VICI Properties canceled a $103.5 million deal to acquire 23 undeveloped Strip acres owned by Caesars Entertainment. Turns out the parcels, adjacent to Caesars Forum and behind Harrah’s, came with permit and entitlement issues related to parking obligations.
“It was not going to be easy to unwind those quickly,” VICI CEO Ed Pitoniak said during an earnings conference call. The announcement comes as Caesars works through integration issues surrounding its $17.3 billion merger with Eldorado Resorts.
“For the meantime, we put that initiative aside and then, perhaps, return to it at a time when the dust has settled a bit post-merger,” Pitoniak said.
The parcel, coupled with another 27 acres of undeveloped land behind Bally’s Las Vegas, Paris Las Vegas, and Planet Hollywood already in VICI’s portfolio, would give the real estate investment trust 50 acres for a future development, according to CDC Gaming Reports.
VICI played a role in the merger by paying $1.8 billion to acquire Harrah’s properties in Atlantic City, New Orleans, and Laughlin and leasing the casino hotels back to the new Caesars for $154 million a year.
