Caesars sells Indiana casino to GLPI and Twin River for $480 million

October 28, 2020 11:26 AM
  • Howard Stutz, CDC Gaming Reports
October 28, 2020 11:26 AM
  • Howard Stutz, CDC Gaming Reports

Caesars Entertainment, which was told by Indiana gaming regulators to reduce its casino holdings in the state, agreed to sell the Tropicana Evansville on Tuesday for $480 million.

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Real estate investment trust Gaming and Leisure Properties is purchasing the real estate and facilities for $340 million. Twin River Worldwide Holdings, which has been one of the gaming industry’s most active casino buyers, will pay Caesars $140 million for the operations of the casino and pay $28 million a year in rent to GLPI.

Tropicana Evansville marks the fourth casino Rhdoe Island-based Twin River has acquired this year. All four deals need regulatory approval. Once approved, Indiana will mark Twin River’s 10th state where the company operates casinos.

“This transaction is consistent with our core strategy of acquiring strategic gaming assets at attractive valuations,” Twin River CEO George Papanier said in a statement. “It also provides us with access to an attractive Indiana gaming market, in which we will look to significantly advance our mobile and online sports betting and iGaming initiatives.”

Twin River announced on Oct. 7 it was acquiring Jumer’s Casino & Hotel in Rock Island, Illinois for $120 million in an all-cash deal. The company has two other pending transactions involving Caesars – the purchase of Bally’s Atlantic City for $25 million, and the combined purchase of Eldorado Shreveport in Louisiana and the operations of MontBleu Resort Casino in Lake Tahoe, Nevada for $155 million.

Two weeks ago, Twin River paid Caesars $20 million for the control of the Bally named and brand, which would be used to unify its existing portfolio.

Tropicana Evansville has a 45,000 square-foot casino, four restaurants, and a race and sportsbook. The complex also includes 11,000 square feet of convention space adjacent to the casino and a Riverfront Event Center located across the street, which includes 10,000 square feet of convention space overlooking the Ohio River.

Twin River will also acquire the sports betting and iGaming skins associated with the Evansville casino.

In addition to Tropicana Evansville, Caesars operates four additional gaming properties in Indiana – Harrah’s Hoosier Park Racing & Casino in Anderson, Indiana Grand Racing & Casino in Shelby, Horseshoe Hammond, and Horseshoe Southern Indiana in Elizabeth.

As a condition in approving the $17.3 billion merger between Caesars and Eldorado Resorts, Indiana gaming regulators in July order the combined company to sell three of the properties.

“I want to thank all of our Evansville team members for their hard work and dedication, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, and we wish them the best under Twin River’s ownership,” Caesars CEO Tom Reeg said in a statement.

In a separate deal, GLPI is acquiring the real estate at Twin River’s Dover Downs facility in Delaware for $144 million, and will lease the operations back to Twin River for $12 million a year in rent.

Tropicana Evansville and Dover Downs will mark a new operating tenant for GLPI, which owns the land and buildings associated with gaming properties operated by Penn National Gaming and Boyd Gaming.

“We are excited to establish a formal relationship with Twin River as they represent another leading operator to add to GLPI’s growing platform,” GLPI CEO Peter Carlino said in a statement. “These transactions further diversify our portfolio with the addition of a new operator and expands our footprint into Delaware.”

Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming Reports. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgaming.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.