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CINCINNATI – Jack Entertainment to sell Jack Cincinnati Casino and Turfway Park for $ 780 million pending approval,
the company announced on Friday.
Hard Rock International and VICI Properties hope to finalize the acquisition by the end of the year. The transaction would result in a third name change for Cincinnati's largest casino property, with gaming revenues of nearly $ 17 million in 2018.
The property opened as an Horseshoe Casino in 2013 with approximately 1,700 employees. Managing Director Chad Barnhill said in the past 18 months that the property was operating with "just under 1,000 employees".
Barnhill plans to continue working for Hard Rock International with the rest of his team.
"Nothing changes," Barnill said. "All of our union agreements are being reported on Hard Rock, their seniority is being maintained, and nothing is more positive with the entry of the Hard Rock brand and what it means to increase the number of visitors."
The proposed sale ends months of speculation on a potential sale of the 22-acre property with 100,000 square feet of gaming space and 33,000 square feet of banquet space and event space . Barnhill said employees are already speculating on the improvements Hard Rock could bring to Cincinnati.
"When is the hotel built and when will the Hard Rock Cafe be in place? These are the two questions that everyone asks and I would like to have answers, but not yet, "said Barnhill.
Jack Entertainment CEO Matt Cullen said he expects Hard Rock "to be more interested in the entertainment side" of the Cincinnati property. He also expects improvements to Turfway Park. Florence's equestrian circuit explores potential investment in historic horse racing, allowing players to bet on previous races on a machine similar to slot machines, Cullen added.
Hard Rock has declined to comment beyond its press release, saying improvements to Cincinnati area properties will be announced later this year.
"Hard Rock is the number one operator in Ohio since it opened on the Cleveland market in 2013," said Jim Allen, President and CEO of Hard Rock International, in a press release . "And now, we look forward to introducing our unique brand of casino entertainment to Cincinnati."
For Cullen, the agreement completes more than a decade of work. As the principal of Rock Ventures LLC, a casino investment company founded by Detroit billionaire Dan Gilbert, Cullen has been actively involved in the campaign to legalize gambling in Ohio. He oversaw the development and construction of the downtown casino.
"I'm really happy with how this project came about," Cullen said on Friday. "We are really selling it at the height of the market."
Cullen said the sale of Cincinnati could be the latest for Gilbert's casino business, which agreed to sell the Detroit's Greektown Casino-Hotel for $ 1 billion in November. Cullen said that Rock Ventures could sell real estate assets in northeastern Ohio, but that it will continue to operate Jack Casino and Jack Thistledown Racino.
"Cleveland is not for sale," he said.
In an interview last fall, Macquarie Capital
analyst Chad Beynon predicts
a sale would have little impact on local jobs and could be beneficial for players – if the buyer was a national company with a strong loyalty program. He also expected the Cincinnati property to be of great interest.
"Ohio has had one of the best game growth rates in the country in the last two years," Beynon said. "It always looks like it's a growing market, certainly not mature."
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