Regional casino operator Eldorado Resort resumed gaming operations Thursday at its five Nevada properties, including its flagship. “The Row,” the company’s three properties in its hometown of Reno.
Eldorado, which is in the process of buying Caesars Entertainment in a $17.3 billion merger, has now reopened 16 of its 23 gaming properties in 11 states. Nevada joined Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Missouri, in reopening casinos closed since mid-March due to the spreading coronavirus pandemic.
In Nevada, Eldorado reopened the Eldorado, Silver Legacy and Circus Circus in Reno, MontBleu in Lake Tahoe and the Tropicana Laughlin.
“We are excited and grateful to be able to reopen our casinos in Nevada,” said Eldorado President Anthony Carano. “We have been working very hard over the last two months in partnership with the State of Nevada and the Nevada Gaming Control Board to prepare for these reopenings.”
The resorts are reopening under health and safety guidelines and protocols that limit gaming capacity and casino floor occupancy and ensure proper social distancing, adhering to the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s regulations.
The company will phase-in the hotel operations at The Row, opening the Silver Legacy rooms initially. The casino floors and non-gaming amenities at all three properties, which are connected, will be open.
Eldorado has said its merger with Caesars, which will create a regional gaming giant with nearly 60 properties in 16 states, could close at the end of June. Three states – Nevada, Indiana, and New Jersey, along with the Federal Trade Commission – need to sign off on the merger.
Caesars is reopened two of its nine Las Vegas Strip resorts Thursday – Caesars Palace and Flamingo Las Vegas – and will reopen Harrah’s Las Vegas on Friday. The High Roller Observation Wheel on the Strip also reopened Thursday.
Shares of Eldorado closed $42.94 Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange, up $4.06 or 19.44% on news of the Nevada reopenings.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming Reports. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgaming.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
