Las Vegas Sell Off? Caesars! Planet Hollywood! Rio! • This Week in Gambling

Caesars is up for sale! Not Caesars Palace, the whole company is up for sale! But, that’s not the only Las Vegas sale that’s pending, and Sin City could soon be completely transformed! But actually, there are nine Vegas casino resorts that could be sold very soon… and another major resort that just changed hands with hardly anyone noticing.  We’ll get to that in just a moment because uh first, the possible sale of Caesars Entertainment.

Golden Nugget owner Tilman Fertitta has made them a takeover offer for $7 billion. If successful, he would acquire the Las Vegas resorts of Caesars Palace, the Horseshoe, Harrah’s, Paris, Planet Hollywood, the LINQ, Flamingo, and the new Vanderpump. And since Fertitta already owns Golden Nugget, that would give him a 60 casino empire all across the country. Caesars and Fertitta are in talks right now, and the company is expected to issue a financial report and a statement about any potential buyout within the next few weeks. Of course, Caesars is $12 billion in debt, so even if this deal falls through the company is expected to sell Planet Hollywood or the LINQ… or maybe even both.

While all of that is playing out, a downtown Las Vegas casino just went on the market, and the Rio quietly changed hands. First, the Rio, as Dreamscape took over the property as majority owner in 2023 and spent $350 million on upgrades like new rooms, an expanded casino floor, new dining options, and that cool exterior light show. However, all of that changed when Kennedy Lewis Investment Management quietly took over as majority owner just a few weeks ago. And now, more changes are expected as they try to compete with the Palms.

Finally this week, which Sin City casino just went on the market after defaulting on their $90 million loan? Well, that would be the Downtown Grand. You may recall that Penske Media was looking at buying the property about this time last year, then transforming it into the Rolling Stone casino. But, after due diligence, they passed. Now, a court has placed the resort into receivership, where a third party manages their business and assets. That means the sale of the Downtown Grand is almost a certainty at this point. Whether it will be rebranded, reopened, or imploded is a decision that will have to come later. But, for now, the resort continues to welcome guests.