Last year, Caesars Entertainment and Eldorado Resorts agreed to a merger. While Eldorado will technically buy Caesars, the company name will remain Caesars. After a year of gaining approvals from individual state gaming boards and the Federal Trade Commission, the deal is nearing completion.
Caesars will become the largest US casino operator when the merger is complete. “New Caesars” will have 60 casinos in 14 states when the two companies are combined. This week Nevada and Indiana gave its blessing for the merger. New Jersey is the last state that has to approve the merger before the deal can become official.
The merger should become official by the end of July.
The Future Of Blackjack At Caesars Properties
Eldorado Resorts staff will take over some upper levels of management when the merger with Caesars is complete. However, they will keep certain leadership teams in place. For example, it appears as though they will keep Caesars’ Las Vegas team intact.
Eldorado has expertise in many markets where Caesars operates so not every region will remain the same. Eldorado doesn’t have a team in place in Las Vegas so it will keep the current team together to help make the transition smooth. This makes sense as Las Vegas makes up 40% of Caesars’ current revenue.
Keeping Caesars Las Vegas intact could be a good thing for blackjack players. Earlier this year we put the spotlight on Caesars 3:2 blackjack in Las Vegas.
Many casino operators on the Vegas Strip choose to spread 6:5 blackjack. Caesars is taking a different approach. The company offers plenty of 3:2 blackjack games at its Vegas Strip properties. In fact, Caesars has more than 60 tables on the Vegas Strip with 3:2 blackjack with a minimum wager under $25. Check it out:
- Bally’s – 7 tables
- Caesars Palace – 12 tables
- Cromwell – 7 tables
- Flamingo – 2 tables
- Harrah’s – 5 tables
- The Linq – 2 tables (Note: O’Sheas casino is all 6:5 blackjack)
- Paris Las Vegas – 15 tables
- Planet Hollywood – 17 tables
There is a 0.57 house edge for these 3:2 blackjack games. This is the same at the Caesars Las Vegas properties since all of these games have the same rules:
- Eight (8) deck shoe
- Double on any first two cards
- Double after split
- Player may surrender
- Dealer hits on soft 17
- No resplitting aces
In a perfect world, “New Caesars” will keep the 3:2 blackjack games after the merger is complete.
Caesars Rewards Expanding To Eldorado Resorts
During the hearing in Nevada earlier this week, a representative from Eldorado Resorts said the company will begin using Caesars Rewards at its properties.
It will take about a year to fully merge the Eldorado Resorts loyalty program with Caesars Rewards. While combining the loyalty programs takes place in the background, Eldorado customers will have their own version of Caesars Rewards. The company referred to this as “Caesars Rewards Light.”
The temporary program won’t have all the bells and whistles of the full Caesars Rewards program. This “light approach” will give Eldorado customers access to some promotions in new markets like Las Vegas. Similarly, Caesars Rewards players will be given access to Eldorado promotions for the first time.
Full integration of the loyalty programs probably won’t be complete until the summer of 2021. Expect to hear more details when the merger becomes official.
