The country’s biggest casino corporation has officially been crowned: the Eldorado-Caesars joint group. This merger between Caesars Entertainment and Eldorado Resorts now features 55 casinos across the United States, and the rest of the world. The New Jersey Casino Control Commission (NJ CCC) officially inked the deal to approve a highly-anticipated contractual agreement between these two companies. On Friday, July 17, 2020, the final deal between the Nevada-based Corporation, Eldorado Resorts, and Caesars Entertainment Corporation went into effect. Eldorado Resorts Inc successfully negotiated a $17.3 billion acquisition of Caesars Entertainment Corporation. The merger has resulted in the biggest casino company in the world.
Negotiations were going on behind-the-scenes for more than a year, but the final hurdle was overcome when New Jersey commissioners signed off on the agreement in mid-July. The chief executive officer of Caesars entertainment, Tom Reeg expressed tremendous satisfaction with what he called a ‘transformative merger’, allowing Caesar’s to become a market leading authority in the fields of gaming and hospitality. Naturally, Caesars Entertainment Corporation and Eldorado Resorts will work to maximize shareholder value and customer satisfaction. With 8 joint properties owned by this new corporation on the Las Vegas Strip, Eldorado Resorts and Caesar’s Entertainment are gearing up for tremendous expansion. Advising on the deal were major banking conglomerates, Macquarie Capital, Credit Suisse, and J.P. Morgan.
Massive Casino Deal is Officially Done
The huge casino deal brokered between Eldorado Resorts (established in 1973 in Reno, Nevada), and Caesars Entertainment Corporation will broaden the tent to include iconic casino and hotel resorts on the Las Vegas Strip, with casino properties spread across 16 states. Combined, these two juggernauts of the casino world will have tens of thousands of employees under their wing, with the #1 objective being stakeholder value. Among others, Eldorado-Caesars will be operating properties in the illustrious gambling enclave of Macau, China, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, the UK, and Egypt. Previously, MGM Resorts International was the biggest casino corporation in the world.
Regulators in the US have put strict measures in place to prevent monopolistic behavior with large corporations. The anti-trust measures necessitate that several properties be divested to meet statutory requirements. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) only approves mergers and acquisitions on the proviso that these conditions have been met. These include the agreed-upon sale of Bally’s Casino and Twin River’s Casino in Atlantic City. Sites in South Lake Tahoe, California; Kansas City Missouri; and Shreveport, Louisiana will be sold too. Other locations in Indiana, such as Elizabeth and Evansville are going up for sale too.
Indiana-based regulators, and New Jersey-based regulators were among the last to sign off on this merger between Eldorado Resorts and Caesar’s Entertainment Corporation. Indiana’s Gaming Commission approved the merger on July 10, 2020. This was followed by the Indiana Horse Racing Commission on July 13, 2020, contingent upon the sale of 60% of the company’s [Caesars-Eldorado] assets in the Hoosier State.
The Company Now Owns A Huge Chunk of Las Vegas Casino Real Estate
The Eldorado-Caesars joint group owns a full spread of casinos in Las Vegas, including Rio off the Strip, the Flamingo Hotel and Casino, Caesar’s Palace, Planet Hollywood, Harrah’s Las Vegas, Linq Hotel and Casino, Cromwell Casino, Bally’s Casino, and Paris Las Vegas. When Caesars Entertainment Corporation filed for bankruptcy protection in 2017, billionaire investor, Carl Icahn brought up plenty of shares. He now owns 10% of the new company, the Eldorado-Caesars joint group.
The founder of Eldorado, Don Carano began with a winemaking and casino business that rapidly expanded into several dozen gambling properties with 18,000+ employees across 12 states before the merger took place. He died in 2017, and several close relatives of his remain in high-level executive positions with the new company. The company maintains multiple properties at locations around the country, in states like Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Iowa, North Carolina, Florida, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, and Mississippi.
New Jersey Leads the Way for US Online Gaming
The new company will officially operate under the name ‘Caesars Entertainment’ but Eldorado will retain a 56% shareholding and controlling interest in the corporation. The New Jersey Casino Control Commission voted 2-0 in favor of the deal, paving the way for the world’s biggest casino company. Some 4 of the 9 casinos in Atlantic City will now fall under the control of the Eldorado-Caesars joint group. Eldorado has agreed to invest 5% of net proceeds into Caesars, Tropicana and Harrah’s Casino. Second only to Las Vegas, Atlantic City is set to benefit from this new deal which will inject plenty of capital, innovation, and energy into the casino and hospitality industry. NJs online gambling market features poker, casino, and sports betting.
