Caesars completes sale of Rio Hotel Casino for $516 million

Casino and hospitality giant Caesars Entertainment Corp. this week announced that it has completed the sale of the property to a company affiliated with Dreamscape Companies, which is owned and controlled by New York-based developer Eric Birnbaum,

Dreamscape specializes in the acquisition, repositioning and/or developing gaming, hospitality, entertainment, retail and residential assets.

The Rio was sold in a $516.3 million deal, including certain fees, expenses, and $40 million in seller financing that a Caesars affiliate provided.

Caesars and the Rio’s new owner have also entered into a lease agreement, under the terms of which the Las Vegas casino operator will continue to run the day-to-day operations of the property for a two-year period and annual rent of $45 million.

The Rio’s new owner has the option to pay Caesars $7 million to extend the lease agreement under similar terms for a third year.

Once the lease term expires, the Rio’s buyer could opt to let Caesars continue to run the property or ask the casino operator to give up its management role.

The WSOP to Stay at the Rio at Least Until 2020

The Rio has been the home venue to the annual World Series of Poker for over a decade. The poker community has been curious to know whether the largest live tournament event on the poker calendar would need to find a new home following the Rio’s sale.

In a statement announcing the deal’s completion, Caesars said Thursday that the WSOP will be hosted at the Rio in 2020. It is yet to be seen whether the company will find a new home for the series after its 2020 edition.

There have been speculations that the WSOP will be moved to the CAESARS FORUM conference center that is slated to open doors next year on the Strip.

Aside from the WSOP location at least for 2020, Caesars also said that there will be no changes in guest experience due to the sale of the Rio. The company noted that the property will continue to be part of its rewards network during the lease term.

The sale of the Rio was one of similar deals that took place in Las Vegas in the past several months. Caesars rival MGM Resorts International offloaded this fall the Bellagio and Circus Circus and revealed plans to sell MGM Grand by the end of the year.

New York financial services giant The Blackstone Group agreed to purchase the Bellagio for $4.2 million, while Treasure Island owner Phil Ruffin bough Circus Circus for $825 million.

Caesars will probably offload more properties both in and beyond Las Vegas as it looks to merge with Reno-based operator Eldorado Resorts under the terms of a deal announced over the summer and expected to close sometime next year.

The combined entity will be the largest US casino operator by number of properties, but federal authorities could ask it to reduce its portfolio over competition concerns.