American regulators have given Caesars Entertainment Corp permission to buy Centaur Holdings LLC, which runs casinos and horseracing in the state of Indiana. The U.S. gaming company said on Thursday the Indiana Horse Racing Commission and the Indiana Gaming Commission have given the green light for its takeover. Caesars Entertainment says it expects to complete the purchase in the middle of this month, buying Centaur Holdings for US$1.7 billion in cash.
The deal was announced last November and sees Caesars Entertainment take control of Indiana Grand (pictured) and Hoosier Park in the centrally located state where it owns two casinos. Caesars already runs Horseshoe Hammond, that serves Greater Chicago, and Horseshoe Southern Indiana, which serves southern Indiana and Louisville.
“This acquisition represents an outstanding opportunity to expand our footprint in a growing region while also leveraging our Total Rewards loyalty network to benefit the customers of Indiana Grand and Hoosier Park,” Caesars chief executive Mark Frissora said in Thursday’s announcement.
The company says Indiana Grand and Hoosier Park serve Indianapolis and central Indiana, welcoming more than 6.5 million visitors annually. Caesars says the tracks host horseracing, both live and simulcast; have more than 2,000 slot machines and electronic table games between them; and are destinations for live entertainment and dining. The loyalty programme for the two tracks has more than 1.1 million members, according to the firm.
Through its new resorts, expansion and acquisition, Caesars operates 47 casinos in 13 U.S. states and five countries. It is expanding in Asia too, where its is developing a US$700-million casino resort near the Incheon International Airport in South Korea ahead of a 2021 launch.
Caesars says it hopes to build a large-scale casino resort in Japan, which would bring world-class entertainment to Japanese audiences, while showing off Japanese culture and entertainment to tourists. Japan’s parliament is currently debating the Integrated Resort (IR) Implementation Bill to open three casinos there.
As recently as last week, Caesars claimed an entertainment coup by having Celine Dion perform in front of a sell-out crowd in Japan.
