Changes Coming to Shreveport Gaming Market

Pending approval by state regulators, ownership of downtown Shreveport’s Eldorado Casino and Resort will be changing. The sale of Eldorado to Maverick Gaming LLC is part of a huge $17.3B merger between Eldorado Resorts Inc. (ERI) and Caesar’s. Caesar’s owns Horseshoe Casino and Harrah’s Louisiana Downs in Bossier City, the Harrah’s land-based casino in New Orleans, and several other smaller properties throughout the state.

The sale of the Eldorado casino in Shreveport does two things, according to reports in gaming media. It helps reduce ERI’s debt load and removes potential concerns of state regulators over one company owning three local gaming outlets (Eldorado, Horseshoe and Harrah’s Louisiana Downs). If Maverick is approved by regulators, it will be new to the Shreveport and Louisiana gaming market. The company, which is based in Las Vegas, Nevada, is a mostly regional operator that concentrates on smaller properties. The $230m cash sale of Eldorado will allow Maverick a coveted foothold in the Dallas, Tex., market. “The population in the Dallas market exceeds 7.5 million people, and Dallas encompasses the third-largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the United States,” according to Maverick. Eldorado Shreveport brings a lot to the Maverick spreadsheet including roughly 1,200 employees, 50 table games, over 400 hotel rooms and six restaurants.. During November, Eldorado saw more than $8.7m in casino winnings.