SHREVEPORT, LA. — Eldorado Resorts Inc. has agreed to sell the Eldorado Resort Casino Shreveport, located on the banks of the Red River in Shreveport in the northwest corner of Louisiana. Maverick Gaming LLC will purchase the asset for $230 million.
The property features 400 hotel rooms, six restaurants, two nightclubs, 1,400 slot machines, 50 gaming tables and a full-service spa. The transaction is scheduled to close in the first half of this year, prior to or at the same time as Eldorado’s previously announced merger with Caesars Entertainment Corp.
“The agreement to divest the Eldorado Shreveport is consistent with our continued focus on reducing debt ahead of the expected closing for the Caesars transaction,” says Tom Reeg, CEO of Eldorado.
The buyer hopes to cater to residents of Dallas, which is approximately 200 miles to the west. Casinos are illegal throughout the state of Texas. Although there are a handful of legal casinos on boats and Native American land, none are near the Dallas metro.
“The population in the Dallas market exceeds 7.5 million people, and Dallas encompasses the third-largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the United States,” says Eric Persson, owner of Maverick Gaming. “Maverick’s focus to date has been on the growing, vibrant and dynamic economies of Salt Lake City, Seattle and Denver. The company now adds Dallas to that list.”
This investment is a potential gamble for Maverick. Following a building boom in the 1990s, casino gambling’s future is “not particularly bright” in the region, according to The Shreveport Times.The industry lost 1,378 jobs between 2014 and 2019 and revenues fell 9.1 percent, or $67.2 million, as new casinos in Oklahoma attracted the Dallas market more effectively.
Maverick intends to fund the transaction primarily with cash on hand and financing from private investment firms HG Vora Capital Management and Angelo Gordon.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions. Macquarie Capital Ltd. is acting as exclusive financial advisor and Milbank LLP is acting as legal counsel to Eldorado.
— Sarah Daniels