have achieved margins of 50% or greater in our locals business.
Downtown Las Vegas had an equally impressive performance, posting record EBITDAR of $20.2 million and margins of nearly 38% for the quarter.
And in our midwest & south segment, revenues grew more than 29%, EBITDAR was up over 42% and margins increased approximately 350 basis points to more than 38%.
On a full year basis, we achieved record companywide revenues of nearly $3.4 billion, EBITDAR of almost $1.4 billion and operating margins of 40%.
2021 marked the first time that our EBITDAR exceeded the $1 billion mark, surpassing our previous annual record by nearly $500 million.
And at 40.5%, our companywide margin was more than 1,250 basis points higher than the prior annual record set in 2020.
This strong performance is the direct result of our operating team's incredible efforts over the past 18 months.
Next, in Louisiana, we will soon begin work on a $95 million project that will convert Treasure Chest Casino into a fully land-based facility, meaningfully enhancing this property's performance after its projected opening in late 2023.
This $50 million project will upgrade Fremont's food and beverage offerings while expanding and enhancing its gaming floor.
In 2021, our digital operations generated approximately $24 million in EBITDAR for our company, and we expect EBITDAR to exceed $30 million in 2022 from our online operations.
Earlier today, we announced that our board has approved a $0.15 per share dividend starting this April.
This dividend is in addition to the $300 million share repurchase program our board approved in October.
To date, we have bought back $150 million in stock since we resumed our share repurchase program.
We finished the year with EBITDAR approaching $1.4 billion, more than 50% higher than the previous record set in 2019.
With EBITDA increasing since the end of 2019 by approximately $500 million and debt balances reduced during that same period of time by approximately $850 million, our leverage has been reduced by half from pre-COVID levels.
Our current leverage is approximately 2.4 times, and lease-adjusted leverage is 2.8 times.
As of the end of 2021, our NOL balance was $7 million.
Our expected tax rate is 23.5%.
We expect our 2022 capital program to be approximately $250 million, which includes amounts for hotel room renovations and conversions of space previously utilized for buffets.
We also expect to spend in 2022 an additional $50 million for the Treasure Chest and Fremont projects.
As Keith mentioned, our board authorized the resumption of our quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, which is more than double our previous quarterly amount.
Also in late October, our board approved a $300 million share repurchase authorization that was in addition to $61 million remaining from our previous authorization.
Since last October, we have repurchased $150 million in stock, representing approximately 2.5 million shares.
We have approximately $210 million remaining under our current repurchase authorizations.
For this year, assuming our business continues to perform at these levels and subject, of course, to board approval, we currently plan to repurchase on a recurring basis of approximately $100 million per quarter.
So in total, with our planned share repurchases and the announced dividend, we expect to return approximately $500 million to shareholders this year.

Summary:
Earlier today, we announced that our board has approved a $0.15 per share dividend starting this April.
As Keith mentioned, our board authorized the resumption of our quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, which is more than double our previous quarterly amount.