{"id":106756,"date":"2019-06-12T07:50:30","date_gmt":"2019-06-12T14:50:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=106756"},"modified":"2019-06-12T07:50:30","modified_gmt":"2019-06-12T14:50:30","slug":"new-jersey-regulators-quiz-eldorado-resorts-about-caesars-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/new-jersey-regulators-quiz-eldorado-resorts-about-caesars-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"New Jersey Regulators Quiz Eldorado Resorts About Caesars Deal as They Approve Tropicana License"},"content":{"rendered":"

New Jersey\u2019s Casino Control Commission approved licensing of Eldorado Resorts Tuesday, essentially finalizing the company\u2019s acquisition of The Tropicana and its entry into the Atlantic Gaming market.<\/p>\n

\"Eldorado
Eldorado Resorts took over the reins at the Tropicana Atlantic City last year following a complex seven-year deal struck with billionaire corporate Carl Icahn, who is now reportedly pushing for a Caesars-Eldorado merger. (Image: Eldorado Resorts)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But The Press of Atlantic City<\/em> reports that a good part of the two-hour hearing was devoted to the rumors that Reno-based Eldorado is on the brink of a megadeal<\/a> to merge with Caesars Entertainment.<\/p>\n

The regulator\u2019s pressing of Eldorado representatives on the subject was about more than just idle curiosity. Should the rumored deal go through, it would represent a possible antitrust problem, with a future Eldorado-Caesars combination holding four of Atlantic City\u2019s nine casino licenses.<\/p>\n

New Jersey\u2019s Casino Control Act guards against one operator holding multiple licenses if it results in “undue economic concentration.” This is defined as \u201cactual or potential domination of the casino gaming market in Atlantic City as to substantially impede or suppress competition among casino licensees or adversely impact the economic stability of the casino industry in Atlantic City.\u201d<\/p>\n

Quiet on Caesars<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Caesars already owns and operates Caesars Atlantic City, Harrah\u2019s, and Bally\u2019s and it’s possible that a future, enlarged group might have to sell one of these properties to satisfy antitrust regulations.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately for the control commission, Eldorado CEO Thomas Reeg was keeping tight-lipped about any possible deal.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t comment on a particular (move),\u201d he said, as reported by POAC<\/em>. \u201cI would say we have been an inquisitive company in the past. To the extent there are opportunities that make sense for our shareholders … we would take a hard look at those.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Reeg added he understood there are a \u201chost of concerns that other constituencies would have\u201d about future M&A activity and Eldorado would \u201cthoughtfully work through them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eldorado has been in control of the Tropicana<\/a> since October last year, after being granted a temporary license by the control commission a month prior. The decision at Tuesday\u2019s hearing makes the arrangement more permanent.<\/p>\n

Complex Deals<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The company acquired the Trop\u2019s ops as part of a complex seven-casino deal with Carl Icahn\u2019s Icahn Enterprises. Icahn sold its subsidiary, Tropicana Entertainment, to Eldorado for $640 million, while its seven property assets were acquired for $1.21 billion by Gaming and Leisure Properties, a real estate investment trust created in 2013 as a spin off from Penn National Gaming.<\/p>\n

Eldorado now leases the seven properties from GLPI.<\/p>\n

Billionaire corporate raider Icahn has a knack for buying undervalued stock and effecting change within companies to drive up share prices \u2013 and he\u2019s put the money he received from the sale of Tropicana Entertainment to good use.<\/p>\n

Since the Eldorado deal, Icahn has been busily buying up small chunks of Caesars Entertainment to the point where he now holds almost 29 percent and is the largest shareholder in the casino giant.<\/p>\n

Icahn is pushing for a sale or merger, and reports suggest that an agreement with Eldorado could be announced this month.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New Jersey\u2019s Casino Control Commission approved licensing of Eldorado Resorts Tuesday, essentially finalizing the company\u2019s acquisition of The Tropicana and its entry into the Atlantic Gaming market. But The Press of Atlantic City reports that a good part of the two-hour hearing was devoted to the rumors that Reno-based Eldorado is on the brink of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":106759,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33810,32093,13592,1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNew Jersey Regulators Quiz Eldorado Resorts About Caesars Deal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Eldorado Resorts granted full license to operate the Tropicana Atlantic City by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Jersey Regulators Quiz Eldorado Resorts About Caesars Deal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Eldorado Resorts granted full license to operate the Tropicana Atlantic City by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/new-jersey-regulators-quiz-eldorado-resorts-about-caesars-deal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-06-12T14:50:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/trop.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2290\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1527\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/new-jersey-regulators-quiz-eldorado-resorts-about-caesars-deal\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/new-jersey-regulators-quiz-eldorado-resorts-about-caesars-deal\/\",\"name\":\"New Jersey Regulators Quiz Eldorado Resorts About Caesars Deal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/new-jersey-regulators-quiz-eldorado-resorts-about-caesars-deal\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/new-jersey-regulators-quiz-eldorado-resorts-about-caesars-deal\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/trop.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-06-12T14:50:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-06-12T14:50:30+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Eldorado Resorts granted full license to operate the Tropicana Atlantic City by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/new-jersey-regulators-quiz-eldorado-resorts-about-caesars-deal\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/new-jersey-regulators-quiz-eldorado-resorts-about-caesars-deal\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/new-jersey-regulators-quiz-eldorado-resorts-about-caesars-deal\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/trop.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/trop.jpg\",\"width\":2290,\"height\":1527,\"caption\":\"Eldorado Resorts took over the reins at the Tropicana Atlantic City last year following a complex seven-year deal struck with billionaire corporate Carl Icahn, who is now reportedly pushing for a Caesars-Eldorado merger. 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