Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts both moved a step closer to converting from publicly traded to privately held companies after separate votes by the Nevada Gaming Commission.
Commissioners unanimously approved licenses and amended orders of registration involving land-based giants Caesars and MGM Resorts, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Both also operate online brands, of course, although MGM is involved internationally – in Macau and, in future, Japan, while Caesars is only US based.
MGM is in talks with billionaire Barry Diller's People Inc. while Houston businessman Tilman Fertitta's Fertitta Entertainment Inc. is pursuing Caesars, with both transactions structured to take the respective companies private.
Left unanswered were questions about how Diller's ownership would affect operations in Macau and MGM's integrated resort project under construction in Osaka, Japan, which isn't due to open until 2030.
On the Caesars matter, commissioners approved a similar shelf offering and licensed Richard Liem and Steven Scheinthal, board members of Fertitta Entertainment, who are overseeing company decisions while Tilman Fertitta serves as US ambassador to Italy and San Marino.
The Caesars transaction isn't expected to close until Spring next year and requires approval not only from shareholders, the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice under Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust provisions, but also from regulators in an estimated 25 gaming jurisdictions.
Elsewhere in Las Vegas, Boyd Gaming reported flat Q2 revenue, although the majority of its positive gains hailed from the Midwest & South US.
Fertitta, a cousin to members of the Fertitta family that owns Station Casinos, is already licensed in Nevada through his three Golden Nugget properties and is the owner of the Landry's restaurant chain as well as the NBA's Houston Rockets franchise
