Bally’s Corp. completed its $140 million acquisition of Eldorado Shreveport from Caesars Entertainment Wednesday, a sale that satisfies a request by the Federal Trade Commission earlier this year.
The purchase of the Louisiana property had been in conjunction with the operations of MontBleu Resort in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. State gaming regulators have yet to approve the transaction, which had been valued at $155 million for the two properties.
The deal gives Rhode Island-based Bally’s its seventh state where the company is operating resorts. In addition to MontBleu, the company has deals pending for Tropicana Evansville in Indiana and Jumer’s Casino in Rock Island, Illinois.
It’s expected that Eldorado Shreveport will be renamed Bally’s, a name the company took on this fall as part of a corporate branding initiative. The former Twin River Worldwide Holdings spent $20 million for control of the Bally name, brand, and intellectual property.
In November, the company completed a $25 million acquisition of Bally’s Atlantic City.
Located on the banks of the Red River, Eldorado Shreveport has 1,400 slot machines, 54 table games, and a 403-room hotel.
“Eldorado Shreveport represents the latest step in our ongoing portfolio diversification strategy, expanding our rapidly growing geographic footprint into the attractive Shreveport/Bossier City market,” Bally’s CEO George Papanier said in a statement.
“We are looking forward to integrating Eldorado Shreveport into the Bally’s family,” Papanier said.
Caesars sold the casino as part of the company’s $17.3 billion merger with Reno-based Eldorado Resorts this past summer. Eldorado was the acquiring company, and its management took over operations of Caesars, retaining the corporate name. The FTC required several casino sales in markets that presented anti-trust issues.
The Shreveport casino was one of Eldorado’s initial gaming ventures outside Nevada.
“Since our acquisition of the property 15 years ago, our team members’ passion and commitment have driven our success in Shreveport,” said Caesars CEO Tom Reeg. “We wish all of them continued success under Bally’s ownership.”
“Bally’s is acquiring Tropicana Evansville from Caesars in partnership with real estate investment trust Gaming and Leisure Properties for a combined $480 million. The company is also paying $120 million for Jumer’s.
By the time the new Bally finalizes its current acquisitions, the company will operate 14 casinos in 10 states.
Caesars has two additional pending deals to see properties in Louisiana – Belle of Baton Rouge to CQ Holding Co., for an undisclosed price, and Harrah’s Louisiana Downs Casino and Racetrack in Bossier City to Rubico Acquisition Corp. for $22 million.
Following the three sales, the company will still operate Harrah’s New Orleans, Horseshoe Bossier City, and Isle of Capri Lake Charles. Caesars has more than 50 properties in 16 states.
Shares of Bally’s closed at $49.14 Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange, up $1.66 or 3.5%. Caesars shares, traded on the Nasdaq, closed at $76.68, up $2.37, or 3.19%.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgaming.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
