Caesars Allowed to Cancel Sale of Indiana Casino in Hammond

The Caesars Entertainment company won’t have to sell the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana, by the end of the year after all.

The Indiana Gaming Commission voted 4-1 on Thursday to rescind the order for Caesars to offload the property as part of the terms of a merger.

In 2020, the Federal Trade Commission approved of the $17 billion merger between casino giants Caesars and Eldorado.

Indiana Gaming Commission Changes Ruling

After that, one of the final obstacles for the merger to happen was with the IGC, which approved of the deal after the FTC okayed it. One of the conditions that Indiana imposed upon approval was that Caesars and Eldorado would have to agree to sell three casinos in the Hoosier State.

The Horseshoe Hammond was one of the casinos which were to change hands in the deal, along with the Tropicana Casino in Evansville and the Caesars Southern Indiana Casino in Elizabeth.

According to a Caesars news release issued Thursday, the company will maintain its ownership in the Horseshoe Hammond facility as well as two other Indiana casinos – the Indiana Grand in Shelbyville and Harrah’s Hoosier Park in Anderson – and three off-track betting sites.

Regarding the new ruling, the Times of Northwest Indiana reported on Thursday that IGC members said that they felt it was in the best interest for the state that Caesar’s continue to operate the Hammond casino in the wake of competition from the Hard Rock Casino in Gary and a possible new casino in Chicago.

Caesar’s Already Sold One Indiana Casino

This month, Bally’s acquired the Tropicana Casino in Evansville after Caesar’s agreed to sell it last year to Gaming and Leisure Properties for $340 million. The release said that the Caesars Southern Indiana Casino sale was on track to happen later in 2021.

"We are confident that our continued operating of Horseshoe Hammond is in the best interest of our Team Members, guests, the Hammond community, and the State of Indiana," Caesars Entertainment CEO Tom Reeg said in the release. "We believe that maintaining our strong customer and employee relationships at Horseshoe Hammond makes the property best positioned for a strong and exciting future."