Caesars Entertainment

The company traces its history back to the development of the Eldorado Hotel in Reno, which was opened on May 24, 1973, by a group of investors that included Don Carano and other members of the Carano family.On July 28, 1995, the Eldorado opened the adjacent Silver Legacy Resort Casino in partnership with Circus Circus Enterprises.The Eldorado companies were reorganized in 1996 as Eldorado Resorts LLC in connection with a $100-million bond offering.In 2005, the company took over the bankrupt Hollywood Casino Shreveport in Louisiana, buying a 76 percent stake in the property for $154 million. It was then rebranded as the Eldorado Casino Shreveport.In 2013, Eldorado agreed to combine with the publicly traded MTR Gaming Group in a reverse merger. The merger would add three racinos in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia to Eldorado's portfolio. The transaction closed on September 19, 2014, creating Eldorado Resorts Inc. in its present form. Eldorado's existing owners held 50.2 percent of the combined company, and Gary Carano was appointed as its chairman and CEO.In November 2015, Eldorado bought Circus Circus Reno and the 50% stake in the Silver Legacy that it did not already own from MGM Resorts International for $73 million.In May 2017, Eldorado acquired Isle of Capri Casinos for $1.7 billion in cash, stock, and assumed debt, adding twelve casinos to its holdings.In August 2018, Eldorado bought the Grand Victoria Casino in Illinois for $328 million. Two months later, Eldorado acquired the operating business of Tropicana Entertainment for $640 million, adding seven casinos to its portfolio. Gaming and Leisure Properties simultaneously purchased the real estate of five of the casinos and leased them to Eldorado for a total of $88 million per year. Additionally, Eldorado paid $246 million for the real estate underlying Tropicana's Lumière Place casino in Missouri.In early 2019, Eldorado sold Presque Isle Downs and the operations of Lady Luck Casino Nemacolin to Churchill Downs, Inc. for a total of $179 million.In March 2019, it was reported that Eldorado was discussing a merger with Caesars Entertainment. In June 2019, Caesars accepted Eldorado's offer to purchase Caesars for $18 billion in stock and cash. Eldorado operated 26 assets compared to Caesars, which controlled 53. Eldorado would change its name to Caesars Entertainment after the completion of the acquisition, and the companies' loyalty programs would be combined under the Caesars Rewards brand. Eldorado's key executives would be retained. The deal was expected to be completed in the middle of 2020.With the Caesars acquisition pending, Eldorado sold three properties to Vici Properties and Century Casinos for a total of $385 million, with Vici acquiring the real estate assets and Century acquiring the operating businesses. Eldorado also sold Lady Luck Casino Vicksburg and Isle of Capri Casino Kansas City to Twin River Worldwide Holdings for $230 million. The deals were intended to reduce Eldorado's debt level and avert potential antitrust issues in Missouri, where Eldorado and Caesars together owned 6 of the state's 13 casinos.In April 2020, Eldorado agreed to sell Eldorado Shreveport and the MontBleu casino in Lake Tahoe to Twin River.On June 26, 2020, the Federal Trade Commission approved Eldorado's acquisition of Caesars. The transaction was completed on July 20.In April 2021, the company acquired the sports betting company William Hill for $3.7 billion. Most of William Hill's offerings in the U.S. would be rebranded as Caesars Sportsbook. In September 2021, Caesars agreed to sell William Hill's European business to 888 Holdings for $3 billion.In Indiana, the company was required to sell three of its properties as a condition of approval of the Caesars merger. In 2021, the operating businesses of Tropicana Evansville and Caesars Southern Indiana were sold to Bally's Corporation and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, respectively, for a total of $390 million.In July 2021, Caesars sold its casinos in Europe and Africa to an affiliate of Silver Point Capital.In February 2022, Caesars Entertainment announced a multi-year deal which named the organisation as the official sportsbook partner of the NBA outfit the Cleveland Cavaliers. The company plans to open a 10,355 square foot retail sportsbook at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse the home of the Cavaliers by the end of 2022.They also offer mobile gambling options.