LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – A federally recognized Native American tribe that owns casinos in North Carolina is in talks to purchase Caesars Southern Indiana, the 20-year-old casino on the Ohio River in Elizabeth, Ind.
The Indiana Gaming Commission ordered Caesars Entertainment to sell the Southern Indiana casino, as well as two other casinos, as part of its merger with Eldorado Resorts earlier this year. The commission wanted to ensure the merged company doesn’t control too much of Indiana’s casino market.
Caesars faces a Dec. 31 deadline to enter into an agreement to sell Caesars Southern Indiana, which retired its three-floor riverboat and moved into a new, $85 million land-based building in late 2019.
The North Carolina-based Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is contemplating whether to go through with a $280 million purchase of the casino, according to publicly available documents and meeting videos of the band’s Tribal Council.
The tribe declined to comment, and a spokesperson for Las Vegas-based Caesars Entertainment Corp. acknowledged WDRB’s request but did not provide a comment.
The tribe last month approved a resolution calling for about $10 million in expenses to evaluate the deal after signing a letter of intent for the potential purchase with Caesars, according to a council resolution.
The Eastern Band owns two casinos in North Carolina that are managed by Caesars under its Harrah’s brand.
The tribal council discussed the potential deal for about three hours on Tuesday and ultimately tabled it for further discussion, according to a video of the meeting. The industry publication Casino.org earlier reported on the meeting.
The council discussed a number of factors, including competition with historical horse racing, the slot-like gaming that is legal in Kentucky and available in Louisville at Churchill Downs’ Derby City Gaming.
The tribe would finance about $160 million of the purchase and place about $120 million of its cash into the deal, according to testimony at the meeting.
The tribe, a sovereign nation, is descended from those Native Americans who “remained and rebuilt” within North Carolina’s Qualla Boundary after the U.S. government’s forced removal of the Cherokees during the Trail of Tears in the 1800s, according to its website.
