Answers to all of your questions regarding the Rio sale to "Imperial Companies"
NOTE: This is an opinion/analysis piece. The "facts" listed below are mostly ones I have deduced from my knowledge of the sale, the gaming industry, and other factors. However, nothing below should be considered an official statement from Caesars, Imperial Companies, or Rio Las Vegas. I am an outsider simply providing answers to what I believe are questions and misconceptions by the general public.
Here is the thread regarding the sale itself: https://pokerfraudalert.com/forum/sh...rial-Companies
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Q: Will the Rio remain a Total Rewards property?
A: It will through at least early 2022, and it may continue to be after that, depending upon what the new owners and Caesars want to do at that point.
Q: What will the typical customer at the Rio notice is different in 2020?
A: Probably nothing. Caesars will continue to operate the property until at least early 2022, and all employees there during that time will continue to be Caesars employees.
Q: Where will the WSOP be held in 2020?
A: It will be held at the Rio, as it has since 2005. That is 100% certain, and has been verified by an internal company memo leaked on September 23.
Q: Where will the WSOP be held in 2021?
A: That is unknown at this time. The Rio will be managed by Caesars throughout all of 2021, but it is possible that the WSOP will be moved to the Caesars Convention Center (currently under construction) that year.
Q: What will decide whether or not the WSOP moves to the Caesars Convention Center in 2021?
A: Caesars needs to examine the interest level in their new Convention Center, and what prices the convention space is fetching. The WSOP has operated just fine at the Rio for 15 years, and people are used to it. Caesars may not want to waste their new, prime convention space on the WSOP, which requires a time commitment of 2 months between setup and takedown, as well as a very large space commitment. At the same time, the Rio itself may not have much of a future. The new owners might decide to end Caesars' lease in early 2022, meaning the WSOP would need to find a new home at that point anyway. It is unlikely that Caesars would want the WSOP at a property they don't manage, so if their lease ends, so does the WSOP's time at the Rio.
Q: So what is the most likely situation for where the WSOP ends up in 2021 and beyond?
A: There's basically three possible scenarios here. here. Scenario #1 has it where their new convention space isn't selling well and their lease is ending in early 2022, so they will just move the whole thing in 2021. Scenario #2 has it where the new convention center is selling space well enough to where they won't move the WSOP until 2022, when their lease at the Rio is up. Scenario #3 has it where it remains at the Rio in 2022 and beyond, if the convention center is selling space well, and a new lease can be hammered out. The most likely scenario is #2. It does not appear that the Rio is very profitable for Caesars outside of the 7 weeks of the WSOP, and it's probably not going to be worth the $52 million to continue the lease in 2022.
Q: Why did Caesars build a mandatory lease-back provision into the sale, and why does it only last for 2 years?
A: The existing lease agreement is likely in place in order to give Caesars time to find a proper home for both the WSOP and other Rio-located conventions. The new convention center is not even close to ready yet, so they definitely needed the Rio for the WSOP in 2020. They also needed to honor the convention space they sold for 2020. The second year, 2021, simply gives them more breathing room. It is important to note that the third year's lease is at the option of the buyer (presumably with Caesars also agreeing), for an additional $7 million. Given that Caesars didn't demand this to be their option, it seems they are content to be completely done with the Rio by the end of 2021, if the new owner so desires.
Q: What will Imperial Companies, the new owner, do with the property once the lease is up?
A: That is unknown at this time. They are a real estate firm, and not a casino operator. There will be many possible options: Running their own casino, converting it to condos/apartments, converting it to business space, etc.
Q: The rumor has been floating around for about 18 months that the Rio will be destroyed and become a Major League Baseball stadium. Is that a possibility?
A: This is highly unlikely. Most notably, Major League Baseball has not indicated any interest in moving a team to Las Vegas. Additionally, Las Vegas would not be a good market for Major League Baseball, given its relatively low metro area population and complete lack of surrounding cities. The NHL moved to Vegas because they have to fill a smaller arena. The NFL is moving to Vegas because they only need to sell 8 home games per year. There is no way that the Vegas-area population could support filling a large stadium for 81 home games per year. It's simply not going to happen.
Q: Is it possible that the Rio will finally be renovated during the next two years. now that the owner is different?
A: Possible, but not likely. First, Imperial would have to decide that they are going to keep the Rio as a casino-hotel, and that they're going to renovate the existing property as their long-term plan. Second, it is unlikely that Caesars would go along with such renovations occurring during their lease, as it would cause immediate inconvenience to their guests, while not giving the company long-term gain. Third, it isn't likely that Imperial would want Caesars drawing immediate gain from their renovations. The Rio will most likely stay the same run-down mess that it's been for quite some time, until the lease is up two years from now. It is possible that, if the lease continues past 2 years, renovations will take place at that point.
Q: Can banned players come back to the Rio, now that it has different owners?
A: Nope. Not as long as Caesars is still managing it.
