Inside Gaming: Caesars Entertainment CEO Mark Frissora Stepping Down
This week's Inside Gaming begins with news from yesterday regarding the announced departure of an industry giant's CEO, provides an update on the many partnerships occurring between professional football franchises and gaming operators, and a look at some of the gambling-related items voters will be deciding upon in U.S. elections next Tuesday.
Mark Frissora to Exit From Caesars CEO Position February 2019
After joining Caesars Entertainment Corp. in 2015 as the company's first new CEO in 12 years, Mark Frissora will be stepping down from the position in February 2019 according to an announcement from Caesars yesterday. No replacement for Frissora has been named.
As CNBC reports, Caesars shares have fallen more than 20 percent during Frissora's tenure, the first two years of which involved the completion of a lengthy restructuring process begun prior to his arrival in order to enable Caesars' largest operating division to emerge from bankruptcy.
In a press release yesterday, Caesars' Board of Directors thanked Frissora "for his instrumental role in leading the Company through a challenging period and setting Caesars on a course for sustained, long-term growth and value creation." The release included Frissora's response in which he expressed confidence in Caesars' prospects moving forward and his readiness "to maintaining stability and operating discipline during this transition."
Caesars shares sharply rose 9 percent in after-hours trading following yesterday's announcement of Frissora's departure, reports CNBC.
Arriving from a background that included CEO positions at auto-parts maker Tenneco, Inc. and rental car company Hertz Global Holdings, Inc., Frissora replaced longtime Caesars CEO Gary Loveman. At the time of his assuming the position, his salary was reported at $1.8 million pus 150 percent of his base salary in bonus pay.
On Thursday Caesars also released its third-quarter earnings report, showing higher than expected earnings of 14 cents per share, though coming in slightly below revenue expectations with $2.19 billion compared to the projected $2.21 billion.
The news of Frissora's leaving Caesars follows recent of speculation about possible partnerships for Caesars.
Just a couple of weeks ago came reports of a possible merger with Golden Nugget Casinos that if completed would have created one of the largest gaming and hospitality companies in the world. However, last week came further conjecture that Caesars planned to reject the Golden Nugget offer as potentially adding too much debt to the company, and indeed in yesterday's call it was confirmed the Board had voted against the merger.
Meanwhile Caesars is also reportedly in discussions regarding another possible partnership with Jack Entertainment, the operator of six casinos in Ohio and Michigan that also has interests in properties in Kentucky and Maryland. If completed, that deal could be worth more than $1 billion.
NFL Teams Partnering With Gaming Operators
Speaking of partnerships, there are more involving gaming operators and major sports franchises to report, including one between Caesars Entertainment and the Oakland Raiders, also announced on Thursday.
According to Caesars' presser on that agreement, the 15-year partnership makes Caesars "the first founding partner of the Las Vegas Stadium, the future home of the Las Vegas Raiders, elevating Caesars' profile in professional sports."
In 2017 National Football League owners approved the Oakland Raiders' proposal to relocate the team to Las Vegas. If all goes according to plan, after this year the team will play one more season in Oakland before moving to Las Vegas in 2020. The 65,000 stadium is currently scheduled to be completed and ready for use in July 2020.
No financial terms of the deal were made public. ESPN reports the deal "includes a Caesars-branded owner's suite at the 50-yard line, Caesars entrance and drop-off spot as well as VIP perks, including tickets to home games."
It was only two weeks ago that the Horseshoe Casino Baltimore, a Caesars property, struck a similar partnership with the Baltimore Ravens. That announcement came a month after the Dallas Cowboys became the first NFL team to partner with a casino following the NFL's relaxation of rules against gambling associations, joining up with the Oklahoma-based WinStar World Casino and Resort.
MGM Resorts International has also gotten into the game, this week becoming the official gaming partner of the New York Jets.
As explained in MGM's press release, that deal includes providing "Jets fans access to a mobile play-along predictive game called 'I Called It presented by Play MGM,'" a game that now includes "pre-play options, upgraded in-play features, expanded prizing, and deeper leaderboards featuring Jets fans." The deal also involves various branding as well as hospitality arrangements for Jets season ticket holders.
Voters to Decide on Gambling Issues in Several States
Finally, Tuesday, November 6 is Election Day in the United States, and voters all over the country will be voting upon initiatives that will affect the future of gambling in their respective states.
In Florida voters will vote on an amendment titled "Voter Control of Gambling in Florida" which states that any future expansion of casino gambling in the state will have to be authorized by the voters first. The amendment requires a 60 percent favorable vote in order to pass.
Over in Arkansas the ballot includes a referendum in which voters will decide whether or not to authorize both four casinos and sports betting in the state. Specifically, if "Issue 4" were to pass two existing casinos would be allowed to expand their operations, licenses would be created for two new casinos, and sports betting would be authorized subject to regulation by lawmakers and the state's racing commission.
Voters in Idaho will encounter "Proposition 1" on their ballots designed to reviving the state's horse racing industry. If passed the use of "Historic Horse Racing" terminals would be permitted once again after having been prohibited three years ago, though only at active race tracks currently offering at least eight race days per year.
In Louisiana voters will decide parish-by-parish whether or not to allow fantasy sports in their state. Some observers believe the result of that vote will dictate whether or not Louisiana lawmakers will pursue sports betting in the future.
And in Maryland the ballot will include another constitutional amendment proposal asking voters to decide about the use of tax funds generated by the state's casinos, in particular whether or not they would go toward increasing school funding.
Photo: "Mark Frissora," Effiej123 123, CC BY-SA 4.0.
