Caesars is dead, long live Caesars

After much flirtation, Eldorado Resorts has consummated its courtship of Caesars Entertainment. In a deal that values the latter at $18 billion (or $12.75/share), Eldorado will buy Caesars for $8.6 billion in cash, plus the assumption of debt. Two previous offers at lower stock prices had been rebuffed by the Roman empire. $8.8 billion is a lot of debt for Eldorado to take on but the merger doesn’t have the same warning signs as the disastrous LBO of 2007. Sensibly, the Eldorado moniker goes away in favor of the illustrious Caesars one. According to the New York Times, the combined companies will have 79 casinos across the U.S. and five international jurisdictions. Of course, that is before asset sales to lower market exposure and avoid antitrust issues.

Matchmaker Carl Icahn was well pleased. “It is rare that you see a merger where because of the great synergies ‘one plus one equals five,’” he told the Times. Caesars has started retrenching even before the Eldorado deal takes effect. The spa at Bally’s Las Vegas has closed (customers are directed to the one at Paris-Las Vegas) and rumor has it that The Rio‘s spa will be next on the chopping block. The Caesars board supposedly voted unanimously to become vassals of Eldorado, although that may have been a matter of surrendering to the inevitable.

* In a flashback to Donald Trump‘s Atlantic City days, his Washington, D.C., hotel is having its liquor licensed challenged, due to its namesake’s purported lack of good character. In what sounds like a throwback to the time when Trump was the most mobbed-up casino owner on the Boardwalk, a protest group wants action “focusing on certain lies [Trump] has told, his involvement in relevant fraudulent and other activity demonstrating his lack of integrity, and his refusal to abide by the law or to stop associating with known criminals.” The battle is far from over but the Washington’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Board‘s refusal to dismiss the anti-Trump application is a salient victory.

* The Culinary Union is pulling out all of the stops in its effort to unionize the Palms. It has promised to produce 1,000 protestors tomorrow—that’s some mighty big talk. Flexing her rhetorical muscles, Culinary Secretary-Treasurer Geconda Arguello-Kline said that “after workers voted to unionize by 84% at Palms, the company tried to overturn the elections and are now illegally refusing to negotiate.” This month’s vote at Fiesta Rancho brings to six the number of Station Casinos properties where the Culinary is being thwarted. The union also vowed to take the fight nationwide to business partners of Station owner Frank Fertitta III. Unspecified celebrity chefs are targeted, as is a firm that makes yachts, as well as Trumpian America First Action. However, the Culinary is not tilting solely at right-wing windmills: Others targeted for picketing include former Nancy Pelosi staffer Nadeam Elshami, as well as Fertitta family art advisor (yes, they have one) Michele Quinn. Other picketing targets are too many to name, and the Culinary may be fighting dirty but it obviously believes desperation measures are what it will take to get Fertitta’s attention.

* Having gone off half-cocked in its reinterpretation of the Federal Wire Act, the Department of Justice will now wait until next year to attempt to enforce it. The DoJ is still picking itself off the floor after a federal judge KO’d its attempts to crack down on New Hampshire‘s online lottery. Justice might still pursue a reversal of that ruling but, for the moment, the law of the land is the the Wire Act only applies to sports bets that cross state lines.

* Ronald Perelman of Scientific Games clearly likes what he sees. The mogul just bought 110,000 shares of stock, enlarging his portion to 39.5% of the company. Wall Street liked what it heard, as share prices rose 5%. The move comes at a time with Scientific is trying to force out Sylebra, a multinational alleged to own a subsidiary involved in illegal gambling and terrorism. Scientific claims that Sylebra’s continued stonewalling of key information could lead to the latter being declared a ‘disqualified holder’ of SGMS stock, forcing it to surrender its 8 million-plus shares. Stated the company, “Scientific Games takes very seriously our obligation to maintain the highest standard of integrity and transparency with our regulators in Nevada, across the United States and around the world. As part of these efforts, we must be assured of the suitability of our major investors.”

* Nevada continues to outpace the rest of the nation in job growth. The Silver State was up 4% last month, adding 55,200 new jobs. This is the eight straight month in which Nevada has been number one. Reno grew most, at 6%, while Las Vegas lagged behind at 3%. That still bested the national average of 1.5%. As Department of Employment Chief Economist David Schmidt put it, “Together, these indicators point to how tight the Nevada labor market remains and the opportunities this should present Nevada’s workers.”

* Jeopardy champion James Holzhauer‘s next challenge is the World Series of Poker. The game show contestant says he’s got serious poker cred, dating back to his collegiate years at the University of Illinois. Poker player Mike Sexton is bankrolling Holzhauer’s entry into two WSOP events, of which Holzhauer says “I played online poker semi-professionally in the early 2000s, but I don’t intend to make a career of it now, as I’m sure I wouldn’t be good enough at it to justify forgoing other opportunities.” His cyber-poker is a bit rusty, since he hasn’t played on the ‘Net since Black Monday in 2011. Sports betting, he says, is where his true casino skills lie. He’s donating 50% of his winnings to charity, so we hope goes far in the tourney.