Golden Nugget owner Tilman Fertitta will try to "pick off one or two properties" on the Las Vegas Strip after Eldorado Resorts’ $17.3bn acquisition of Caesars Entertainment.
Fertitta had a reverse merger bid for Caesars rejected last year, with Eldorado announcing exactly the kind of deal the billionaire was aiming for this week.
However, Fertitta may still look to benefit from the merger after Eldorado CEO Tom Reeg confirmed the new company will likely be "a seller of a Strip asset."
He is quoted as saying by the Houston Chronicle: "100%, I’m interested. I’ll try to pick off one or two properties. You go where the people are. If you go where the people are, you’ll usually be successful."
On the Eldorado-Caesars deal, Fertitta insists he is not disappointed to have lost out, adding "I still made $10m" – the result of 4.5 million Caesars shares he bought earlier this year.
He explained: "It would have been a huge transaction and I did not feel comfortable with the deal as it was done, mainly the cash portion of the deal.
"You have no idea how many deals I was this close to and somebody just outbid me for it because I’ve learned you have to be a disciplined buyer."
Click here to read Gambling Insider’s analysis of the Eldorado-Caesars deal.
