Cleveland Cavaliers owner and Quicken Loans Inc. founder Dan Gilbert is ready to get out of the casino business in several cities, including Cleveland, Cincinnati and Detroit, according to a report from Christopher Palmeri of bloomberg.com.
Gilbert’s casino company is currently being represented by Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse in the sale process. According to Palmeri’s report, Caesars Entertainment Corp. is one company that is interested in making a bid on some of the properties.
As you might expect, representatives from all sides involved are keeping a tight lip about this possible sale. In fact, most declined to comment on this matter all together.
“It is Jack Entertainment’s long-standing policy to not comment on rumors or speculation,” the company told Bloomberg in a statement Wednesday.
Gilbert, now 56 years of age, has had success with the casino industry. He’s been trying to revitalize struggling downtown areas for quite some time.
In 2009, Gilbert supported a ballot to legalize casinos in Ohio. Three years later, the billionaire opened his first property — Jack Casino — at the historic Higbee building in downtown Cleveland.
Financial information via Bloomberg:
Jack Entertainment, based in Detroit, has interests in six casinos and racetracks, including Jack casinos in Ohio and the Greektown Casino-Hotel in Detroit, which Gilbert acquired in 2013. The properties may be sold separately. He’s worth an estimated $7.8 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
How much would it cost to buy Gilbert’s casino empire, you ask? Caesars purchased two Indiana-based racetrack-casinos for $1.7 billion in July. That same month, MGM Growth Properties LLC shelled out $1.06 billion for another gambling establishment — the Hard Rock Rocksino Northfield Park.
As of now, it’s unclear if Gilbert will indeed sell his stake in the casino business, but it sounds like a distinct possibility.
