Regional casino and racing operator Penn National Gaming (PNG) has struck a deal to purchase the Tropicana Las Vegas Casino Hotel Resort.

The Trop’s current owners, who include investor Alex Yemenidjian and Toronto-based private equity firm Onex Corp, have agreed to sell the perpetually money-losing property to PNG for $360m. PNG says it will fund the acquisition through an expansion of its existing credit facilities and cash on hand. The parties expect to close the deal by the end of the year.

Onex paid $250m to acquire the Trop in 2009 and invested another $200m in upgrades over the past four years. PNG says it plans to immediately plow another $20m into renovations and is considering other potential upgrades, including expansion of the Trop’s retail and restaurant offering plus the addition of new hotel rooms.

PNG CEO Timothy Wilmott said the company had been eyeing a number of potential Vegas deals before it pulled the trigger on the Trop. Wilmott called the deal “a prudent transaction to own and operate a premier Strip asset at an attractive price of entry” and fulfilled “an important long-term strategic objective for the company.”