Caesars Entertainment Corp. announced plans Monday to license four of its brands – Caesars Palace, Flamingo, The Cromwell and The Linq – to markets outside of the general gaming community.
The move follows two deals announced earlier this year in which the company will manage non-gaming Caesars-branded resorts in Dubai and Mexico.
The idea is not new. MGM Resorts International has a luxury non-gaming hotel division with four properties in China, including the MGM Grand Sanya and Bellagio Shanghai. The company announced a deal last year to bring MGM Grand and Bellagio to Dubai to operate as non-gaming hotels.
In a statement, the Caesars said the idea would allow “strategic partners” to utilize the names in “gateway cities around the world.” Also, any deals would include access to customers in Caesars’ 55 million-member Total Rewards customer loyalty program.
“Caesars Entertainment brings instant brand-recognition, category-leading customer loyalty, unique hospitality and entertainment amenities as well as decades of management expertise to world class partners seeking to deliver distinct lodging and resort experiences to a wide range of consumers,” Caesars CEO Mark Frissora said in a statement.
The company said the brands were based a few characteristics – Caesars Palace for “Indulgent and Fun Luxury;” Flamingo for “Vibrant Vegas-Style Resort;” Cromwell for “Luxury Lifestyle Boutique;” and Linq for “social, sensory and modern.”
The new non-gaming Caesars properties at the Bluewaters Island development in Dubai – Caesars Palace Bluewaters Dubai and Caesars Bluewaters Dubai – are expected to open this year. A date hasn’t been set for the Caesars Palace project on beach-front property along the coast of Puerto Los Cabos, Mexico.
“This is only the beginning of what we believe will be continued progress against our strategy to expand the company’s non-gaming and gaming businesses presence in a capital efficient manner,” Frissora said.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgamingreports.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
