US regional casino operator Twin River Worldwide Holdings (TRWH) has picked up yet another of Caesars Entertainment’s castoffs but this time it isn’t costing the company a penny, at least, not yet.

On Tuesday, TRWH announced a deal to acquire the Tropicana Evansville casino operations in Indiana from Caesars for $140m. However, the deal requires no cash outlay on TRWH’s behalf, thanks to the introduction of a third party, real estate investment trust Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc (GLPI).

GLPI has agreed to acquire the land underneath the Evansville casino from Caesars for $340m — after Caesars agreed to add the real estate under two Iowa casinos to the GLPI master lease — and GLPI will then lease that land back to TRWH for an initial rate of $24m per year, subject to escalation. GLPI is also acquiring the land under TRWH’s Dover Downs Hotel & Casino in Delaware casino for $144m, which will then be rented back to TRWH at $12m/year, subject to escalation.

The net effect of all this land-swapping is Caesars gets $480m in cash, TRWH gets a new casino – along with “unencumbered rights” to the casino’s sports betting and iGaming skins – without putting up any new cash, while GLPI gets two new properties that will generate combined annual revenue of $36m per year from the get-go.   

US regional casino operator Twin River Worldwide Holdings (TRWH) has picked up yet another of Caesars Entertainment’s castoffs but this time it isn’t costing the company a penny, at least, not yet.

On Tuesday, TRWH announced a deal to acquire the Tropicana Evansville casino operations in Indiana from Caesars for $140m. However, the deal requires no cash outlay on TRWH’s behalf, thanks to the introduction of a third party, real estate investment trust Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc (GLPI).

GLPI has agreed to acquire the land underneath the Evansville casino from Caesars for $340m — after Caesars agreed to add the real estate under two Iowa casinos to the GLPI master lease — and GLPI will then lease that land back to TRWH for an initial rate of $24m per year, subject to escalation. GLPI is also acquiring the land under TRWH’s Dover Downs Hotel & Casino in Delaware casino for $144m, which will then be rented back to TRWH at $12m/year, subject to escalation.

The net effect of all this land-swapping is Caesars gets $480m in cash, TRWH gets a new casino – along with “unencumbered rights” to the casino’s sports betting and iGaming skins – without putting up any new cash, while GLPI gets two new properties that will generate combined annual revenue of $36m per year from the get-go.