On Friday, Eldorado Resorts announced it had received all regulatory approvals required to complete the purchase of Caesars Entertainment Company, a $17.3 billion deal that will create the largest casino and entertainment company in the United States. The combined company, which will adopt the Caesars name, will now own and operate more than 55 casino properties globally, including eight on the Las Vegas Strip with extensive meeting space. The company will be headquartered in Reno, Nevada, where Eldorado is based.
Caesars owns or operates casinos and resorts in 16 states, including Nevada, Colorado, Missouri, Iowa, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Arizona, North Carolina, California and Maryland. Most operate as Caesars, Harrah’s and Horseshoe brands. Eldorado owns and operates 21 properties in 11 states and counts more than 11,200 hotel rooms, including Silver Legacy Resort Casino Reno, Circus Circus Hotel Casino Reno and Tropicana Atlantic City.
In making the announcement, Caesars Entertainment CEO Tom Reeg pledged to “welcome all team members” to the combined company and extend Caesars Rewards loyalty program, which counts 60 million members, to all the newly joined properties. He also highlighted the company’s longstanding commitment to corporate social responsibility and promised an even greater emphasis on diversity and inclusion programs, as well as gender-equity initiatives.
The deal, which includes assumption of debt, was announced in June of 2019 and took more than a year to win governmental go-ahead. Since the announcement, both companies have had to deal with effects of shutdowns to slow the spread of COVID-19, which delayed the opening of Caesars Forum, a 550,000-square-foot conference center that welcomed its first guests in July after properties in Las Vegas reopened in June. In the interim, Eldorado Resorts sold Montbleu Resort Casino and Spa in Lake Tahoe and Eldorado Shreveport Resort and Casino in Louisiana.
The final approval needed came from New Jersey Casino Control Commission.
