Reno, Nevada-based Eldorado Resorts Inc. recently completed the purchase of the Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin, Illinois for $327.5 million. The property is one of Illinois’ 10 riverboat casinos and ranks third in revenue despite its smaller size.
Eldorado Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gary Carano said, “Grand Victoria Casino is an excellent addition to our operations and the transaction is consistent with our long-term strategy to build shareholder value by pursuing accretive acquisitions. As with our other recent acquisitions, we intend to quickly implement our proven integration and operating strategies, allowing us to increase margins and cash flow from the property and thus reduce the purchase multiple.”
Carano added, “Grand Victoria Casino is one of the premier casinos in the Chicagoland market and given the quality of the property, our immediate focus is on further enhancing the guest experience and operating results as there is no need to undertake capital investments at the property beyond normal maintenance expenses. We are very excited to welcome the Grand Victoria employees to the Eldorado family.”
Grand Victoria Casino, located 40 miles west of downtown Chicago, offers 1,088 slot machines, 30 table games, a 12-table poker room and four dining options including Prime BurgerHouse, the award-winning Buckingham’s Steakhouse & Lounge, the Indulge Show Kitchen Buffet and the 24-hour Crave Deli. The property also features 7,495 square feet of meeting and banquet space, event and concert facilities, a 1,450-space parking garage and additional surface parking for 600 vehicles.
As the 50 percent owner of Grand Victoria, MGM Resorts International received approximately $162 million after transaction costs.
With this transaction, Eldorado now owns 21 properties in 11 states, with a total of approximately 22,000 slot machines and VLTs and 640 table games, plus more than 7,000 hotel rooms. The company has approximately 13,000 employees.
The deal was announced in April when Eldorado also announced it would acquire for $1.85 billion Tropicana Entertainment, in partnership with real estate investment trust Gaming and Leisure Properties. The transaction gives Eldorado the Tropicana Atlantic City; Tropicana Laughlin and MontBleu Resort in South Lake Tahoe, Nevada; Tropicana Evansville in Indiana; Belle of Baton Rouge in Louisiana; Trop Casino Greenville in Mississippi; and Lumière Place in St. Louis. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year.
