The $17.3 billion mega-merger between Eldorado Resorts and Caesars Entertainment has completed, creating the world’s biggest casino company. 

A gaming superpower is born

With over 55 casinos in 16 US states, and eight resorts on the Las Vegas Strip alone, the new company, which will continue to use the name ‘Caesars’, is set to dominate the US gaming sector, both offline and online. 

The acquisition also includes Caesars Entertainment Group’s assets in the UK, Canada, Dubai, and Egypt, in addition to the golf course in the Macau casino. 51% of shares in the new company will be held by Eldorado shareholders, and 49% by Caesars shareholders. 

Imminent job losses

Unfortunately, confirmation of the merger was also accompanied by news of imminent job losses in Las Vegas. Addressing the layoffs, CFO of the new giant, and former Eldorado CFO, Bret Yunker, said:

“We remain focused on creating substantial synergies as we bring together these two companies. That will, unfortunately, result in some job reductions. Reducing the size of a workforce is always challenging to go through.”

Though Yunker promised the layoffs would be carried out as “compassionately and transparently as possible,” he didn’t provide further details. Prior to the COVID-19 crisis Caesars employed around 30,000 people in Las Vegas, and 65,000 worldwide, while Eldorado counted roughly 18,000 on its payroll. 

Yunker emphasised that, although the COVID-19 pandemic has devastated casino revenues and the tourism industry in the US and globally, and the company has around $13 billion US in debt, plus obligations to VICI Properties and another real estate investment trust, it had remained steadfastly committed to the Caesars deal. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Though some are sure to accuse Caesars of using the COVID-19 crisis as an excuse to lay off even more staff, the truth is that as more US states legalise gambling the focus will inevitably shift away from the traditional big casino resorts to online gambling. And, there’s no denying that the coronavirus crisis is accelerating this shift. 

Within the last couple of weeks we’ve already seen MGM Resorts International and GVC Holdings more than double funding for Roar Digital’s BetMGM online gaming platform, as it gets ready for the Phoney War to end and the Blitzkrieg to begin. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020