Las Vegas-based Eldorado Resorts, owner of Isle of Capri Casino Hotel Lake Charles, recently announced that after more than a year of negotiations involving the Pueblo of Laguna and the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, the sale of the Lake Charles property has been canceled. Laguna Development Corporation, a subsidiary of the Pueblo of Laguna, had entered into an agreement with Isle of Capri Casinos in August 2016 to buy the property for $134.5 million within a 12-month period, which was extended to November 20.
However, Laguna failed to acquire the required gaming approvals by the deadline. Eldorado, which bought the Lake Charles property from Isle, along with the rest of Isle, in May, gave notice to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on November 21 that it was terminating the purchase agreement and retaining Laguna’s $20 million deposit per the terms of the 2016 agreement. Eldorado said Laguna had “agreed to the termination and its terms.”
Laguna spokesman Skip Sayre said, “We very much appreciate the support and assistance that we received from folks in Louisiana on a variety of levels in their assistance to help us complete the transaction. We’re disappointed that we were not successful, and we’re looking forward to pursuing other business development opportunities in the future.”
Sayre said in September that Laguna had underestimated the extent of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board’s approval process but that the deal was still on. He added the amount of different parties involved, including the Pueblo of Laguna tribe, also prolonged negotiations.
Laguna had released plans to rename and renovate the property.
Daniel Politzer of JP Morgan said the failure of the transaction could be a positive situation for Eldorado, since it allows the company to possibly get a better deal for the property or fully integrate it into its operations, manage it more efficiently and reduce costs.
