Caesars Entertainment was formerly known as Eldorado Resorts, Inc. until 20 July 2020 when Eldorado acquired the company and changed the name. Indeed, the company’s history is rooted in the development of the Eldorado Hotel in Reno in 1973, when it was bought by Don Carano and members of the Carano family.
The company has a history of buying out others to add to their portfolio – this is what they did in 1995 with Silver Legacy Resort Casino, and a decade later, in 2005 with the bankrupt Hollywood Casino Shreveport in Louisiana.
They performed a reverse merger acquisition in 2013 which saw them combine with MTR Gaming and acquire three new ‘racinos’ in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Their strategy of buying out their competition continued throughout much of the 2010s.
It wasn’t until 2019 they discussed a merger with Caesars Entertainment Corporation, one which would see their iconic Eldorado name change in the $18 billion deal. At the time, Eldorado operated 26 assets compared to Caesars 53.
All of Eldorado’s key executives remained on the board and they combined their customer loyalty programs with Caesar's Rewards brand.
It was only in 2020 that Eldorado began selling properties – three for a grand total of $385m. These deals were necessary to lower the company’s debt level and to avoid allegations of ‘antitrust issues’ in Missouri, where Eldorado and Caesars owned six of the state’s 13 casinos.
In July 2021, Caesars sold its casinos in Europe and Africa. This followed their acquisition of sports betting company William Hill for $3.7bn – seen as a sign of their intent to tap into online gambling after a long history with brick-and-mortar casinos.
In February 2022, Caesars Entertainment announced a multi-year deal that named the organization as the official sportsbook partner of the NBA outfit the Cleveland Cavaliers. The company plans to open a 10,355 square foot retail sportsbook at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, the home of the Cavaliers, by the end of 2022.
Key Personnel:
Senior VP & Chief Technology Officer: John Linss.
Executive VP & Chief Marketing Officer: Christopher Holdren.
Vice President, Chief of Staff To The Chief Market: Tricia Khilnani.
President & Chief Operating Officer: Anthony Carano.
Chief Marketing Officer Josh Jones.
Chief Legal Officer: Ed Quatmann
Number of employees: 54,000
