Harrah's Entertainment (later named Caesars Entertainment Corporation, previously The Promus Companies) was an American

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live enterta ...

and

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

company founded in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is th ...

, and based in

Paradise, Nevada Paradise is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Clark County, Nevada, United States, adjacent to the city of Las Vegas. It was formed on December 8, 1950. Its population was 191,238 at the 2020 census, making it the f ...

, that operated over 50 properties and seven golf courses under several brands. In 2013, it was the fourth-largest gaming company in the world, with annual revenues of $8.6 billion. It was acquired in 2020 by Eldorado Resorts, which then changed its own name to Caesars Entertainment. At the end of its existence, Caesars was a public company, majority-owned by a group of

private equity In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a t ...

firms led by

Apollo Global Management Apollo Global Management, Inc. is an American global private-equity firm. It provides investment management and invests in credit, private equity, and real assets. As of March 31, 2022, the company had $512 billion of assets under management, ...

TPG Capital TPG Inc., previously known as Texas Pacific Group and TPG Capital, is an American investment company based in Fort Worth, Texas. The private equity firm is focused on leveraged buyouts and growth capital. TPG manages investment funds in growth c ...

, and Paulson & Co.; and

Carl Icahn Carl Celian Icahn (; born February 16, 1936) is an American financier. He is the founder and controlling shareholder of Icahn Enterprises, a public company and diversified conglomerate holding company based in Sunny Isles Beach. Icahn takes la ...

. Caesars's largest operating unit filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whet ...

in 2015, which led to the foundation of Vici Properties as a result.

History

William F. Harrah era (1937–1978)

The company's background can be traced to October 29, 1937, when Bill Harrah opened a small

bingo parlor In the United States, bingo is a game of chance in which each player matches the numbers printed in different arrangements on cards. The game host (caller) draws at random, marking the selected numbers with tiles. When a player finds the selec ...

, a predecessor to

Harrah's Reno Harrah's Reno is a closed casino hotel in downtown Reno, Nevada. It is owned by CAI Investments, which plans to renovate the building as a mixed-use development named Reno City Center. It is credited for being the first property of the Harrah's ...

. In 1955, he expanded to

Stateline, Nevada Stateline is a census-designated place (CDP) on the southeastern shore of Lake Tahoe in Douglas County, Nevada, United States. It lies next to the California state line and City of South Lake Tahoe. The population was 842 at the 2010 census. ...

, on the south shore of

Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; was, Dáʔaw, meaning "the lake") is a freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the United States. Lying at , it straddles the state line between California and Nevada, west of Carson City. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake i ...

, where he would eventually open Harrah's Lake Tahoe. Harrah's Inc. made its

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investme ...

in 1971. In 1972, it was listed on the

American Stock Exchange NYSE American, formerly known as the American Stock Exchange (AMEX), and more recently as NYSE MKT, is an American stock exchange situated in New York City. AMEX was previously a mutual organization, owned by its members. Until 1953, it was know ...

and in 1973, Harrah's became the first casino company listed on the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its liste ...

. Bill Harrah died at the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota, at the age of 66, during a

cardiac surgery Cardiac surgery, or cardiovascular surgery, is surgery on the heart or great vessels performed by cardiac surgeons. It is often used to treat complications of ischemic heart disease (for example, with coronary artery bypass grafting); to co ...

operation to repair an

aortic aneurysm An aortic aneurysm is an enlargement (dilatation) of the aorta to greater than 1.5 times normal size. They usually cause no symptoms except when ruptured. Occasionally, there may be abdominal, back, or leg pain. The prevalence of abdominal aorti ...

Under Holiday Inn

In February 1980,

Holiday Inn Holiday Inn is an American chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia. and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson, who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee that year. The chain was a division ...

acquired Harrah's, Inc. for $300 million. Liquidation of Harrah's collection of almost 7,000 antique automobiles reportedly returned the full purchase price of the company to Holiday Inn. Holiday Inn at the time had interests in two casinos: the under-construction Holiday Inn Marina Casino in

Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

, and a 40 percent stake in the Holiday Casino, adjacent to the Holiday Inn hotel on the

Las Vegas Strip The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard South in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of the Las Vegas cit ...

. In July 1987, Bill's Casino Lake Tahoe opened.

Harrah's Laughlin Harrah's Laughlin (formerly Harrah's Del Rio) is a casino hotel on the banks of the Colorado River in Laughlin, Nevada. It has 1,505 rooms, including 115 suites, as well as a casino. There are several restaurants, a poker room, keno and a race an ...

opened in August 1988.

The Promus Companies

The company that would become Harrah's Entertainment was formed in 1990 as The Promus Companies. To effect the sale of the Holiday Inn hotel business to Bass PLC, Promus was created as a

corporate spin-off A corporate spin-off, also known as a spin-out, or starburst or hive-off, is a type of corporate action where a company "splits off" a section as a separate business or creates a second incarnation, even if the first is still active. Charact ...

, holding Harrah's, Embassy Suites,

Homewood Suites Homewood Suites by Hilton is an American chain of all-suite residential-style hotels managed by the Hilton Worldwide. As of December 31, 2019, the chain consists of 505 hotels in 4 countries and territories with 57,545 rooms. 490 Homewood Su ...

, and

Hampton Inn Hampton by Hilton, formerly known (and still commonly referred to) as Hampton Inn or Hampton Inn & Suites, is an American chain of hotels trademarked by Hilton Worldwide. The Hampton hotel brand is a chain of moderately priced, budget to midscale ...

; Bass then acquired Holiday Corp., which retained only the Holiday Inn assets. The next year, the company's headquarters moved from Reno to

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mo ...

. In April 1992, the Holiday Casino was rebranded as Harrah's Las Vegas. The late 1980s and early 1990s saw a rapid increase in gambling markets with the growth of Indian gaming and legalization of

riverboat casino A riverboat casino is a type of casino on a riverboat found in several states in the United States with frontage on the Mississippi River and its tributaries, or along the Gulf Coast. Several states authorized this type of casino in order to e ...

s. In 1993 and 1994, the company opened Harrah's Joliet,

Harrah's Vicksburg Harrah's Entertainment (later named Caesars Entertainment Corporation, previously The Promus Companies) was an American casino and hotel company founded in Reno, Nevada, and based in Paradise, Nevada, that operated over 50 properties and seven g ...

, Harrah's Tunica, Harrah's Black Hawk, Harrah's Central City, Harrah's Shreveport, Harrah's North Kansas City, and

Harrah's Ak-Chin Harrah's Ak-Chin is a hotel and casino located 39 miles (63 km) south of Phoenix, Arizona in Maricopa. It is owned by the Ak-Chin Indian Community and operated by Caesars Entertainment. The casino features video poker and slot machines ...

Renamed as Harrah's Entertainment

In 1995, Promus decided to spin off its non-gaming hotel businesses, in part because they had been undervalued by investors due to perception of the company as a risky gaming stock. Promus Hotel Corp. was established, holding Embassy Suites, Hampton Inn, and Homewood Suites, while the parent company, holding 16 casinos, was renamed as Harrah's Entertainment. Harrah's continued its expansion over the next ten years, opening Harrah's Skagit Valley,

SkyCity Auckland Skycity Auckland is an entertainment complex and casino in the central business district of Auckland, New Zealand, between Victoria and Federal Streets. Located at the base of the Sky Tower, it was the second casino in New Zealand, and is the on ...

, Harrah's St. Louis-Riverport,

Harrah's Cherokee Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort is a casino and hotel on the Qualla Boundary in Cherokee, North Carolina. It is owned by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) and operated by Caesars Entertainment. It is located on the site of the former F ...

, Harrah's Prairie Band, Harrah's New Orleans, and

Harrah's Rincon Harrah's Resort Southern California (formerly Harrah's Rincon) is a Native American gaming casino and hotel in Valley Center, California. It is owned by the Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians and operated by Caesars Entertainment. Hotel rooms The h ...

, and acquiring the Southern Belle Casino,

Showboat, Inc. Showboat, Inc., a United States-based organization in the casino and entertainment industry, made its initial public offering in 1969. Later that year, Ramada Inns agreed to buy the company for $15 million in stock, but negotiations failed becaus ...

, the

Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino The Rio is a hotel and casino near the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States. It is owned by Dreamscape Companies LLC and operated by Caesars Entertainment. It includes a casino and 2,520 suites. It features a Brazilian theme based ...

Players International Players International was a company, based in Atlantic City, New Jersey, that built and operated riverboat casinos and a horse racing track. History The company was founded by brothers David and Edward Fishman in 1984. The company was originally ...

, Harveys Casino Resorts,

Louisiana Downs Louisiana Downs Casino & Racetrack is a horse racing track and racino located in Bossier City in northwestern Louisiana. It opened in 1974. The casino features over 800 slot machines. The track specification is a dirt track of & turf course of . ...

Horseshoe Gaming Horseshoe Gaming Holding Corporation was established in 1993 with its only asset being the rights to use the Horseshoe name on casinos. The corporation was a private holding company mostly owned by Jack Binion. History In 1994, the company acqu ...

, and the

World Series of Poker The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada and, since 2004, sponsored by Caesars Entertainment. It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best-known poker pl ...

. On September 4, 1997, Harrah's Entertainment launched its Total Gold

loyalty program A loyalty program is a marketing strategy designed to encourage customers to continue to shop at or use the services of a business associated with the program. Today, such programs cover most types of commerce, each having varying features and ...

(renamed as Total Rewards on April 4, 2000 and again as

Caesars Rewards Caesars Entertainment, Inc., formerly Eldorado Resorts, Inc., is an American hotel and casino entertainment company founded and based in Reno, Nevada that operates more than 50 properties. Eldorado Resorts acquired Caesars Entertainment Corporat ...

on February 1, 2019), developed at a cost of $20 million. It was the first gaming company to offer a systemwide comps program, allowing points earned at one casino to be redeemed for goods and services at any of the company's other casinos. The system would be credited as a major driver of Harrah's growth over the coming years.

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA ...

professor Gary Loveman joined Harrah's as

chief operating officer A chief operating officer or chief operations officer, also called a COO, is one of the highest-ranking executive positions in an organization, composing part of the " C-suite". The COO is usually the second-in-command at the firm, especially if ...

in 1998, and would go on to serve as

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especiall ...

from 2003 to 2015. In 1999, the company moved its headquarters from Memphis to Las Vegas.

Purchase of Caesars Entertainment, Inc.

Harrah's made its largest single expansion in 2005, when it acquired Caesars Entertainment, Inc. for $10.4 billion. Negotiations were spurred on by news of a merger agreement between

MGM Mirage MGM Resorts International is an American global hospitality and entertainment company operating destination resorts in Las Vegas, Massachusetts, Detroit, Mississippi, Maryland, and New Jersey, including Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, and Pa ...

and

Mandalay Resort Group Mandalay Resort Group (formerly Circus Circus Enterprises) was an American hotel and casino operator based in Paradise, Nevada. Its major properties included Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Excalibur and Circus Circus, as well as half of the Monte Carlo. ...

. The two companies sold several properties ahead of the merger to assuage

antitrust Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust ...

concerns, including Harrah's East Chicago and Harrah's Mardi Gras. The acquisition increased Harrah's portfolio to 40 casinos, plus four cruise ship casinos. The deal furthered Harrah's goal of gaining a larger presence on the Las Vegas Strip, where Caesars owned four casinos, and improved its ability to market to

high roller A high roller, also referred to as a whale or cheetah, is a gambler who consistently wagers large amounts of money. High rollers often receive lavish " comps" from casinos to lure them onto the gambling floors, such as free private jet transfer ...

s. Harrah's began to push for a larger international presence in 2005, announcing joint venture agreements to build casinos in Spain, Slovenia, and the Bahamas, and applying for a license to build a major resort in Singapore, though none of these projects would come to fruition. Harrah's also acquired

London Clubs International Metropolitan Gaming is a British gaming company that operates eleven casinos in the United Kingdom, Egypt, and South Africa. It is owned by Silver Point Capital. The casinos began as part of Grand Metropolitan, and later became an independent com ...

in 2006, and the Macau Orient Golf club in 2007. From 2005 to 2010, the company consolidated control of a long stretch of the east side of the Las Vegas Strip, acquiring the

Bourbon Street Bourbon Street (french: Rue Bourbon, es, Calle de Borbón) is a historic street in the heart of the French Quarter of New Orleans. Extending thirteen blocks from Canal Street to Esplanade Avenue, Bourbon Street is famous for its many bars an ...

, Imperial Palace, Barbary Coast, and Planet Hollywood casinos, along with large tracts of land behind the Strip properties. In 2005 and 2006, Harrah's Entertainment closed its Lake Charles casino due to damage from

Hurricane Rita Hurricane Rita was the most intense tropical cyclone on record in the Gulf of Mexico and the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded. Part of the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, which included three of the top ten ...

, sold the

Flamingo Laughlin The Aquarius Casino Resort (formerly Flamingo Hilton Laughlin and Flamingo Laughlin) is a hotel and casino located on the banks of the Colorado River in Laughlin, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Golden Entertainment and is the largest hotel ...

and sold Grand Casino Gulfport.

Company goes private

Loveman at some point sought advice from

tycoon David Bonderman about the possibility of spinning off ownership of Harrah's Entertainment real estate as a separate

real estate investment trust A real estate investment trust (REIT) is a company that owns, and in most cases operates, income-producing real estate. REITs own many types of commercial real estate, including office and apartment buildings, warehouses, hospitals, shopping cente ...

(REIT), hoping to attain the higher price-to-earnings ratios at which hotel companies traded, compared to gaming companies. In 2006, the discussions evolved toward the idea of a

leveraged buyout A leveraged buyout (LBO) is one company's acquisition of another company using a significant amount of borrowed money ( leverage) to meet the cost of acquisition. The assets of the company being acquired are often used as collateral for the loa ...

of Harrah's by Bonderman's company,

. Another private equity firm,

, approached Loveman about a buyout and he encouraged them to collaborate with TPG. By the end of the year, an agreement was announced for the two companies to buy Harrah's Entertainment for $17.1 billion in cash plus $10.7 billion in assumed debt. The transaction closed in January 2008, leaving Harrah's with $25.1 billion in debt.

The Linq

It was widely announced in previous years that the company planned to implode properties and build new ones from scratch, but after the market downturn the company conceded that it had little experience in building major resorts. Instead it developed Project LINQ in 2009, which called for retaining and improving all existing buildings while adding a collection of about 20 restaurants and bars to be built along a winding corridor between the company's Imperial Palace, O'Sheas and

Flamingo Flamingos or flamingoes are a type of wading bird in the family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas (including the Caribbea ...

casinos, on the east side of the

. It was an attempt to create the kind of entertainment district that had developed organically in cities such as

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

and

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

yet was lacking on the Strip, with its enclosed and casino-centric zones. It provided competition for the

Fremont Street Experience The Fremont Street Experience (FSE) is a pedestrian mall and attraction in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. The FSE occupies the westernmost five blocks of Fremont Street, including the area known for years as "Glitter Gulch", and portions of some ...

Las Vegas Arena

The

Anschutz Entertainment Group The Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), also known as AEG Worldwide, is an American global sporting and music entertainment presenter and a subsidiary of The Anschutz Corporation. It is the world's largest owner of sports teams and sports even ...

first tried to build an arena in Las Vegas in association with Harrah's Entertainment. In 2007, the joint venture announced they would build a 20,000 seat stadium behind the Bally's and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

casino-hotels. Caesars Entertainment, Inc. had previously envisioned using the location to build a

baseball park A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into the infield, an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined, and the outfield, where dimensions can vary widely from place to pla ...

, but the company's buyout by Harrah's cancelled the plans. Through the following year, Harrah's got uncertain on continuing with the project, not knowing if AEG would split the costs and whether building a major league-ready stadium without a guaranteed franchise to play on it would be feasible given the enduring

financial crisis A financial crisis is any of a broad variety of situations in which some financial assets suddenly lose a large part of their nominal value. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many financial crises were associated with banking panics, and man ...

. The original plans were to break ground in June 2008 and finish the arena in 2010, but by 2009, it was revealed the stalled project had not even done a traffic study despite being located near a busy intersection. In 2010, the plans were changed to use an area behind the Imperial Palace. However, given the financing would require a special taxation district, opposition from the

Clark County Commission The Clark County Commission is the governmental organization that governs and runs Clark County, Nevada, providing services to the unincorporated areas. Its offices are located at the Clark County Government Center in Downtown Las Vegas. The comm ...

regarding using public money in the project stalled it even further. AEG eventually backed out completely by 2012, once

MGM Resorts International MGM Resorts International is an American global hospitality and entertainment company operating destination resorts in Las Vegas, Massachusetts, Detroit, Mississippi, Maryland, and New Jersey, including Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, and ...

came up with their own

project A project is any undertaking, carried out individually or collaboratively and possibly involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular goal. An alternative view sees a project managerially as a sequence of even ...

using a terrain behind the New York-New York and

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...

resorts. This attracted AEG primarily for not relying on public funding. The acquisition of Planet Hollywood provided Harrah's Entertainment with a contiguous property bordering the strip. The vacant lots behind the casinos had been slated for a sports arena large enough to hold a professional basketball or hockey team. The three casinos will have over 8,000 rooms which can be directly connected to the arena. It was announced in August 2010 that Harrah's Entertainment would run casinos in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

and

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

when they opened in 2012.

Renamed as Caesars Entertainment Corporation

On November 23, 2010, plans for an IPO were canceled, but a planned name change from Harrah's Entertainment to Caesars Entertainment Corporation did go forward and was made official on the same day. This change was intended to capitalize on the international name recognition of the Caesars brand. The Harrah's brand would remain one of the company's three primary casino brands. On February 8, 2012, an initial public offering took place, with the common stock trading on the NASDAQ under the symbol "CZR."

Caesars Acquisition Company merger

On December 22, 2014, Caesars announced its intention to acquire Caesars Acquisition Company. Under the terms of the transaction, shareholders of Caesars Acquisition Company would receive 0.664 share of Caesars Entertainment common stock for each share of Caesars Acquisition Company held.

Casino unit files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

The casino operating unit, Caesars Entertainment Operating Company, Inc. and approximately 170 of its subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on January 15, 2015. The casino unit's parent company, Caesars Entertainment Corporation, did not file for bankruptcy protection. The casino operating group's investors initiated litigation against the parent company, Caesars Entertainment Corporation's over the parent company's debt guarantees. Vici Properties was founded as a result. On November 2, 2015, Rock Gaming announced it would begin assuming management of

Horseshoe Casino Cleveland Jack Cleveland Casino (formerly Horseshoe Cleveland) is a casino in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, owned by Vici Properties and operated by Jack Entertainment. Casino Jack Cleveland Casino is located in the former Higbee Building at Tower City Center ...

, Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati and

ThistleDown Racino Jack Thistledown Racino is a thoroughbred race track and casino in North Randall, Ohio, at the outskirts of the city of Cleveland. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by Jack Entertainment. History and Information The track came under th ...

from Caesars Entertainment and complete the transition by June 2016.

Playtika Company acquisition and sale

Caesars acquired

Playtika Playtika (Playtika Holding Corp.) is an Israel-based digital entertainment company specializing in the development and publication of mobile games. In 2021, Playtika had over 35 million monthly active users. History The company was founded in ...

in May 2011 for an amount between $80 and $90 million. Playtika, a social game developer company, was founded in 2010 by Robert Antokol and Uri Shahak and produced Facebook social gaming platforms (slotomania.com & caesarsgames.com). In June 2016, a Chinese consortium, which included Alibaba chief

Jack Ma Jack Ma Yun (; born 10 September 1964) is a Chinese business magnate, investor and philanthropist. He is the co-founder and former executive chairman of Alibaba Group, a multinational technology conglomerate. In addition, he co-founded Yunfen ...

Yunfeng Capital Yunfeng Capital (YF Capital; ) is a Shanghai-based private equity firm founded in 2010. It was founded by Jack Ma (founder and former executive chairman of Alibaba) and David Yu (founder of Target Media). Background Yunfeng Capital was founded ...

, agreed to purchase it in a buyout for $4.4 billion. On November 29, 2017, Caesars announced it was selling

Harrah's Las Vegas Harrah's Las Vegas is a hotel and casino centrally located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by Caesars Entertainment. The property originally opened as a joint venture with Holiday Inn. Const ...

to Vici Properties while Caesars continued to operate it. The same day, they announced that they were buying Centaur Gaming. In addition, they were building a new convention center in Las Vegas named

Caesars Forum Caesars Forum is a convention center located in Paradise, Nevada, east of the Las Vegas Strip. It is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment. Development of the project began around early 2017, and construction started in July 2018. The facil ...

Caesars and Eldorado merger

On March 17, 2019, it was announced that Caesars Entertainment Corporation and Eldorado Resorts were exploring a merger of the two companies. On June 23, 2019, Caesars officially accepted Eldorado's offer, reported to be worth almost $8.6 billion. Caesars controlled 53 assets compared to Eldorado's 26. After completion of the merger, 5 board members would come from Caesars and 6 would come from Eldorado. Shareholders of both companies approved of the merger on November 15, 2019, and it was completed in July 2020.

Carl Icahn investment, new CEO

On April 16, 2019, Caesars announced that

Affinity Gaming Affinity Interactive, formerly known as Herbst Gaming and Affinity Gaming, is an American private casino and sports betting company based in Paradise, Nevada. It operates eight casinos in Nevada, Missouri, and Iowa, and publishes the '' Daily Raci ...

CEO Anthony Rodio would become the CEO of Caesars within 30 days, replacing Mark Frissora, who announced his intention to step down in November 2018. Rodio came recommended by investor

, who owned almost 100 million shares (a 28.5% stake in Caesars as of June 17, 2019) and had reportedly been pushing Caesars to sell the company.

Fines and settlements

In 2015 the US Treasury’s

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is a bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury that collects and analyzes information about financial transactions in order to combat domestic and international money laundering, terr ...

(FinCEN) fined Caesars Entertainment’s Las Vegas casino $8 million for failing to properly police transactions for illicit activity. A 2012 IRS examination found Caesars had failed to report to the authorities over 100 incidents involving potential criminal activity. The

Nevada Gaming Control Board The Nevada Gaming Control Board, also known as the State Gaming Control Board, is a Nevada state governmental agency involved in the regulation of gaming and law enforcement of Nevada gaming laws throughout the state, along with the Nevada Gaming ...

announced a related $1.5 million penalty. Caesars Entertainment was censured by the UK's

Gambling Commission The Gambling Commission is an executive non-departmental public body of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for regulating gambling and supervising gaming law in Great Britain. Its remit covers arcades, betting, bingo, casinos, ...

in 2015 for lax money-laundering controls in at two of its London casinos. Caesars entered into a voluntary settlement, agreeing to improve its anti-money laundering processes and making a payment of £875,000 to be used for “socially responsible purposes”. In 2020 the UK Gambling Commission fined Caesars Entertainment EMEA a record £13m for failures relating to VIP schemes. The failures included allowing a customer to lose £323,000 in 12 months, despite showing signs of gambling addiction. Caesars was also found guilty of failing to prevent money laundering, and failing to check the source of funds of someone who bet £3.5m in three months, and a

politically exposed person In financial regulation, a politically exposed person (PEP) is one who has been entrusted with a prominent public function. A PEP generally presents a higher risk for potential involvement in bribery and corruption by virtue of their position and ...

(PEP) who lost £795,000 in just over a year. Three senior managers lost their licence to run a gambling business.

Sale

In April 2020, Twin River Worldwide Holdings announced a deal with Caesars Entertainment and Vici Properties to purchase

Bally's Atlantic City Bally's Atlantic City is a casino hotel on the boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It is owned and operated by Bally's Corporation. The Marlborough-Blenheim Hotel stood on the site before the casino was built. It is famous for its address ...

in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Properties

At the time of its acquisition in 2020, Caesars operated the following properties: * Bally's **

Bally's Las Vegas Horseshoe Las Vegas (formerly MGM Grand Hotel and Casino and Bally's Las Vegas) is a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment. It originally opened as the MGM Grand Hotel on De ...

* Caesars **

Caesars Atlantic City Caesars Atlantic City is a luxury hotel, casino, and spa resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Like Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, it has an ancient Roman and ancient Greek theme. Atlantic City's second casino, it opened in 1979 as the Boardwalk ...

Caesars Palace Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The hotel is situated on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip between Bellagio and The Mirage. It is one of Las Vegas's largest and best known landmarks. Caesar ...

Caesars Southern Indiana Caesars Southern Indiana (formerly Caesars Indiana and Horseshoe Southern Indiana) is a casino hotel in Southern Indiana. Opened in 1998, it is owned by Vici Properties and operated by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, using the Caesars name ...

* Harrah's ** Harrah's Ak-Chin Casino ** Harrah's Atlantic City **

Harrah's Cherokee Valley River Harrah's Cherokee Valley River is a casino and hotel on the Qualla Boundary in Murphy, North Carolina. It is owned by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) and operated by Caesars Entertainment. History Proposed in 2014 and at a cost of $1 ...

Harrah's Council Bluffs Harrah's Council Bluffs is a hotel and casino located in Council Bluffs, Iowa across the Missouri River from Omaha, Nebraska. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by Caesars Entertainment Caesars Entertainment, Inc., formerly Eldorado R ...

Harrah's Gulf Coast Harrah's Gulf Coast is a casino and hotel in Biloxi, Mississippi, owned by Vici Properties and operated by Caesars Entertainment. This facility replaces the former Grand Casino Biloxi, which was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. At the time, the c ...

** Harrah's Hoosier Park Racing & Casino ** Harrah's Joliet ** Harrah's Lake Tahoe **

** Harrah's Louisiana Downs **

Harrah's Metropolis Harrah's Metropolis is a riverboat casino located on the Ohio River in Metropolis, Illinois. It opened in 1994 as Players Island, a joint venture between Players International and show business impresario Merv Griffin as one of the state's first ca ...

** Harrah's New Orleans ** Harrah's North Kansas City ** Harrah's Northern California ** Harrah's Philadelphia **

Harrah's Resort Southern California Harrah's Resort Southern California (formerly Harrah's Rincon) is a Native American gaming casino and hotel in Valley Center, California. It is owned by the Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians and operated by Caesars Entertainment. Hotel rooms The ...

* Horseshoe ** Horseshoe Casino Baltimore (50% ownership with Jack Entertainment) **

Horseshoe Bossier City Horseshoe Bossier City is a riverboat casino in Bossier City, Louisiana, across the river from Shreveport. Horseshoe Bossier City has 606 suites in its 25-story hotel tower. Horseshoe has over 1,500 slot machines and over 60 table games. Horses ...

Horseshoe Council Bluffs Horseshoe Council Bluffs is a casino and former greyhound racing track in Council Bluffs, Iowa, near Omaha, Nebraska. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by Caesars Entertainment. It has of gaming space with 1,438 slot machines, 63 table ...

Horseshoe Hammond Horseshoe Casino Hammond, located in Hammond, Indiana, is a property containing gaming, entertainment, restaurants, bars, and lounges. History Horseshoe Casino originally opened as Empress Casino in 1996 as a , four-level gaming vessel. Horses ...

Horseshoe Casino Tunica Horseshoe Casino Tunica is a casino resort located in Tunica Resorts, Mississippi. It was developed by Jack Binion, the son of Las Vegas gaming legend Benny Binion, and named after his father's famous Binion's Horseshoe downtown gambling hall. Muc ...

* Other Las Vegas Strip ** The Cromwell Las Vegas **

Flamingo Las Vegas Flamingo Las Vegas (formerly The Fabulous Flamingo and Flamingo Hilton Las Vegas) is a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment. The property includes a casino along with 3,4 ...

The Linq The Linq (formerly Flamingo Capri, Imperial Palace and The Quad) is a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment. It opened as the Flamingo Capri in 1959, on property located directl ...

Paris Las Vegas Paris Las Vegas is a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment and has a 95,263 square-foot casino with over 1,700 slot machines. The theme is the city of Paris; it includes a hal ...

Planet Hollywood Las Vegas Planet Hollywood Las Vegas (formerly the Aladdin) is a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Eldorado Resorts, Caesars Entertainment. The property was previously the site of an earlier resort known ...

* Other US casinos **

Harveys Lake Tahoe Harveys Lake Tahoe is a hotel and casino located in Stateline, Nevada. It has 742 rooms and suites as well as six restaurants and a casino with of space. It also has a video arcade, wedding chapel, pool, convention center and a full-service ...

** Indiana Grand Racing & Casino **

* International casinos **

Caesars Windsor Caesars Windsor in Windsor, Ontario, Canada is one of four casinos in the Detroit–Windsor area and was opened in 1994 on the waterfront of the Detroit River. Owned by the Government of Ontario (through the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporati ...

, Canada **

(12 locations) Properties previously operated by the company included: *

Atlantic City Country Club The Atlantic City Country Club is a golf club located in Northfield, New Jersey, west of Atlantic City. In addition to a golf course, the club offers banquet and dining facilities. The course resides on in a coastal setting with skyline view ...

Atlantic Club Casino Hotel The Atlantic Club Casino Hotel, formerly known as Golden Nugget, Bally's Grand, The Grand, Atlantic City Hilton and ACH, is an abandoned hotel and casino located at the southern end of the boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey, owned and operat ...

* Bill's Casino Lake Tahoe *

Binion's Horseshoe Binion's Gambling Hall & Hotel, formerly Binion's Horseshoe, is a casino on Fremont Street along the Fremont Street Experience mall in Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned by TLC Casino Enterprises. The casino is named for its founder, Ben ...

Bourbon Street Hotel and Casino Bourbon Street Hotel and Casino (named after New Orleans' Bourbon Street) was a small hotel and casino near the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. Opening in 1980 as the Shenandoah Hotel, the property was plagued with licensing and financial ...

* Caesars Golf Macau * Caesars Palace at Sea *

* Grand Casino Gulfport * Harrah's East Chicago * Harrah's Prairie Band *

* Harrah's Shreveport * Harrah's Sky City * Harrah's St. Louis * Harrah's Casino Tunica * Harrah's Tunica Mardi Gras Casino * Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati *

* IP Casino Resort Spa * Rio Secco Golf Club * Showboat Atlantic City *

Showboat Hotel and Casino The Showboat Hotel and Casino, known as the Castaways Hotel and Casino from 2000-2004, was a hotel and casino located at the north end of the Boulder Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada. The hotel consisted of a 19 story tower containing 445 rooms, a ca ...

* Tunica Roadhouse * Turfway Park (50% stake)

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1990 establishments in Nevada 2012 initial public offerings 2020 mergers and acquisitions American companies established in 1990 Companies based in Paradise, Nevada Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2015 Gambling companies established in 1990 Hospitality companies established in 1990 Gambling companies of the United States Hospitality companies of the United States Poker companies