Churchill Downs announced Tuesday the completion of its purchase of substantially all of the assets of Peninsula Pacific Entertainment, for total consideration of $2.75 billion.
The P2E acquisition includes all of its assets and operations in Virginia, New York and Sioux City, Iowa; and follows receipt of customary licensing approvals from the Virginia Racing Commission, the New York State Gaming Commission and the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission.
In a press release, Bill Carstanjen, Chief Executive Officer of CDI, said this marks “a significant moment in the evolution of Churchill Downs Incorporated,” and described the new transaction as meaningful, as it introduces “a very unique set of assets and attractive organic growth opportunities” to the company.
Bill Carstanjen
The P2E acquisition includes Colonial Downs Racetrack in New Kent, Virginia; as well as six Rosie’s Gaming Emporium historical horse race facilities across the state. It also involves Del Lago Resort & Casino in Waterloo, New York, a 96,000 square feet casino with approximately 1,700 slot machines, 80 table games, a 205-room hotel, nine restaurants and more.
It also features Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Sioux City, Iowa, a 45,000 square feet casino with 639 slot machines, 20 table games, a 54-room hotel, 1,511 parking spaces, two live entertainment venues, a 100-piece music memorabilia collection and a Hard Rock-branded sportsbook.
The acquisition also includes other development rights such as the opportunity to develop up to five additional HRM entertainment venues in Virginia with collectively up to approximately 2,300 additional HRMs.
Del Lago Resort & Casino
It also grants the rights to build a new HRM entertainment venue with up to 1,800 HRMs in Dumfries, Virginia. The Dumfries project is located in Northern Virginia, with the initial phase expected to open in 2023.
The rights to develop a new HRM entertainment in Emporia, Virginia, are also on the table as a consequence of the acquisition, also slated to open in 2023; as well as the rights to P2E’s ongoing effort, in partnership with Urban One, to develop One Casino + Resort, a $565 million destination casino in Richmond.
Back in September, the company also completed a previously-announced purchase of Chasers Poker Room in Salem, New Hampshire. The acquisition of Chasers followed the approval of the transaction by the New Hampshire Lottery Commission.
The company described Chasers as ‘the leading New Hampshire charitable gaming operator.’ Located approximately 30 minutes from downtown Boston, Chasers offers poker and a variety of table games. CDI plans to construct an expanded charitable gaming facility in Salem, with up to 800 gaming positions including historical racing machines (HRMs) and table games.
Churchill Downs stated that it expects the total investment in Salem, inclusive of the purchase price, to be approximately $150 million.
The company also signed this year a definitive agreement to acquire Ellis Park Racing & Gaming in Henderson, Kentucky, from Enchantment Holdings, an affiliate of Laguna Development Corporation, for a total consideration of $79 million in cash. The company will also assume Ellis Park’s opportunity to construct a track extension facility in Owensboro.
