No, The Rio hasn’t been sold but it’s a definite possibility (one that has, however, been rumored umpteen times in the last five years). On April 23, Business Week reported that The Rio was being shopped by Harrah’s Entertainment for $500 million, with Colony Capital (majority owner of Station Casinos) and Starwood Capital Group the likeliest bidders.
Then ... silence. Nor has there been any indication that this year’s final table will be played at Planet Hollywood. However, with Peepshow rumored to be on its last legs, possibly not eking out the year, the main showroom at Planet Hollywood might be available for the final table in November. But, as we said, the official word is that the WSOP is staying put for now. Should Harrah’s sell The Rio, the tourney will of course be moved to someplace on the Strip.
Tournament veep Ty Stewart waved away queries about a Rio sale in a press conference, saying, "We’re not going to speculate on any of those other business dealings. The company would have a similar or expanded footprint if the WSOP is held outside of The Rio, but at this point, we’re focusing on running a great tournament in 2010." To further quell speculation, Harrah’s spokesman Seth Palansky added, "We haven’t spent one second looking at alternative venues because we don’t think there’s a need to."
As for George Maloof buying The Rio, while that might be good for the casino with which Harrah’s has struggled for over a decade, that’s far from likely to happen. Poor condo sales at Palms Place have left Maloof with a mountain of debt and he’s fighting off a hostile takeover attempt by one of the two private equity firms that owns ... Harrah’s Entertainment.
Why would Harrah’s sell The Rio, then turn around and buy the Palms? As with so much of what passes for decisionmaking at Harrah’s these days, it defies logic.
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