Caesars Finds Buyer For Tropicana Evansville In Indiana
Caesars recently made an announcement stating its sale of Tropicana Evansville to Twin River Holdings, signifying the company’s first venture into Indiana.
This is the most recent acquisition in a series of purchases for Twin River.
Details of the Sale of Tropicana Evansville by Caesars
This is a crucial step for Caesars to ensure compliance. The Indiana Gaming Commission mandated that Caesars must relinquish several properties by December 31.
In order to comply with antitrust regulations related to Caesars’ “merger” with Eldorado Resorts, this sale was necessary.
Technically, Twin River will be leasing the property from the real estate firm, Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. for an annual fee of $28 million.
Caesars will receive $340 million from GLPI for the casino and the land it sits on.
Caesars will receive an additional $140 million from Twin River for all the casino’s internal assets.
Earlier this year, Caesars and Twin River made similar agreements. This isn’t the first deal of its kind between the two companies regarding:
- Bally’s located in Atlantic City, New Jersey
- Eldorado Shreveport in Louisiana
- Rock Island, Illinois’ Jumer’s
- Resort MontBlue in Lake Tahoe, Nevada
Once all these sales are finalized, Twin River will run at least one property in 10 different states.
Twin River’s bet on depreciated casino properties
Marc Crisafulli, the Executive Vice President of Twin River, has openly communicated with stakeholders about the company’s strategies. The firm plans to invest its capital in acquiring properties that they believe are undervalued, with the intention of renovating them.
For instance, last year, in terms of both casino win and total gaming revenue, Bally's Atlantic City ranked at the bottom among the nine Atlantic City casinos.
Even though Tropicana Evansville’s numbers aren’t particularly poor compared to its competition in the state, it’s clear that Twin River still considers it a suitable candidate.
Crisafulli also expressed the company’s particular interest in the sports betting sector, which is thriving in Indiana.
Hoosiers placed bets on sports amounting to $207 million last month, and this figure is anticipated to increase.
William Hill currently operates the sportsbook within Tropicana Evansville and has just launched its mobile app today.
It remains to be seen whether William Hill will continue to be the casino’s sports betting partner.
Twin River aims to elevate Tropicana Evansville to the top tier of Indiana casinos and increase its retail betting income.