With the company expected to emerge from bankruptcy later this year, financial analysts are again hailing Caesars. In August, the Nevada Gaming Commission approved the merger of Caesars Acquisition Company into its main operating unit, Caesars Entertainment Operating Corporation (CEOC). That leaves the approval of just one state – Louisiana – still needed for the merger to happen, which will complete the bankruptcy process.
Caesars Entertainment declared bankruptcy in January 2015, and the resulting financial freeze has halted a company whose reach extends across the United States. Now, with end of the process in sight, Caesars is looking good.
“It really allows them to start moving forward,” said Daniel Holmes, practice co-leader for RubinBrown’s Gaming Services Group. “It’s going to significantly reduce their debt burden, and that’s important so they can take on more acquisitions and reignite their expansion efforts.”
Holmes noted that business competitor MGM has “has been going up and down the Las Vegas strip” renovating new hotels and building new entertainment venues, but Caesars has been only to do basic hotel renovations. He also sees opportunity for Caesars to jump in as a management group. For example, the unfinished Fontainebleau on the north end of the strip was sold to investors with plans for completion, but lacks a customer list.
“This is where, in my mind, Caesars is the perfect partner for them,” Holmes said. “They can use their Total Rewards customer list to market to their players and bring high net-worth people into that resort on day one. And the unique thing with the Fontainebleu is that it will be next to the expanded Vegas convention center, which will be gaining frontage along the Strip.”
But outside of Vegas is where the emergence from bankruptcy is likely to make more of an impact. The company owns 47 properties across 13 states; properties outside of Vegas are under the Harrah‘s, Caesars, and Horseshoe brands.
Holmes has been high on regional casinos in recent months – thanks to the strong economy – and sees continued growth outside of Las Vegas. “There’s not a lot of new supply coming onto the market. Not that many new states are expanding gaming,” he said.
In a primer titled “Rebuilding Rome,” Macquarie Research noted that “despite its recent history of extreme debt ($18 billion pre-reorganization) and intense litigation, CZR remains a top 5 global gaming company in regard to EBITDA generation and maintains a top 10 market value.”
The name Caesars connects casual visitors to Las Vegas and gambling because of such events as championship boxing bouts, Celine Dion’s historical run of performances, or just their own wanderings through the Roman Empire décor. “Although tough to quantify, we still believe the ‘Caesars’ brand has cultural relevance and thus, warrants value,” the report continued.
Macquarie also likes that more than half of Caesars is based on the Las Vegas strip, with brands such as Paris Las Vegas, Planet Hollywood, and The LINQ. As conventions and meetings continue to boom in the city, so will the bottom line of those properties. Macquarie also agrees with Holmes about the power of Caesars’ database, saying a casino using the data which Caesars has on an estimated 50 million patrons could see a 10 to 15 percent increase in revenue.
