Question of the Day - 10 November 2021

It is like a Monopoly game, one in which only a few players control most of the pieces.

Some crusty independents are still holding out, most of them on the north end of the Strip: Alex Meruelo (Sahara), Phil Ruffin (Circus Circus and Treasure Island), Genting Group (Resorts World), Margaret Elardi (Casino Royale), and of course Wynn Las Vegas/Encore (Wynn Resorts). To the south is the Tropicana, owned by Gaming & Leisure Properties Inc. and soon to be operated by Bally’s Gaming.

Generally speaking, the farther south you go, the more complicated it gets. Although operated by Caesars Entertainment, Caesars Palace and Harrah’s Las Vegas are owned by VICI Properties, a real estate investment trust (REIT) founded by Caesars, but ostensibly independent. (MGM Resorts International has its own REIT, MGM Growth Properties, of which more anon.) Caesars retains title to The Linq, Harrah’s, Cromwell, Bally’s , Paris, and Planet Hollywood, one or more of which will be sold next year.

VICI also has its claws into he Venetian/Palazzo complex, which it's buying from Las Vegas Sands, while Apollo Management will run the megaresort. It's also in the process of buying the Mirage, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, Park MGM, Luxor, Excalibur, and New York-New York from MGM Growth Properties, creating a serious concentration of ownership on the Strip. MGM had already sold Bellagio, Aria, and (non-gaming) Vdara to Blackstone Group, owner of the Cosmopolitan, though the Cosmo's operations are being sold to MGM Resorts and the property to a partnership among a Blackstone real-estate investment trust and two other investment groups.

These oligopolistic practices — toward which Nevada regulators take a laissez-faire attitude — make it more and more difficult for lone-wolf companies to break into the Strip. Dreamscape settled for the off-Strip Rio (which Caesars continues to operate); similarly, the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians pounced on Palms Casino Resort as the next best thing to a Strip presence. 

Penn National Gaming, huge in regional markets, continues to blow hot and cold on Vegas. It owned the Trop, but sold it to Bally's Corp. (the former Twin Rivers, which is making its appearance on the Strip). Penn also owns south-of-the-Strip M Resort, which it 's planning to expand.

Whatever happens, expect a feeding frenzy when Caesars puts one of its resorts on the market next year.