Caesars Entertainment plans to sell one its properties on the Las Vegas Strip in 2022, according to CEO Tom Reeg. The sale would complete the strategy to sell international properties, dispose of the European assets of William Hill sportsbooks, and focus on U.S. operations.
Reeg made the statement on an earnings call on August 6, according to a Las Vegas NBC affiliate. “We still expect to sell a Vegas Strip asset, a single asset, and I would expect that sale to take place in 2022,” said Reeg.
In June 2019, Caesars merged with Eldorado Resorts in a $17.3 billion deal that helped Caesars sidestep bankruptcy. The new company retained the famous Caesars brand, but needed to sell several properties to alleviate any monopoly concerns with regulators, the Nevada News Press reports.
Prior to the merger, Eldorado sold three casinos in West Virginia, Missouri and Louisiana. Caesars sold one property in Reno, another in Atlantic City and three in Indiana.
In July 2019, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that a sale was likely, Tilman Fertitta and Phil Ruffin were the expected buyers. Ruffin already owns two Strip casinos in Circus Circus and Treasure Island, while Fertitta is the owner of Golden Nugget casinos, including one in Downtown Las Vegas.
Caesars currently owns Harrah’s Las Vegas, Bally’s, Paris, Flamingo, The Cromwell, Caesars Palace, Planet Hollywood and the LINQ.
It seems unlikely it would part ways with its flagship casino or the LINQ, given the upgrades that went into it, the new Caesars Forum convention center located behind it and the ESPN studio built above it. Bally’s also has a convention center attached, but every other casino could easily be up for grabs.
Last year, the company decided to shutdown midweek operations at Planet Hollywood and recently closed its poker room, which could make it dispensable.
