Caesars Entertainment announced on Tuesday it will sell the Tropicana Evansville casino in Indiana to real estate investment trust Gaming and Leisure Properties (GLPI) and gaming company Twin River Worldwide Holdings for a package deal of $480 million.
GLPI Will Lease the Casino to Twin Rivers
Twin River will buy the casino operations for $140 million. GLPI will purchase Caesars’ real estate and facilities for $340 million and will lease it to Twin River for $28 million a year. Awaiting regulatory approval, the deal is expected to be signed by the middle of next year.
As part of the deal with Caesars, Twin River will also acquire the rights to the Tropicana’s iGaming skins and sports betting. Although online casino gaming is not allowed yet in Indiana, the state government is expected to consider it during next year’s session.
Twin River recently reached a separate agreement with the investment trust over the acquisition of its Dover Downs property in Delaware for $144 million, which GLPI will lease back to the gaming company for $12 million per year. This move will allow Twin River to finance the Tropicana purchase without dipping into its cash reserves.
Twin Rivers Awaits Regulatory Approval
Caesars currently operates four additional gaming properties in Indiana: Indiana Grand Racing & Casino in Shelby, Harrah’s Hoosier Park Racing & Casino in Anderson, Horseshoe Hammond, and Horseshoe Southern Indiana in Elizabeth. In July, Indiana gaming regulators ordered Caesars to sell three of its estates before December 31, a condition in approving the $17.3 billion merger between Caesars and Eldorado Resorts.
Twin River is familiar with Caesars and the former Eldorado, after the purchase of the Isle of Capri in Kansas City, the MontBleu in Lake Tahoe, Bally’s in Atlantic City, and the Eldorado Shreveport in Louisiana.
The Tropicana Evansville is Twin River’s fourth casino purchase this year. The company will operate 15 casinos once it obtains regulatory approval for its most recent buys.
Indiana’s first riverboat casino, $50 million resort Tropicana Evansville, features a 45,000 square-foot casino, 4 restaurants, and retail stores. The casino moved inland in 2017, one year before Eldorado Resorts acquired Tropicana Entertainment.
GLPI Has Reopened 45 Out Of 46 Properties
GLPI CEO Peter Carlino said the company is excited to develop its partnership with operator Twin Rivers, as these new deals allow the company to extend its footprint in Delaware and further diversify its portfolio.
Gaming and Leisure Properties announced in its latest financial report that, as of October 27, 45 out of its 46 properties have reopened with capacity restraints and safety protocols. It also stated that it has collected 99% of contractual rents in 2020 so far.
Carlino said that the third-quarter financial results show the firm’s ability “to dynamically manage [its] leading, diversified portfolio of regional gaming assets and support [its] tenants throughout the pandemic to ensure the ongoing predictability of [its] rental cash flows.”