{"id":141485,"date":"2020-07-11T13:18:25","date_gmt":"2020-07-11T20:18:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=141485"},"modified":"2020-07-13T09:48:27","modified_gmt":"2020-07-13T16:48:27","slug":"indiana-gaming-commission-approves-eldorado-acquisition-of-ceasars-requests-three-casinos-sold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/indiana-gaming-commission-approves-eldorado-acquisition-of-ceasars-requests-three-casinos-sold\/","title":{"rendered":"Indiana Gaming Commission Approves Eldorado Acquisition of Ceasars, Requests Three Casinos Sold"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Friday, The Indiana Gaming Commission (IGC) unanimously approved Eldorado Resorts Inc.\u2019s acquisition of Caesars Entertainment Corp.\u2019s Indiana properties. But commissioners put in two requirements for what will become the new Caesars company.<\/p>\n

\"Caesars
A worker removes the Horseshoe sign last year sign from the casino that was soon to become Caesars Southern Indiana. After the Indiana Gaming Commission approved the acquisition of Caesars properties by Eldorado on Friday, the southern Indiana property may get another name change in the near future. (Image: Casino.org)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

First, the company must have agreements to sell three of its Indiana properties by the end of the year. Second, they must also agree to maintain employment levels at their remaining facilities for the next three years. On the latter requirement, IGC staff will work with Eldorado leaders to fine-tune the language to incorporate workers currently furloughed.<\/p>\n

With Friday\u2019s vote — once the $17.3 billion deal closes — the new company will control Horseshoe Hammond, Caesars Southern Indiana, and Tropicana Evansville. The IGC also approved the transfer of the Indiana Grand and Harrah\u2019s Hoosier Park racinos. But those two acquisitions also require the approval of the Indiana Racing Commission (IRC).<\/p>\n

Why must the new Caesars sell three properties?<\/p>\n

\n

Based on IGC numbers from January of the 13 licenses boats, the five in question held 45.5 percent of the 17,255 slots and 49.4 percent of the table games. From a revenue perspective from that month, the five casinos in January garnered $113.2 million of the $189.3 million raked by all licensed boats, accounting for nearly 60 percent of the total.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Eldorado shareholders will own about a 56 percent stake in the new company, according to Eldorado CEO Tom Reeg, who will also serve as the CEO for the new Caesars.<\/p>\n

The IRC meets Monday to discuss that. Besides the IRC, the Eldorado-Caesars transaction awaits one more regulatory approval, and that\u2019s in New Jersey, where the state\u2019s Casino Control Commission meets on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Southern Indiana Casinos Likely to be Sold<\/h2>\n

Eldorado proposed to the commission to sell two properties, which it claimed would put it at about a 40 percent market share. That figure would be based on moving the Gary boats to a larger, inland facility and the construction of the recently approved casino in Terre Haute. That would put the new Caesars company with about a 40 percent market share.<\/p>\n

When asked what properties the new Caesars may sell, Reeg said that would be contingent on the IRC approving the sale of Indiana Grand and Hoosier Park — a move that may not be a cinch. If the IRC approves the tracks, Reeg said Tropicana Evansville and Caesars Southern Indiana<\/a> would be the casinos likely sold.<\/p>\n

Part of the reason for that is the growing Chicago casino market, in which Horseshoe Hammond competes, Reeg said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat’s a very difficult asset to think about selling, and the current environment between the pandemic and the competitive situation, expanding in Illinois,\u201d Reeg said. \u201cI’m not optimistic about how that would go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

However, when asked if they needed to sell a third property, Reeg said that Hammond would likely be put on the market. Eldorado officials said they envisioned being able to sell one property within six months, another within 12, and a third within 18.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

IGC Commissioner Marc Fine feared what such a delay would mean for the casinos put on the market.<\/p>\n

I’m fearful that the properties that are selected for divestiture will be neglected, and the sooner we are able to move in the direction we need to go for the benefit of the state, the sooner it needs to happen,<\/strong>\u201d he said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Fine said the IGC can come back if needed to extend the period.<\/p>\n

Expansions Eyed at Tracks<\/h2>\n

Eldorado told IGC members they plan to invest up to $60 million in both racinos. A large part of that would go toward the expansion of table games at the Shelbyville and Anderson facilities.<\/p>\n

The state legislature legalized table gaming at the racinos in last year\u2019s expanded gaming bill. It became live on Jan. 1.<\/p>\n

They’ve effectively opened all of the tables that they can fit into the properties,”<\/strong> Reeg said. “We have drawings and would be ready to begin expansions.”<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

One reason why the new Caesars may be inclined to keep both tracks and sell the rest of the properties is that the two tracks are the only casinos in the Indianapolis market, home to about 2.5 million people. There is no other casino, open or planned, within an hour of Indianapolis.<\/p>\n

Hammond has competition from the plethora of casinos in northwest Indiana and Chicagoland. Caesars Southern Indiana is the only casino in the Louisville, Ky., market. But across the river, Louisville-based Churchill Downs has invested millions in building Derby City Gaming, a historical horse racing parlor. Churchill has more than 1,000 HHR machines at its facility and has approval to more than double that.<\/p>\n

Similarly, officials at Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky., just south of Evansville, are looking to invest millions to expand its HHR gaming at the track.<\/p>\n

That move may not be an easy sell for Reeg and the soon-to-be new Caesars team. IRC officials have expressed concerns<\/a> about Eldorado\u2019s involvement in racing. A consultant hired by the IRC spoke to horsemen who race at both Hoosier Park and ERI\u2019s Scioto Downs, who said there\u2019s a night-and-day difference between Hoosier Park and \u201crun down\u201d Scioto.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Friday, The Indiana Gaming Commission (IGC) unanimously approved Eldorado Resorts Inc.\u2019s acquisition of Caesars Entertainment Corp.\u2019s Indiana properties. But commissioners put in two requirements for what will become the new Caesars company. First, the company must have agreements to sell three of its Indiana properties by the end of the year. Second, they must […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":141486,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,33810],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIndiana Requests Eldorado Sell Three Casinos as Part of Caesars Bid<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The new Caesars must have an agreement to sell three of its five Indiana properties within six months, according to the Indiana Gaming Commission\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/indiana-gaming-commission-approves-eldorado-acquisition-of-ceasars-requests-three-casinos-sold\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Indiana Requests Eldorado Sell Three Casinos as Part of Caesars Bid\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The new Caesars must have an agreement to sell three of its five Indiana properties within six months, according to the Indiana Gaming Commission\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/indiana-gaming-commission-approves-eldorado-acquisition-of-ceasars-requests-three-casinos-sold\/\" \/>\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=\"2020-07-11T20:18:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-07-13T16:48:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/20191114_010008-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1889\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1045\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Steve Bittenbender\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Steve Bittenbender\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/indiana-gaming-commission-approves-eldorado-acquisition-of-ceasars-requests-three-casinos-sold\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/indiana-gaming-commission-approves-eldorado-acquisition-of-ceasars-requests-three-casinos-sold\/\",\"name\":\"Indiana Requests Eldorado Sell Three Casinos as Part of Caesars Bid\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/indiana-gaming-commission-approves-eldorado-acquisition-of-ceasars-requests-three-casinos-sold\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/indiana-gaming-commission-approves-eldorado-acquisition-of-ceasars-requests-three-casinos-sold\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/20191114_010008-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-07-11T20:18:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-07-13T16:48:27+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/eb30e765d812fc9b38b333f8d13068b2\"},\"description\":\"The new Caesars must have an agreement to sell three of its five Indiana properties within six months, according to the Indiana Gaming Commission\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/indiana-gaming-commission-approves-eldorado-acquisition-of-ceasars-requests-three-casinos-sold\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/indiana-gaming-commission-approves-eldorado-acquisition-of-ceasars-requests-three-casinos-sold\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/indiana-gaming-commission-approves-eldorado-acquisition-of-ceasars-requests-three-casinos-sold\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/20191114_010008-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/20191114_010008-1.jpg\",\"width\":1889,\"height\":1045,\"caption\":\"A worker removes the Horseshoe last year sign from the casino that was soon-to-become Caesars Southern Indiana. After the Indiana Gaming Commission approved the acquisition of Caesars properties by Eldorado on Friday, the southern Indiana property may get another name change in the near future. (Image: Casino.org)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/indiana-gaming-commission-approves-eldorado-acquisition-of-ceasars-requests-three-casinos-sold\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Financial\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/financial\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Indiana Gaming Commission Approves Eldorado Acquisition of Ceasars, Requests Three Casinos Sold\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Casino.org\",\"description\":\"Latest Casino and Gaming News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/eb30e765d812fc9b38b333f8d13068b2\",\"name\":\"Steve Bittenbender\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-7-1-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-7-1-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"Steve Bittenbender\"},\"description\":\"Steve Bittenbender covers Midwest and Gulport news for Casino.org. He also specializes in sports betting and horse racing. Steve is a veteran reporter and brings more than two decades of experience covering sports, business and politics. He joined Casino.org in 2019. Steve has also covered major collegiate and professional sports for the Associated Press and the Louisville Courier-Journal and is frequently featured on local network TV newscasts and podcasts for his horse racing business and legislative expertise. A Reuters contributor, he has also previously served as editor for Government Security News. Steve lives in Louisville, Kentucky -- the epicenter of the US horse racing industry -- with his wife and son. He is also an avid poker player, having learned from his uncle as a wholesome after-school pastime with cookies and milk. Contact Steve at stevebittenbender@casino.org.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/steve-bittenbender\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Indiana Requests Eldorado Sell Three Casinos as Part of Caesars Bid","description":"The new Caesars must have an agreement to sell three of its five Indiana properties within six months, according to the Indiana Gaming Commission","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/indiana-gaming-commission-approves-eldorado-acquisition-of-ceasars-requests-three-casinos-sold\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Indiana Requests Eldorado Sell Three Casinos as Part of Caesars Bid","og_description":"The new Caesars must have an agreement to sell three of its five Indiana properties within six months, according to the Indiana Gaming Commission","og_url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/indiana-gaming-commission-approves-eldorado-acquisition-of-ceasars-requests-three-casinos-sold\/","og_site_name":"Casino.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews","article_published_time":"2020-07-11T20:18:25+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-07-13T16:48:27+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1889,"height":1045,"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/20191114_010008-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Steve Bittenbender","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Casino_Org","twitter_site":"@Casino_Org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Steve Bittenbender","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/indiana-gaming-commission-approves-eldorado-acquisition-of-ceasars-requests-three-casinos-sold\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/indiana-gaming-commission-approves-eldorado-acquisition-of-ceasars-requests-three-casinos-sold\/","name":"Indiana Requests Eldorado Sell Three Casinos as Part of Caesars Bid","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/indiana-gaming-commission-approves-eldorado-acquisition-of-ceasars-requests-three-casinos-sold\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/indiana-gaming-commission-approves-eldorado-acquisition-of-ceasars-requests-three-casinos-sold\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/20191114_010008-1.jpg","datePublished":"2020-07-11T20:18:25+00:00","dateModified":"2020-07-13T16:48:27+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/eb30e765d812fc9b38b333f8d13068b2"},"description":"The new Caesars must have an agreement to sell three of its five Indiana properties within six months, according to the Indiana Gaming Commission","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/indiana-gaming-commission-approves-eldorado-acquisition-of-ceasars-requests-three-casinos-sold\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/indiana-gaming-commission-approves-eldorado-acquisition-of-ceasars-requests-three-casinos-sold\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/indiana-gaming-commission-approves-eldorado-acquisition-of-ceasars-requests-three-casinos-sold\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/20191114_010008-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/20191114_010008-1.jpg","width":1889,"height":1045,"caption":"A worker removes the Horseshoe last year sign from the casino that was soon-to-become Caesars Southern Indiana. After the Indiana Gaming Commission approved the acquisition of Caesars properties by Eldorado on Friday, the southern Indiana property may get another name change in the near future. (Image: Casino.org)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/indiana-gaming-commission-approves-eldorado-acquisition-of-ceasars-requests-three-casinos-sold\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Financial","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/financial\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Indiana Gaming Commission Approves Eldorado Acquisition of Ceasars, Requests Three Casinos Sold"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/","name":"Casino.org","description":"Latest Casino and Gaming News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/eb30e765d812fc9b38b333f8d13068b2","name":"Steve Bittenbender","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-7-1-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-7-1-96x96.png","caption":"Steve Bittenbender"},"description":"Steve Bittenbender covers Midwest and Gulport news for Casino.org. He also specializes in sports betting and horse racing. Steve is a veteran reporter and brings more than two decades of experience covering sports, business and politics. He joined Casino.org in 2019. Steve has also covered major collegiate and professional sports for the Associated Press and the Louisville Courier-Journal and is frequently featured on local network TV newscasts and podcasts for his horse racing business and legislative expertise. A Reuters contributor, he has also previously served as editor for Government Security News. Steve lives in Louisville, Kentucky -- the epicenter of the US horse racing industry -- with his wife and son. He is also an avid poker player, having learned from his uncle as a wholesome after-school pastime with cookies and milk. Contact Steve at stevebittenbender@casino.org.","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/steve-bittenbender\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141485"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/45"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141485"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141485\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/141486"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}