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LAS VEGAS – One of the two major Las Vegas Strip casino operators is set to be sold to billionaire hospitality mogul Tilman Fertitta.
Caesars Entertainment announced that it entered into a “definitive agreement” to be purchased by Fertitta Entertainment in an all-cash transaction valued at about $17.6 billion on May 28, after reports of the sale circulated through Sin City for months.
Caesars operates more than 50 properties nationwide, including eight on the Las Vegas Strip. Those properties include its namesake, The Flamingo — one of the founding resorts of the strip — and the Vanderpump Hotel.
Fertitta owns the Golden Nugget casino chain (including the original on Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas), the NBA’s Houston Rockets, the WNBA’s Houston Comets, and Landry’s Inc., a dining, entertainment, and hospitality corporation behind brands such as Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., Rainforest Cafe, and the Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier.
Fertitta has an estimated net worth of $11 billion, according to Forbes.
Fertitta Entertainment said in its announcement of the purchase that it will combine the company’s loyalty programs, Caesars Rewards, Golden Nugget’s 24 Karat Select Club, and Landry’s Select Club, to create an “industry leading loyalty ecosystem in the hospitality industry.”
“The combined company will offer guests an even broader array of destinations and experiences, all connected by the Caesars Rewards loyalty network,” Caesars said in the sale announcement.
The “all cash deal” approved by the Caesars board of directors includes Fertitta taking on $11.9 billion of Caesars’ debt and a “new committed debt financing arranged by a group consisting of 10 banks.” The agreement is subject to a shareholders’ vote, a “go-shop” period that allows Caesars to consider other offers and potential regulatory scrutiny.
Lance Vitanza, a TD Cowen analyst, told Reuters that the deal is “more likely than not to receive the necessary approvals” as Fertitta is the U.S. ambassador to Italy and San Marino and a longtime backer of President Donald Trump.
The office of Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford said it “had no comment” when reached by USA TODAY to clarify if he would seek to block the deal. USA TODAY also reached out to Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo for comment.
Caesars’ second merger in a decade
This is the second time since 2020 that Caesars has merged with another company.
That year, Eldorado Resorts Inc. and the then Caesars Entertainment Corp. merged in a $17.3 billion deal after a long-running effort by the Carano family led the gaming operator to acquire the gaming giant, according to the Reno Gazette Journal, a part of the USA TODAY Network. That deal saw Caesars Entertainment Inc. take on $8.8 billion in debt amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Caesars executives, including President and Chief Operating Officer Anthony Carano and CEO Tom Reeg, as well as property-level management and personnel, are expected to remain in their roles under Fertitta’s ownership, according to the sale announcement.
The Carano family will convert its outstanding 5% of Caesar’s shares into equity in Fertitta Entertainment, which will take the company private at the close of the sale.
Campaigns, unions react
Alexis Hill, a Washoe County commissioner who is running against Ford in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, said that “having one friend of Donald Trump control even more of this industry” is bad for the state in a statement provided first to USA TODAY.
“Billionaires like Tilman Fertitta and their giant corporations must start paying their fair share in taxes so everyday Nevadans aren’t picking up the tab,” she added. “Casino and hospitality workers across the state already work in unsafe conditions, have their hours cut, don’t make a living wage and can’t find childcare.”
The powerful Culinary Union said in a statement that it “has had strong relationships” with both parties and that there will be “discussions ahead about the full ramifications of this purchase.”
“Culinary Union remains committed to ensuring that workers’ rights are respected, their jobs are protected, and the union contract is fully enforced,” the union said.
USA TODAY reached out to other major unions in Las Vegas, as well as Ford and Lombardo campaigns, for comment.
Contributing: Jason Hildago, Reno Gazette Journal; Reuters
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.usatoday.com ’
