Caesars Entertainment may have to cede more equity in Caesars Entertainment Operating Co. in order to get junior creditors behind a Chapter 11 restructuring. A Paulson & Co. initiative 
reportedly aims to do exactly that. In tandem with Canyon Partners and Soros Fund Management, Paulson is said to be discussing a new bankruptcy reorganization, sources say. As the third-biggest investor in the Caesars mothership, Paulson carries a lot of clout, which it is flexing on behalf of junior creditors. It’s also bailed out Caesars co-owner Apollo Management from its Realogy Holdings fiasco, in addition to having de-levered Caesars in the past, so there’s reason for Caesars, Apollo and Texas Pacific Group to hear what Paulson has to say.
Meanwhile, the mothership could be tipped into bankruptcy, too, if Judge Benjamin Goldgar permits lawsuits against Caesars to go ahead during the Chapter 11 proceeds. At least that’s Caesars’ story and it’s sticking to it. Considering that Caesars’ jiggery-pokery has put a disproportionate amount of debt in CEOC, one can understand their inclination to sue.
* Thanks in part to low gas prices (85 cents a gallon), Detroiters had more money to spend at their local casinos last quarter. Perennial leader — and with good reason — MGM Grand Detroit banked $151 million, followed by MotorCity ($117 million) and Greektown Casino ($82 million). It’s notable how evenly spaced the revenue gaps between each casino are. You don’t see that every day.
* Fantasy-sports betting took another step towards full-blown Internet gambling with the launch of Yahoo Daily Sports Fantasy. (Since we’re looking at a $2.6 million/year industry, how much longer before casinos take a slice of the action?) The news comes against a backdrop of a struggling business model at Yahoo Inc. The question is whether Yahoo is sufficiently committed to compete with FanDuel and DraftKings. Eilers Research Managing Director Adam Krejcik thinks not and is disappointed by the lack of innovation in Yahoo’s platform.
“[W]hile Yahoo certainly has the resources to spend at this level, it is unclear to us whether management is willing to commit to this type of cash burn,” he wrote, unimpressed by Yahoo’s $100 million capital commitment. As with other sites, players will make bets under the guise of “entry fees,” with Yahoo capping one’s daily action at $600. The company hopes to reach millennials with this new initiative, but is it too little, too late?
* Sigma Derby got a bad name by association when somebody playing it down at the D tired of the game and, just for kicks, stole the casino’s fragment of the Blarney Stone instead. Why does somebody have to hate on everybody else’s good time like this? The perpetrator soon returned the stone, chalking his actions up to a prank. D owner Derek Stevens was in a forgiving mood and didn’t prosecute. He also dismissed the notion that it was a publicity stunt, saying, “I wish I were smart enough to have come up with something that good, but no.” He did, however, make sure the stone is more firmly secured, to prevent repetition of this brazen theft, done right under the nose of the casino’s surveillance system.
