Twin River Acquires Tropicana Evansville From Caesars For $140 Million

By | Updated on 28 October, 2020

Chris Altruda has been a sportswriter with ESPN, The Associated Press, and STATS over more than two decades. He recently expanded into covering sports betting and gambling around the Midwest. His Twitter handle is @AlTruda73.

Twin River has entered the state of Indiana for casino gaming and sports betting, acquiring Tropicana Evansville from Caesars Entertainment on Tuesday for $140 million.

The acquisition continues a busy month for Twin River in the Midwest, having bought Jumer’s Casino in Rock Island, Ill., for $120 million in cash Oct. 1. It is also the second deal between Twin River and Caesars this month, with Twin River purchasing the Bally’s brand from Caesars for its Atlantic City property in New Jersey.

“This transaction is consistent with our core strategy of acquiring strategic gaming assets at attractive valuations and, importantly, represents the Company’s entry into a 10th state. It also provides us with access to an attractive Indiana gaming market, in which we will look to significantly advance our mobile and online sports betting and iGaming initiatives,” said George Papanier, Twin River president and CEO, in a statement. “We believe this property is a great fit for our portfolio. We are acquiring the operations at a value accretive multiple, while also enhancing our interactive offerings.”

The deal is expected to be finalized in the second quarter of 2021, and Twin River will operate 15 properties spanning 10 states.

Tropicana first of Caesars’ three selloffs required for Eldorado merger

Caesars Entertainment was required to sell Tropicana Evansville after the Indiana Gaming Commission determined in August it had to sell three properties by the end of this year to allow a $17 billion merger with Eldorado Resorts to take place. Caesars still needs to find buyers for Horseshoe Hammond in Northwest Indiana and Caesars Southern Indiana.

Tropicana Evansville has the fewest table games (19) among the 10 casinos and two racinos that offer table gaming in Indiana. Its 715 slot machines generated more than $88 million in coin-in during September, ranking eighth among the 13 venues that offer slots. For sports betting, Tropicana ranked 10th of 11 venues in handle with nearly $1.7 million in September, and is one of two casinos in the state — Caesars Southern Indiana is the other — that currently does not have an online/mobile sports betting skin.

Twin River Worldwide Holdings closed at $23.95 per share Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange, losing 69 cents in trading during the day.