@NPR: Eldorado Resorts is buying Caesars Entertainment for $17.3 billion. The merger will create the largest gambling company in the U.S., the companies say. While the new casino giant will use the Caesars name, its top leadership will come from Eldorado. https://t.co/KqPXrz6izK
@Reuters: EXCLUSIVE: U.S. casino operators Eldorado Resorts and Caesars Entertainment explore merger - sources https://t.co/yqjWyLxJzl by @GregRoumeliotis https://t.co/z7JWFXz5YM
@Reuters: EXCLUSIVE: U.S. casino operators Eldorado Resorts and Caesars Entertainment explore merger - sources https://t.co/lhX4mbnYhb via @GregRoumeliotis https://t.co/5uc23NA3x3
TEKK - Tekkorp Digital Acquisition Corp: Who's Who of Gaming Mgmt Teams!
Team has been involved in a substantial number of the digital media, sports, entertainment, leisure and gaming industries’ most significant merger and acquisition transactions, holding key positions at, and transacting with Scientific Games Corp, Inspired Gaming Group, FOX Bets, Ocean Casino Resort, Resorts International Holdings, PokerStars, DraftKings, Mohegan Sun, Caesars Entertainment Corporation, Harrah’s Entertainment,Tropicana Entertainment, Inc., TSG/Sky Betting & Gaming, Facebook, Inc, Wynn Resorts, Dubai World/MGM Resorts Here's all the Bios. These guys are stellar! TEKK closed at $10.30 today. Still cheap! If you don't like to read... you don't like to make money!!!! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Matthew Davey — Chief Executive Officer and Director Mr. Davey has over 25 years of experience within the digital media, sports, entertainment, leisure and gaming ecosystems, as well as experience in the public sector. He is an experienced public company executive officer and board member. He has served in executive management positions across the gaming technology arena. Over the course of Mr. Davey’s career, he oversaw more than ten mergers and acquisitions and over $1.2 billion in debt and equity capital raised to support the companies he has led. Most recently, Mr. Davey was Chief Executive Officer of SG Digital, the Digital Division of Scientific Games Corp. (“Scientific Games”) (Nasdaq: SGMS). SG Digital was established following the purchase by Scientific Games of NYX Gaming Group Limited (“NYX”) (formerly TSXV: NYX), where Mr. Davey served as Chief Executive Officer and Director. The NYX acquisition provided Scientific Games with a vehicle to significantly accelerate the scale and breadth of its existing digital gaming business, including the strategic expansion into sports betting. In his capacity as Chief Executive Officer of NYX, Mr. Davey developed and implemented a corporate strategy that generated strong revenue growth. Mr. Davey shaped company strategy to focus on digital gaming supplier platforms and content that provided various gaming operators with the underlying gaming and sports betting systems for their online gaming business. In 2014, Mr. Davey oversaw the initial public offering of NYX, and his experience in the digital media, sports, entertainment, leisure and gaming industries helped NYX recognize momentum as a public company. After the public offering, from 2014 to 2018, Mr. Davey oversaw seven acquisitions which helped establish NYX as one of the fastest growing global B2B real-money digital gaming and sports betting platforms. These acquisitions included: • OpenBet: In 2016, NYX completed the $385 million acquisition of OpenBet. This was one of the more complex and transformative acquisitions that Mr. Davey oversaw at NYX. Through securing co-investments from William Hill (LSE: WMH), Sky Betting & Gaming and The Stars Group (formerly Nasdaq: TSG, TSX: TSGI), Mr. Davey was able to get the acquisition from Vitruvian Partners completed successfully, winning the deal against much larger and well capitalized competitors. By combining two established and proven B2B betting and gaming suppliers, NYX was well positioned to provide customers with exciting player-driven solutions across all major product verticals and distribution channels. This allowed NYX to become the leading B2B omni-channel sportsbook platform in the market and the supplier to over 300 gaming operators globally with an extensive library of desktop and mobile game titles, including more than 700 on NYX platforms and more than 2,000 on the OpenBet platform. • Cryptologic/Chartwell: In 2015, NYX completed the $119 million acquisition of Cryptologic and Chartwell. The acquisition provided NYX with more than 400 titles of additional leading gaming content, a broader customer base, and direct exposure to PokerStars and Intercasino, part of the Gamesys Group (LSE: GYS) — two of the world’s largest online casino offerings. • OnGame: In 2014, NYX completed the distressed acquisition of OnGame, a premier poker content, platform and service provider. This acquisition provided NYX with one of the best poker products in the industry, access to several regulated jurisdictions, and a valuable talent pool that was instrumental in the growth of NYX. The addition of OnGame further established a path for NYX to continue its growth in both European and U.S. markets. These acquisitions, together with meaningful organic growth, increased NYX’s revenue from $24 million in 2014 to $184 million annualized in 2017. During that time, Mr. Davey helped build NYX to have over 200 customers in the global gaming industry and a team of 1,000 employees. Mr. Davey’s success at NYX ultimately led to its sale to Scientific Games for $631 million in 2018. Mr. Davey joined Next Gen Gaming, the predecessor to NYX, in 2000 as the Vice President of Technology, was appointed as Executive Director in 2003 and named Chief Executive Officer in 2005. Prior to that, he was the Senior Consultant for Access Systems, a company that specializes in the provision of back-end software for licensed online casinos. Prior to joining Access, Mr. Davey worked for the Northern Territory Government specializing in matters pertaining to the internet and e-commerce along with roles in the Department of Racing and Gaming. Mr. Davey received a Bachelor of Electrical & Electronic Engineering from Northern Territory University, Australia (also known as Charles Darwin University). Robin Chhabra — President Mr. Chhabra has been at the forefront of corporate acquisition activity within the digital gaming landscape for over a decade. His prior experience includes leading corporate strategy, M&A, and business development at two of the global leaders in the digital gaming industry, The Stars Group (“TSG”) and William Hill, and a leading supplier, Inspired Gaming Group (Nasdaq: INSE). Mr. Chhabra served on the Group Executive Committees of each of these companies. From 2017 to May 2020, Mr. Chhabra served as Chief Corporate Development Officer at TSG and, from 2019 to August 2020, he also served as the Chief Executive Officer of Fox Bet, a leading U.S. online gaming business which is the product of a landmark partnership between TSG and FOX Sports, a transaction which he led. During that period, Mr. Chhabra led several transactions which transformed TSG into the largest publicly listed online gambling operator in the world by both revenue and market capitalization and one of the most diversified from a product and geographic perspective with revenues of over $2.5 billion. Mr. Chhabra’s M&A experience is extensive and covers multiple global geographies across the digital gaming value chain and includes the following: • TSG/Flutter Entertainment Merger: In 2019, Mr. Chhabra led the TSG M&A team that was responsible for TSG’s $12.2 billion merger with Flutter Entertainment (LSE: FLTR). The merger between TSG and Flutter Entertainment is the largest transaction in the digital gaming industry to date. The combination created the largest publicly listed online gaming company with approximately 13 million active customers and leading product offerings, which include sports betting, online casino, fantasy sports and poker. The combined entity includes some of the world’s most iconic digital gaming brands such as Fanduel, Fox Bet, Sky Bet, PaddyPower, Betfair, PokerStars and SportsBet. TSG/Flutter Entertainment is one of the most geographically diverse digital gaming and media companies with leading positions in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Germany and Georgia. • TSG/Sky Betting and Gaming (“SBG”): In 2018, Mr. Chhabra led the acquisition of SBG from CVC Capital Partners and Sky plc, Europe’s largest media company, in a transaction valued at $4.7 billion. At the time of the acquisition SBG was the largest mobile gambling operator in the United Kingdom and one of the fastest growing of the major operators having doubled its online market share in three years. The acquisition of SBG provided TSG with (a) greater revenue diversification, significantly enhanced expertise and exposure to sports betting just ahead of the judicial overturn of The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) by the U.S. Supreme Court, (b) a leading position within the United Kingdom, the world’s largest regulated online gaming market, (c) improved products and technology as a result of the addition of SBG’s innovative casino and sports book offerings and a portfolio of popular mobile apps, and (d) expertise in deeply integrating sports betting with leading sports media companies, positioning TSG to create more engaging content, deliver faster growth and decrease customer acquisition costs. • William Hill (LSE: WMH): At William Hill, from 2010 to 2017, Mr. Chhabra served as Group Director of Strategy and Corporate Development where he led several transactions which contributed to William Hill’s transformation from a land-based gambling operator in the United Kingdom to a leading online-led international business. Mr. Chhabra led William Hill’s entry into the U.S. sports betting and online lottery markets with the acquisition of four businesses, including the simultaneous acquisitions of three U.S. sportsbooks, Cal Neva, American Wagering and Brandywine Bookmaking, in 2011 for an aggregate purchase price of $55 million. These businesses ultimately led William Hill to achieve a leading position in the U.S. sports betting market with a market share of 24% in 2019. Additionally, Mr. Chhabra played a key role in structuring William Hill’s successful joint venture with PlayTech Plc (LSE: PTEC) in 2008. The combined entity created one of the largest online gambling businesses in Europe at the time of its formation and led to William Hill’s buyout of Playtech’s interest for $637 million in 2013. Prior to the transaction, William Hill had struggled in its attempt to establish a strong online gaming platform and a meaningful presence outside the United Kingdom. Mr. Chhabra has also successfully completed four transactions worth over $1.2 billion in Australia, the world’s second largest regulated online gambling market, and various partnerships in Asia. Additionally, he completed several technology and media related transactions, including William Hill’s investment in NYX, where he worked with Mr. Davey on NYX’s transformational acquisition of OpenBet. Prior to working in the gaming sector, Mr. Chhabra was an equities analyst and a management consultant. Mr. Chhabra received a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Eric Matejevich — Chief Financial Officer Mr. Matejevich is a seasoned gaming executive with extensive experience in both the online gaming and traditional casino industries. From February to August 2019, he served as Trustee and Interim-Chief Executive Officer of Ocean Casino Resort (“Ocean”) (formerly Revel Casino, which had a construction cost of $2.4 billion) in Atlantic City, where he successfully led the management team through an ownership change and operational turnaround effort. Over the course of seven months, Mr. Matejevich managed to reduce the property’s weekly cash burn of $1.5 million to an annualized cash flow run rate in excess of $20 million. Prior to Ocean, from 2016 to 2018, Mr. Matejevich served as the Chief Financial Officer of NYX. At NYX, he focused his efforts on integrating the company’s many acquisitions and multiple debt refinancings to simplify its capital structure and provided liquidity for growth initiatives. Additionally, Mr. Matejevich was instrumental to the executive team that sold NYX to Scientific Games for $631 million. Prior to NYX, from 2004 to 2014, Mr. Matejevich was the Chief Financial Officer of Resorts International Holdings and later, from 2011, also the Chief Operating Officer of the Atlantic Club Casino, a property under the Resorts International Holdings umbrella — a Colony Capital (NYSE: CLNY) entity. As Chief Financial Officer, he provided managerial oversight for all finance functions for a six-property casino company with annual gaming revenue exceeding $1.3 billion, 10,000 gaming positions, 7,000 hotel rooms and over 11,000 staff members during his tenure. Mr. Matejevich led the transition effort to integrate a four-casino, $1.3 billion acquisition from Harrah’s Entertainment and Caesars Entertainment (Nasdaq: CZR). As Chief Operating Officer of Atlantic Club, he lobbied for and was successful in obtaining the first internet gaming legislation passed in the United States. The Atlantic Club was the sole New Jersey casino proponent of the legislation. Prior to serving in various gaming positions, Mr. Matejevich was a Vice President of High Yield Research for Merrill Lynch, where he managed the corporate bond research effort for the gaming and leisure sectors and marketed high yield and other debt transactions totaling $4.8 billion. Mr. Matejevich received a Bachelor of Science in Economics from The Wharton School and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from The College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania. Our Board of Directors Morris Bailey — Chairman Over the past 10 years, Mr. Bailey has been a leader in turning around Atlantic City, as well as being among the first gaming executives to embrace online gaming and sports betting in the United States. In his efforts, Mr. Bailey partnered with two of the largest digital gaming companies in the world, PokerStars, part of the Stars Group, and DraftKings (Nasdaq: DKNG). In 2010, Mr. Bailey bought Resorts Atlantic City (“Resorts”) and initiated a comprehensive renovation which allowed for the property to be rebranded and repositioned. In 2012, Mr. Bailey signed an agreement with Mohegan Sun to manage the day-to-day operations of the casino. In addition to Mohegan Sun’s operational expertise and ability to reduce costs via economies of scale, Resorts gained access to their robust customer database. Soon thereafter, Mr. Bailey and his team focused on bringing online gaming to the property. In 2015, Resorts established a platform to engage in online gaming by partnering with PokerStars, now part of the $24 billion Flutter Entertainment, PLC (LSE: FLTR), to operate an online poker room in Atlantic City. In 2018, Resorts announced deals with DraftKings and SBTech to open a sportsbook on-property and online. For 2020 year-to-date, Resorts has performed in the top quartile in internet gross gaming revenue in New Jersey. Mr. Bailey’s efforts in New Jersey helped set the framework for expansion of online sports and gaming throughout the United States. In addition to his gaming interests, Mr. Bailey has over 50 years of experience in all facets of real estate development, asset M&A, capital markets and operations and is the founder, Chief Executive Officer and Principal of JEMB Realty, a leading real estate development, investment and management organization. Mr. Bailey has notable investment experience within the energy, finance and telecommunications sectors through investments in the Astoria Energy Plant, Basis Investment Group and Xentris Wireless. Tony Rodio — Director Nominee Mr. Rodio has nearly four decades of experience in the gaming industry. Most recently, Mr. Rodio served as the Chief Executive Officer and director of Caesars Entertainment Corporation (“Caesars”) (Nasdaq: CZR), one of the world’s most diversified casino-entertainment providers and the most geographically diverse U.S. casino-entertainment company, from April 2019 until its acquisition by Eldorado Resorts, Inc. in July 2020. Mr. Rodio led Caesars through its $17.3 billion merger with Eldorado Resorts, one of the largest transactions in the gaming industry to date. Additionally, Mr. Rodio was instrumental to Caesars’ expansion into the digital gaming industry and oversaw the implementation of new digital segments such as its Scientific Games powered retail sportsbook solution that now operates in various states throughout the U.S. From October 2018 to May 2019, Mr. Rodio served as Chief Executive Officer of Affinity Gaming. Prior to Affinity Gaming, he served as President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of Tropicana Entertainment, Inc. (“Tropicana”) for over seven years, where he was responsible for the operation of eight casino properties in seven different jurisdictions. During his time at Tropicana, Mr. Rodio oversaw a period of unprecedented growth at the company, improving overall financial results with net revenue that increased more than 50% driven by both operational improvements and expansion across regional markets. Mr. Rodio led major capital projects, including the complete renovation of Tropicana Atlantic City and Tropicana’s move to land-based operations in Evansville, Indiana. Each of these initiatives, among others, generated substantial value for Tropicana. Ultimately, Mr. Rodio’s efforts at Tropicana led to its sale to Eldorado Resorts in 2018 for $1.85 billion. Prior to Tropicana, Mr. Rodio held a succession of executive positions in Atlantic City for casino brands, including Trump Marina Hotel Casino, Harrah’s Entertainment (predecessor to Caesars), the Atlantic City Hilton Casino Resort and Penn National Gaming. He has also served as a director of several professional and charitable organizations, including Atlantic City Alliance, United Way of Atlantic County, the Casino Associations of New Jersey and Indiana, AtlantiCare Charitable Foundation and the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming Hospitality & Tourism. Mr. Rodio brings extensive knowledge of and experience in the gaming industry, operational expertise, and a demonstrated ability to effectively design and implement company strategy. Mr. Rodio received a Bachelor of Science from Rider University and a Master of Business Administration from Monmouth University. Marlon Goldstein — Director Nominee Mr. Goldstein is a licensed attorney with nearly 20 years of experience in the gaming space. He joined The Stars Group (Nasdaq: TSG)(TSX: TSGI) in January 2014 as its Executive Vice-President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary until his retirement from the company in July 2020 following the merger of TSG with Flutter Entertainment, PLC (LSE: FLTR). Mr. Goldstein also previously served as the Executive Vice-President, Corporate Development and General Counsel of TSG. Mr. Goldstein was also the senior TSG executive based in the United States and was one of the primary architects of TSG’s strategic vision for its U.S.-facing business. During his tenure, TSG grew from an approximately $500 million market-cap company to an approximately $7 billion market-cap company through a combination of organic growth and strategic mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Goldstein participated in numerous M&A transactions and capital markets offerings at TSG, including several transformational transactions in the digital gaming industry. Notable transactions in which Mr. Goldstein was involved include: • TSG/Flutter Merger: In 2019, TSG merged with Flutter for a $12.2 billion transaction value, the largest transaction in the digital gaming industry to date. • TSG/Fox Bet Partnership: In 2019, TSG entered into a partnership with FOX Sports to create FOX Bet in the U.S., a leading U.S. online gaming business. Wall Street Research estimates an approximate $1.1 billion valuation for Fox Bet post-partnership with The Stars Group. • TSG/Sky Betting & Gaming: In 2018, TSG acquired Sky Betting & Gaming, the largest mobile gambling operator in the United Kingdom at the time, for $4.7 billion. • TSG/CrownBet and William Hill: In 2018, TSG simultaneously acquired CrownBet and William Hill, two Australian operators, for a total of $621 million in a multi-part transaction. • TSG/PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker: In 2014, TSG acquired The Rational Group, which operated PokerStars and Full Tilt and was the world’s largest poker business, for $4.9 billion. Through his ability to legally structure large and complex transactions, Mr. Goldstein was integral to TSG’s vision of becoming a full-service online gaming company. Additionally, he assisted in structuring TSG’s capital markets activity, which generated liquidity for acquisitions and strengthened its balance sheet. Prior to joining TSG, Mr. Goldstein was a principal shareholder in the corporate and securities practice at the international law firm of Greenberg Traurig P.A., where he practiced for almost 13 years. Mr. Goldstein’s practice focused on corporate and securities matters, including mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, and financing transactions. Additionally, Mr. Goldstein was the founder and co-chair of the firm’s Gaming Practice, a multi-disciplinary team of attorneys representing owners, operators and developers of gaming facilities, manufacturers and suppliers of gaming devices, investment banks and lenders in financing transactions, and Indian tribes in the development and financing of gaming facilities. Mr. Goldstein brings experience and insight that we believe will be valuable to a potential initial business combination target business. Mr. Goldstein received a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in accounting from Emory University and a Juris Doctorate with highest honors from the University of Florida, College of Law. Sean Ryan — Director Nominee Mr. Ryan is a digital media and technology operator with extensive global experience in online payments, e-commerce, marketplaces, mobile ad networks, digital games, enterprise collaboration platforms, blockchain, real money gaming and online music. Since 2014, Mr. Ryan has been serving as Vice President of Business Platform Partnerships at Facebook, Inc. (“Facebook”) (Nasdaq: FB), where he leads a more than 500 person global organization that manages the Payments, Commerce, Novi/Blockhain, Workplace and Audience Network businesses. Prior to his current role, Mr. Ryan was hired in 2011 as the Director of Games Partnerships to lead and grow the global Games business at Facebook. While the Director of Games Partnerships, Mr. Ryan focused on re-shaping Facebook’s games and monetization strategies to derive more value for Facebook, its users and its partners, including the addition of a Real Money Gaming offering in regulated markets. Mr. Ryan’s team helped accelerate a major trend in engagement through cross-platform games and therefore the opportunity to increase users through establishing games on multiple platforms. Prior to joining Facebook, Mr. Ryan created the new social and mobile games division at News Corp, an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by Rupert Murdoch. While at News Corp, Mr. Ryan led the acquisition of Making Fun, a San Francisco social-game start-up, that created News Corp’s games publishing division. Before joining News Corp., Mr. Ryan founded multiple digital businesses such as Twofish, Meez, Open Wager and SingShot Media. Mr. Ryan co-founded Twofish in 2009, a virtual goods and services platform that provided developers with data analytics and insights for individual application’s digital economies. Twofish was later sold to online payments provider Live Gamer, where Mr. Ryan served on the board of directors. From 2005 to 2008, Mr. Ryan founded and led Meez.com, a social entertainment service combining avatars, web games and virtual worlds. The white label social casino gaming company Open Wager was spun out of Meez and was later sold to VGW Holdings, Mr. Ryan also co-founded SingShot Media, an online karaoke community, which was sold to Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: EA) and merged into its Sims division. We believe Mr. Ryan’s experience will be valuable to a potential initial business combination target and would provide an expanded perspective on the digital gaming landscape. Mr. Ryan received a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of California, Los Angeles. Tom Roche — Director Nominee Mr. Roche has more than 40 years of experience in the gaming industry as a regulator, advisor and independent auditor. Mr. Roche joined Ernst & Young (“EY”) as a partner in 2003 and opened its Las Vegas office. He was subsequently appointed as the Office Managing Partner and Global Gaming Industry Market Leader. In 2016, Mr. Roche relocated to the EY Hong Kong office to supervise the expansion of the EY Global Gaming Industry practice in the Asia Pacific region. Mr. Roche has been integral to numerous transactions that have shaped the current gaming landscape, including: • Wynn Resorts (Nasdaq: WYNN) initial public offering: Mr. Roche was the lead partner on Wynn Resort’s initial public offering, which raised $450 million in 2002. • Harrah’s Entertainment/Apollo Management Group & Texas Pacific Group: Mr. Roche headed the regulatory advisory services on the buyout of Harrah’s Entertainment, the world’s largest casino company at the time, for $17.1 billion. • Dubai World/MGM Resorts: Mr. Roche headed the regulatory and due diligence advisory services to Dubai World in its approximately $5.1 billion investment in MGM. Dubai World bought 28.4 million MGM shares, or 9.5 percent of the casino operator, for $2.4 billion. It then invested $2.7 billion to acquire a 50% stake in MGM’s CityCenter Project, a $7.4 billion 76-acre Las Vegas development of hotels, condos and retail outlets. • MGM Growth Properties (NYSE: MGP) initial public offering: Mr. Roche provided tax and structural transaction services to MGM Resorts in the creation of MGM Growth Properties, a publicly traded REIT engaged in the acquisition, ownership and leasing of large-scale destination entertainment and leisure resorts. MGM Growth Properties raised $1.05 billion in its 2016 initial public offering. Mr. Roche also directed EY advisory services to boards and management teams for profit improvement and technology related initiatives. In addition, Mr. Roche provided advisory support to the American Gaming Association on several research projects, including those specifically related to sports betting, the revocation of The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) and anti-money laundering best practices in the gaming industry. Equally, he has assisted government agencies in numerous international locations with enhancing their regulatory approach to governing the industry especially in the online gambling sector. Prior to joining Ernst & Young, Mr. Roche served as Deloitte’s National Gaming Industry Leader and as the co-head of Andersen’s Gaming Industry Practice in Las Vegas. In 1989, Mr. Roche was appointed by then Governor of the State of Nevada, Robert Miller, to serve as one of three members of the Nevada State Gaming Control Board for a four-year term, where he was directly responsible for the Audit and New Games Lab Divisions. As a board member, he spent a substantial amount of time assisting global jurisdiction regulators enact gaming legislation in the design of their regulatory structure. During his career, Roche has been involved in numerous public and private offerings of equity and debt securities. His background includes providing casino regulatory consulting services to casino licensees and to federal and state agencies including the National Indian Gaming Commission and the Nevada State Gaming Control Board, and industry associations such as the Nevada Resort Association and the American Gaming Association. We believe Mr. Roche’s highly regarded reputation as a gaming auditor and advisor in the gaming industry will be valuable for us and a potential business combination target. Mr. Roche is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and is licensed by the Nevada State Board of Accountancy and Mississippi State Board of Public Accountancy. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Southern California.
Unusual options activity on ERI (El Dorado Resorts)
TLDR: I advise buying June 19 20 Calls on ERI. On May 6, significant, and unusual, blocks of options were traded on ERI. A deep-pocketed buyer, likely an institution, made a bullish purchase of approx. 5000 6/19 20C's at the Ask, and a sale of the same amount of 30C's near the Bid. This bullish call was despite the falling price action that day. This represents 500k shares, or approximately 5-10% of daily volume on any given day. What makes this even more unusual is the fact that the open interest on either of those options before the purchase was less than 1000 contracts, meaning this was an incredibly large buy. Moreover, none of the other casino stocks seemed to have experienced a large bullish buy like this. For a quick overview of ERI: Eldorado Resorts is an American hotel and casino entertainment company founded and based in Reno, Nevada that operates 23 properties across 11 U.S. states. In 2019, they entered into a merger agreement with Caesars Entertainment for $18 billion in stock and cash. The merger is expected to be completed by the start of the summer. Because ERI had to resolve anti-trust issues with the merger, they've sold off numerous properties to buyers. Most of these sales were in late 2019. Despite these sales, the casinos are bleeding cash in this climate. In particular, the largest problem is the rent issue. The fact that the trade was a vertical spread, rather than a naked option purchase, means there is still time to get in on the trade. For the mysterious buyer to make any money, the price must go into the mid-20s over the next 2-3 weeks. Even with the news on Nevada taking action to reopen casinos, the stock still closed at $19.38 today. I expect a couple of potential catalysts to drive the price above $20 in the next few weeks: - ERI successfully renegotiates its lease on some of the properties for the year - ERI executes another favorable sale on a property, deleveraging its financial position - ERI gets approval to reopen its Casinos before rivals do. As always, this is just my opinion. It is obviously risky to trade hospitality / live entertainment stocks in a pandemic like this. So do your own DD before you take any action.
Today's Pre-Market Movers & News [Monday, March 30th, 2020]
Good morning traders and investors of the wallstreetbets sub! Welcome to the new trading week and a fresh start! Here are your pre-market movers and news this AM-
U.S. stock futures were pointing to a modest decline for the Dow Jones Industrial Average at Monday’s open after President Donald Trump extended national social distancing guidelines to April 30. The Dow, which closed 4% lower Friday, did soar 12.8% for the week, logging its best weekly gain since 1938 and raising questions about whether blue chips have bottomed. However, heading into Monday’s session, the Dow was still nearly 27% off last month’s record highs. The yield on the 10-year Treasury remained below 1% early Monday. U.S. oil prices sank below $20 per barrel, near 18-year lows hit earlier this month.
On Sunday, mortgage bankers warned that Federal Reserve mortgage purchases are unbalancing the home lending market. In addition to the Fed’s extraordinary no limit fixed-income purchases, Wall Street analysts and economists said it would not be out of the question to see the central bank take for the first time ever a passive interest in the performance of the stock market.
Preparing the nation for a death toll that could exceed 100,000 from the coronavirus, Trump on Sunday walked back his previous remarks about wanting to reopen the country for business by Easter. In continuing social distancing until the end of next month, the president said, “Nothing would be worse than declaring victory before the victory has been won.” Earlier on Sunday, White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said the country could see up to 200,000 deaths and millions of infections. However, he also cautioned that those numbers are based on outbreak modeling and nothing is certain.
The U.S., which has the most known coronavirus infections in the world, saw confirmed cases jump to over 143,000 with 2,513 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. New York has about 40% of those cases and fatalities. A field hospital has been set up inside New York’s Central Park to treat coronavirus patients. Abbott Laboratories, which received FDA emergency use authorization on Friday for a test that can detect coronavirus in 5 minutes, was praised by Trump. “Abbott has stated that they will begin delivering 50,000 tests each day, starting this week,” he said. Abbott shares were soaring about 8% in the premarket.
Global coronavirus cases increased to over 730,000 with 34,685 deaths and more than 149,000 recoveries. Italy, No. 2 to the U.S. in cases with about 97,700, has the worst death toll. Italy’s 10,779 fatalities are more than three times as many as China’s 3,308 deaths. Rounding out the top three, Spain just surpassed China in infections, with over 85,000 cases and more than double China’s death toll at 6,803. China, where the pandemic started in December, has the world’s fourth most known infections, nearing 82,200 cases. Germany is No. 5 in worldwide cases at about 62,400. It has 541 deaths.
Amazon warehouse workers in Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City, plan to strike on Monday to call attention to what they claim is the lack of protections for employees. Chris Smalls, a management assistant and a lead organizer of the strike, told CNBC that workers at the fulfillment center known as JFK8, have grown increasingly concerned about coming into work after an employee tested positive for the coronavirus there last week. Amazon told CNBC that the company was supporting the individual in quarantine and asked anyone who was in contact with the worker to stay home with pay for two weeks. JFK8 remains open.
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) – The company announced it has identified a lead COVID-19 vaccine candidate, and plans to begin phase 1 clinical trials by September at the latest. Its intention is to have the first batches of vaccine available for emergency use by January.
Cal-Maine Foods (CALM) – The nation’s largest egg producer reported quarterly earnings of 28 cents per share, 10 cents a share above estimates, Revenue also beat forecasts and Cal-Maine said it is not seeing any supply chain disruptions as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
Sanofi (SNY), Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN) – The drugmakers expanded a clinical trial of their rheumatoid arthritis drug Kevzara as a coronavirus treatment. The trial now includes patients outside the U.S., after beginning in America last week.
United Technologies (UTX), Raytheon (RTN) – The defense contractors have received all regulatory approvals for their all-stock merger, and expect to close the deal prior to the open on Friday. United Technologies will be renamed Raytheon Technologies and trade under the ticker “RTX.” The Carrier and Otis businesses of United Technologies will become separate publicly traded companies, trading under ticker symbols “CARR” and “OTIS,” respectively.
La-Z-Boy (LZB) – La-Z-Boy furloughed 6,800 workers, cut the pay of senior management by 50%, and of salaried workers by 25%. The furniture maker also eliminated its June dividend and stopped its share repurchase program indefinitely.
Tegna (TGNA) – Tegna said it has held talks with two of four interested parties about their takeover proposals for the regional TV station operator. Those talks have stopped, however, due to the disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
Jefferies (JEF) – Jefferies said its Chief Financial Officer Peg Broadbent has died from the coronavirus. The investment bank named Teri Gendron, the CFO of the company’s financial services arm, as Broadbent’s successor.
Gilead Sciences (GILD) – Gilead said it would stop taking individual emergency requests for its experimental coronavirus drug due to overwhelming demand.
Eldorado Resorts (ERI) – Eldorado’s deal to buy rival casino operator Caesars Entertainment (CZR) could be in danger, according to the New York Post. The paper said regulators have delayed their review of the $17.3 billion deal due to the virus outbreak, while the casino industry takes a hard hit from ongoing closures.
Novartis (NVS) – Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan told a Swiss newspaper that its malaria drug hydroxychloroquine is the drugmaker’s biggest hope against COVID-19.
Papa John’s (PZZA) – Investor advisory firm ISS said retired basketball superstar Shaquille O’Neal should not be re-elected to the board of the pizza chain, according to a Bloomberg report. ISS said O’Neal skipped too many board meetings and that shareholders should vote against his re-election at the April 23 annual meeting.
Procter & Gamble (PG), Kimberly-Clark (KMB) – Jefferies upgraded both consumer products makers to “buy” from “hold,” noting that both are benefiting from the “pantry-loading” taking place due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Today's Pre-Market Movers & News [Monday, March 30th, 2020]
Good morning traders and investors of the StockMarket sub! Welcome to the new trading week and a fresh start! Here are your pre-market movers and news this AM-
U.S. stock futures were pointing to a modest decline for the Dow Jones Industrial Average at Monday’s open after President Donald Trump extended national social distancing guidelines to April 30. The Dow, which closed 4% lower Friday, did soar 12.8% for the week, logging its best weekly gain since 1938 and raising questions about whether blue chips have bottomed. However, heading into Monday’s session, the Dow was still nearly 27% off last month’s record highs. The yield on the 10-year Treasury remained below 1% early Monday. U.S. oil prices sank below $20 per barrel, near 18-year lows hit earlier this month.
On Sunday, mortgage bankers warned that Federal Reserve mortgage purchases are unbalancing the home lending market. In addition to the Fed’s extraordinary no limit fixed-income purchases, Wall Street analysts and economists said it would not be out of the question to see the central bank take for the first time ever a passive interest in the performance of the stock market.
Preparing the nation for a death toll that could exceed 100,000 from the coronavirus, Trump on Sunday walked back his previous remarks about wanting to reopen the country for business by Easter. In continuing social distancing until the end of next month, the president said, “Nothing would be worse than declaring victory before the victory has been won.” Earlier on Sunday, White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said the country could see up to 200,000 deaths and millions of infections. However, he also cautioned that those numbers are based on outbreak modeling and nothing is certain.
The U.S., which has the most known coronavirus infections in the world, saw confirmed cases jump to over 143,000 with 2,513 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. New York has about 40% of those cases and fatalities. A field hospital has been set up inside New York’s Central Park to treat coronavirus patients. Abbott Laboratories, which received FDA emergency use authorization on Friday for a test that can detect coronavirus in 5 minutes, was praised by Trump. “Abbott has stated that they will begin delivering 50,000 tests each day, starting this week,” he said. Abbott shares were soaring about 8% in the premarket.
Global coronavirus cases increased to over 730,000 with 34,685 deaths and more than 149,000 recoveries. Italy, No. 2 to the U.S. in cases with about 97,700, has the worst death toll. Italy’s 10,779 fatalities are more than three times as many as China’s 3,308 deaths. Rounding out the top three, Spain just surpassed China in infections, with over 85,000 cases and more than double China’s death toll at 6,803. China, where the pandemic started in December, has the world’s fourth most known infections, nearing 82,200 cases. Germany is No. 5 in worldwide cases at about 62,400. It has 541 deaths.
Amazon warehouse workers in Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City, plan to strike on Monday to call attention to what they claim is the lack of protections for employees. Chris Smalls, a management assistant and a lead organizer of the strike, told CNBC that workers at the fulfillment center known as JFK8, have grown increasingly concerned about coming into work after an employee tested positive for the coronavirus there last week. Amazon told CNBC that the company was supporting the individual in quarantine and asked anyone who was in contact with the worker to stay home with pay for two weeks. JFK8 remains open.
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) – The company announced it has identified a lead COVID-19 vaccine candidate, and plans to begin phase 1 clinical trials by September at the latest. Its intention is to have the first batches of vaccine available for emergency use by January.
Cal-Maine Foods (CALM) – The nation’s largest egg producer reported quarterly earnings of 28 cents per share, 10 cents a share above estimates, Revenue also beat forecasts and Cal-Maine said it is not seeing any supply chain disruptions as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
Sanofi (SNY), Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN) – The drugmakers expanded a clinical trial of their rheumatoid arthritis drug Kevzara as a coronavirus treatment. The trial now includes patients outside the U.S., after beginning in America last week.
United Technologies (UTX), Raytheon (RTN) – The defense contractors have received all regulatory approvals for their all-stock merger, and expect to close the deal prior to the open on Friday. United Technologies will be renamed Raytheon Technologies and trade under the ticker “RTX.” The Carrier and Otis businesses of United Technologies will become separate publicly traded companies, trading under ticker symbols “CARR” and “OTIS,” respectively.
La-Z-Boy (LZB) – La-Z-Boy furloughed 6,800 workers, cut the pay of senior management by 50%, and of salaried workers by 25%. The furniture maker also eliminated its June dividend and stopped its share repurchase program indefinitely.
Tegna (TGNA) – Tegna said it has held talks with two of four interested parties about their takeover proposals for the regional TV station operator. Those talks have stopped, however, due to the disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
Jefferies (JEF) – Jefferies said its Chief Financial Officer Peg Broadbent has died from the coronavirus. The investment bank named Teri Gendron, the CFO of the company’s financial services arm, as Broadbent’s successor.
Gilead Sciences (GILD) – Gilead said it would stop taking individual emergency requests for its experimental coronavirus drug due to overwhelming demand.
Eldorado Resorts (ERI) – Eldorado’s deal to buy rival casino operator Caesars Entertainment (CZR) could be in danger, according to the New York Post. The paper said regulators have delayed their review of the $17.3 billion deal due to the virus outbreak, while the casino industry takes a hard hit from ongoing closures.
Novartis (NVS) – Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan told a Swiss newspaper that its malaria drug hydroxychloroquine is the drugmaker’s biggest hope against COVID-19.
Papa John’s (PZZA) – Investor advisory firm ISS said retired basketball superstar Shaquille O’Neal should not be re-elected to the board of the pizza chain, according to a Bloomberg report. ISS said O’Neal skipped too many board meetings and that shareholders should vote against his re-election at the April 23 annual meeting.
Procter & Gamble (PG), Kimberly-Clark (KMB) – Jefferies upgraded both consumer products makers to “buy” from “hold,” noting that both are benefiting from the “pantry-loading” taking place due to the coronavirus outbreak.
bigbear0083 has no positions in any stocks mentioned. Reddit, moderators, and the author do not advise making investment decisions based on discussion in these posts. Analysis is not subject to validation and users take action at their own risk. bigbear0083 is an admin at the financial forums Stockaholics.net where this content was originally posted.
DISCUSS!
What is on everyone's radar for today's trading day ahead here at StockMarket?
I hope you all have an excellent trading day ahead today on this Monday, March 30th, 2020! :)
TL;DR: $ERI is buying $CZR at pre-pandemic prices and is now being forced to sell at least two casinos to $TRWH at post-pandemic prices. $ERI is paying pre-pandemic prices for $CZR in a post-pandemic world. It's one thing if it was purely a stock for stock transaction. But the deal is actually made up of over 90% cash. This is very good for $CZR shareholders since it means they were cashed out at 90% of pre-pandemic prices. This is best demonstrated in $CZR's current stock price. It's sitting 20% below the Feb highs which is far better than most other casino stocks ($ERI is down 50%). What's good for CZR, is unfortunately very bad for ERI. Poor bastards made a decision to merge with CZR back in 2019 on a mostly cash basis and BOOM! a pandemic hits and now they're bagholding this deal at a much lower valuation. In more bad news, it was reported on Friday (6/26/2020) that the FTC is requiring that ERI divest assets in two local markets before the merger can be approved. FTC and ERI came to a settlement on two asset sales to Twin River Holdings ($TRWH). If deal closes, I believe it would be good for $CZR, bad for $ERI, good for $TWRH. If $ERI backs out of deal (long shot since they have confirmed their interest in moving forward with the deal many times), it would be disastrous for $CZR. It would also mean more money wasted for $ERI since they would have to pay hundreds of millions to $CZR for backing out of the deal. Positions: Shorted $ERI 55C 7/17 at $1.70 Bought $ERI 30P 7/17 at $1.20 Considering hedge with synthetic long position on $TWRH. Citation: FTC Requires Casino Operators Eldorado Resorts, Inc. (ERI) and Caesars Entertainment (CZR) to Divest Assets in Two Local Markets as a Condition of Merger
Gaming officials in New Jersey meet to discuss the Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR)-Eldorado Resorts (NASDAQ:ERI) merger in the upcoming week! This is strong BULLISH news, as this meeting wasn’t slated for discussion until early July. Casinos/Gaming stocks up 47% on avg. in the past month, with its top movers being $ERI at 138% & $PENN at 129.1%. Post merger, ERI will be the juggernaut of the chino industry as the largest existing chain. Prepare your bankroll, aiming for ATH ($80 by Sept)! 🚀🌝
Eldorado merger with Caesars gets final approval, creating world's largest casino company The combined company will have 52 properties in 16 U.S. states, including Las Vegas Strip casino-resorts like Caesars Palace, Paris Las Vegas, Planet Hollywood, Flamingo and Linq. Plans for a merger announced this week by Eldorado Resorts and Caesars Entertainment will create the largest gaming company in the US and will undoubtedly have major ramifications on the Atlantic City casino industry.. The estimated $17.3 billion deal, including stock, cash and the assumption of Caesars’ debt, will not close until it is approved by shareholders and various gambling regulators. Caesars Merger: Casino Is Bought By Eldorado Resorts For $17 Billion To acquire the venerable Caesars name and properties, Eldorado will part with $7.2 billion in cash and around 77 million stock ... Transaction creates largest casino and entertainment company in the U.S. Reno and Las Vegas, NV (July 20, 2020) - Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (“Caesars,” “Caesars Entertainment”, or the “Company”, formerly known as Eldorado Resorts, Inc. or “Eldorado”) announced today that it completed its acquisition of Caesars Entertainment Corporation (“CEC”). Approval by New Jersey regulators last week paved way for completion of $17.3 billion merger. Carano called the financier “integral" to the merger. Eldorado founder Don Carano and his family developed a winemaking and casino empire that grew into 26 gambling properties and more than ... The largest casino operator in the U.S. was born on Monday. The deal fusing Eldorado Resorts and Caesars Entertainment has closed, the combined company announced in a press release.. The ... The Caesars-Eldorado merger reaching the finish line is taking longer than planned. This is the same deal initially targeted for a potential first-quarter completion. The COVID-19 pandemic shutting down the gambling industry is pushing the timeline back.. #NewCaesars in June "The anticipated closing of the $17.3 billion deal has been pushed from April to June." Eldorado founder Don Carano and his family developed a winemaking and casino empire that grew into 26 gambling properties and more than 18,000 employees in 12 states before the buyout. Eldorado Resorts and Caesars Entertainment announced a merger Monday that brings together two large casino operators that will compete with the likes of MGM Resorts and Wynn Resorts.
Today we are talking about something that could have a big impact on Las Vegas-Caesars Entertainment being bought by Eldorado Resorts. There was a big push by billionaire investor Carl Icahn to ... Caesars Entertainment and Eldorado Resorts close merger to become largest US casino company Eldorado Resorts is set to buy Caesars Entertainment to form the largest gaming company in the United States. Jun.24 -- Eldorado Resorts is buying Caesars Entertainment Corp. for $8.5 billion. Activist investor Carl Icahn is Caesars’ biggest shareholder. Emma Chandra... In this video, we're going to talk about whether it's finally time to invest in Casino stock. I have a particularly interesting hypothesis on a business's ed... How Caesars-Eldorado merger could impact locals, Las Vegas gaming industry - Duration: 2:27. KTNV Channel 13 Las Vegas 1,658 views Eldorado Resorts (ERI) up over 1,500% over the last 5 years is looking to acquire Caesars Entertainment (CZR). Also I talk about Wynn Resorts (WYNN), MGM Res... Casino operator Eldorado Resorts has agreed to merge with Caesars in a cash and stock deal. This comes after pressure from activist investor Carl Ichan. Adviser Investments Senior Vice President Chris Keith has the market analysis for Monday, June 24. Little changed on Wall Street as the Dow Jones Industrial ... Is it a good time to buy casino stocks? Casinos have taken a hit and their stocks have fallen fast. The stocks mentioned in their video are Eldorado Resort...
![[National] - Eldorado and Caesars cost cutting is boosting profits at regional casinos as merger close nears | NBC](https://b.thumbs.redditmedia.com/bE6oJJxFTc9jScIbohFX9wSZWZ_F-iOLoKzxKjQQ1Ac.jpg "[National] - Eldorado and Caesars cost cutting is boosting profits at regional casinos as merger close nears | NBC")
![[Business] - Eldorado Resorts buying Caesars in $17 billion casino merger | CBS](https://b.thumbs.redditmedia.com/qH_t-TaDqio2iMN-iOPjyirQ61P0QKyS5p2jAx1A9aM.jpg "[Business] - Eldorado Resorts buying Caesars in $17 billion casino merger | CBS")
![[Top Stories] - Casino operators Caesars and Eldorado Resorts are reportedly exploring a merger | NBC](https://b.thumbs.redditmedia.com/CqOzYMt-uGqoRnIOK6VE52UYvPhHsBhwkErBjY0vzOY.jpg "[Top Stories] - Casino operators Caesars and Eldorado Resorts are reportedly exploring a merger | NBC")
