The CFO of Caesars Entertainment says the Las Vegas Strip is in “great shape” after the 2025 slowdown and that their own properties have been “slammed” with visitors.
Bret Yunker made his comments Wednesday as Caesars Entertainment sought approval from Nevada regulators to enable the company to refinance debt. The Nevada Gaming Commission on July 23 will consider the recommendation from the Control Board for approval of Caesars’s application for a continuous or delayed public offering.
Board Chair Mike Dreitzer asked Yunker about the condition of the Las Vegas Strip.
“If you had a time machine, went to sleep in 2019, and woke up in 2025, you would say the Strip is looking pretty good,” Yunker said. “Between here and there, we went through quite a period with COVID and coming out of COVID. The business came out really strong for a period, because everyone wanted to come to Las Vegas. We’ve seen softness coming off that peak demand period, but the business in general is in great shape. Our properties have been slammed. We’re very happy with the state of the Las Vegas Strip.”
Outside of Las Vegas, Yunker highlighted the rebranding ceremony of Harvey’s Lake Tahoe into Caesars Republic Lake Tahoe Hotel & Casino, in which about $200 million was invested. At 80, it’s the oldest property in the portfolio and underwent an extensive remodel of its 750 rooms. It has new restaurants and other food and beverage options along with a new pool.
“It’s the full nine yards,” Yunker said. “It made this a modern Caesars’ property that we can be proud of having in our network next to our legacy Harrah’s (Lake Tahoe) property.”
As for the continuous public offering, Yunker said such approvals were helpful to his company and other gaming operators in the past. Caesars last used it in October 2024. The next maturity is January 2028.
“Markets come in waves, so we’re constantly looking at when we can refinance efficiently and quickly,” Yunker said. “In that instance, we issued a little over $1 billion in senior unsecured notes at 6% flat to refinance 81⁄4% debt. It was a meaningful savings and part of this helps us do that, given how regulated we are across the country. We deeply appreciate having this shelf approval in place.”
Yunker said the approval is for the next three years and isn’t related to the planned acquisition of Caesars by Fertitta Entertainment, but he added that depending on what happens with the transaction, “maybe we’d be addressing that” in the next to six to 12 months.
“It’s a publicly traded company, so it’s difficult to comment,” Yunker said when asked about the proposed transaction with Fertitta. “Obviously, this isn’t my first rodeo. I’m in a little different seat this time. I’ve been a banker in the past ,so I’ve seen this for 20 years as a buyer and seller. We’ll see where it goes.”
