Eldorado Resorts confirmed plans to furlough 90% of its nationwide workforce Saturday and added that its top five executives, including CEO Tom Reeg, would reduce their base salaries.
The Reno-based regional casino operator said the company’s 23 properties in 11 states – all closed since last month due to the nationwide COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic – are temporarily moving to “the minimum workforce needed to maintain basic operations,” according to a filing Friday morning with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Furloughs will cover “90% of each property’s employees as well as its corporate staff.”
At the end of December, Eldorado employed roughly 15,500 workers nationwide, according to the company’s 10K filing with the SEC. The company had agreed to pay employees through Friday.
In a memo to employees at Eldorado’s three Reno resorts, and provided to CDC Gaming Reports Thursday, General Manager Tracy Mimno told full-time staff they would go on furlough, which the company expects to be “temporary (less than three months).”
In the SEC filing, Eldorado will continue to pay health benefits through June 30 for furloughed employees enrolled in company-sponsored health plans.
Eldorado said its five top executives, including Reeg, Executive Board Chairman Gary Carano, and CFO Bret Yunker, will reduce their base salaries by an undisclosed percentage.
The Eldorado furloughs follow similar actions by other casino companies nationwide, including Penn National Gaming, Boyd Gaming Corp., MGM Resorts International, and Caesars Entertainment. Las Vegas Sands Corp., Wynn Resorts and Station Casinos have committed to pay employees through May 15.
Eldorado and Caesars are in the final stages of completing a $17.3 billion merger between the two companies. The deal, which is still anticipated to close by the end of June, requires approvals from gaming regulators in Nevada, New Jersey, and Indiana, as well as the Federal Trade Commission. Analysts have said the deal remains fully financed, will create the industry’s largest regional companies with some 60 properties in 18 states.
On April 3, Las Vegas-based Caesars said it was furloughing 90% of the company’s workforce. The Las Vegas-based company’s entire casino portfolio of 53 properties in 14 states is also shut down due to the pandemic. Caesars employs 64,000 throughout the organization, according to its 10-K filing with the SEC.
Eldorado is the acquiring company in the merger. Its management will control the merged operation and the company will take on the Caesars name.
In March, Eldorado agreed to sell its management stake in the Montbleu Resort in Lake Tahoe to Las Vegas-based Maverick Gaming for an undisclosed price. In January, Eldorado agreed to sell the Eldorado Shreveport in Louisiana to Maverick for $230 million.
Both deals are expected to close in the second half of the year and would remove the anti-trust issues hanging over the deal.
Eldorado also has a deal in place to sell Isle of Capri Kansas City in Missouri and Lady Luck Vicksburg in Mississippi for $230 million to Twin River Worldwide Holdings, a transaction expected to close in the second half of the year.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming Reports. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgaming.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
