Caesars Southern Indiana Finds A New Owner

Caesars Southern Indiana has been sold and now has a new owner.

The casino is being officially purchased for $250 million by The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI).

The tribe has been examining the property for a while, but only recently managed to secure a deal.

Caesars Southern Indiana has a new owner.

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) is headquartered in North Carolina and already runs several casinos of its own.

However, all these casinos are situated on the tribe’s independent territories. Caesars Southern marks the first casino of EBCI that wasn’t self-constructed.

EBCI Principal Chief Richard Sneed believes that such deals could play a significantly larger role in the tribe’s future.

The acquisition of the operating company of Caesars Southern Indiana signifies a promising future for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. We are delighted to strengthen our enduring alliance with Caesars, as we aim to enhance our involvement in commercial gaming in the forthcoming years.

Expect a pretty smooth transition if you’re a regular at Caesars Southern.

In the context of the sale, the property will continue to utilize the Caesars brand and the Caesars Rewards loyalty program. Therefore, for gamblers at the property, things will more or less remain unchanged.

The company couldn’t have timed the sale of the casino any better.

The final days of 2020 were ticking away and Caesars was racing against time.

The merger of Caesars and Eldorado Resorts earlier this year was approved with the stipulation that the company must sell three of its casinos in the Hoosier State. This requirement was set by the Indiana Gaming Commission to avoid the state's gambling industry being monopolized by a single company.

Caesars had until Dec. 31 to divest the properties, so the wrap up at Caesars Southern was right on the deadline.

Extended deadline to sell Horseshoe Hammond

The company also decided to offload Tropicana Evansville and Horseshoe Hammond, in addition to Caesars Southern.

The gaming commission’s requirement would finally be satisfied by Caesars if all three casinos change hands.

Now that the EBCI owns Caesars Southern, the company has finalized two out of the three sales. Twin River Holdings purchased Tropicana Evansville back in October.

While potential buyers may have been found for Caesars Southern and Tropicana, the same is not true for Horseshoe Hammond. Given the nearing deadline of Dec. 31, there simply isn’t sufficient time for Caesars to sell the property.

Nonetheless, the company is unable to sell the casino if there are no interested buyers.

To steer clear of escalating competition from the Illinois border, Caesars is putting Horseshoe Hammond up for sale. The attraction of customers by casinos in the Chicago area, coupled with the inauguration of a new Hard Rock casino in Gary, has intensified competition in the region like never before.

The difficulty Caesars has faced in finding a buyer for the property could partially be due to this reason.

Understandably, the Indiana Gaming Commission empathizes with Caesars’ current situation. Consequently, they have decided to extend Caesars’ deadline to sell Horseshoe Hammond.

Caesars should have ample time to sell the casino by Dec. 31, 2021, given that they have another year to fulfill their promise.