Robin Leach, the Las Vegas journalist and former host of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, tweeted last Saturday:
Did a significant hotel off the Strip just sell for $400 million? We are searching for more information.
Robin Leach tweeted this on October 4, 2014.
It wasn’t clear which hotel Leach was referring to until Wednesday. On this day, 2+2 user KKAnderson started a thread on the site’s News, Views, and Gossip forum. He stated he had been informed by a confidential source that the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas would be closing.
KKAnderson explains that the employees of Rio were informed about the shutdown in late-September and were guided to shift to other locations within the Caesars group.
Following KKAnderson’s audacious statement, a surge of speculation swept across notable figures in the poker media on Twitter. This led to Chris Grove incorporating the rumor into his weekday newsletter, OPR Quick Take.
If the rumor turns out to be true, it would signify the end of WSOP’s 10-year stint at the Brazilian-themed resort. However, that remains a significant uncertainty.
Do the rumors hold any weight?
It’s challenging to ascertain at this moment. There’s been chatter about Rio sales on the internet for years, suggesting that Caesars Entertainment, the owner, is keen on selling the casino.
Eric Hollreiser, a PokerStars executive, confirmed last year that Caesars Entertainment had proposed to buy “certain assets” from the online poker titan, including the Rio. However, the offer was swiftly rejected.
Moreover, Caesars’ debt, reportedly standing at $24.2 billion the last time I checked, is legendary. It wouldn’t be surprising if Caesars chose to sell an aging, off-strip casino, or even close it down if selling didn’t work out. After all, they had no qualms about closing the dated Showboat in Atlantic City last September, mostly to minimize internal competition between their properties.
Even though it seems quite implausible that the WSOP house will be here today and disappear tomorrow. According to a rumor from 2+2, the employees of Rio were notified about this change in late September. No non-disclosure agreement could have stopped such news from spreading till now. That’s just my opinion.
Additionally, the hotel has recently added a VooDoo ZipLine that connects the two towers. Moreover, it is now accepting bookings up to one year in advance.
As of writing this, I’ve been able to locate only two instances suggesting that something unusual is ongoing at the Rio. The first comes from someone claiming to be an employee, who alleges that the casino will be “done” in thirty days. The second, from an enigmatic user called Privateworld (could he be Viffer, Johnny “World” Hennigan, or just some random poker enthusiast?), who asserts, “I only know that some upper management employees were transferred to other hotels. Did not hear why.” This is far from being a solid confirmation.
Expect speculation to persist until there is an official announcement (if any) about Caesars’ plans for the Rio.
Should the Rio close, what happens to the WSOP?
Rewritten: Briefly, it moves.
Long answer: The most probable outcome would see the WSOP being relocated to another property owned by Caesars Entertainment. If I were to make an educated guess, I would say that it would be Planet Hollywood. This venue, situated on the strip’s eastern side, is known for its enormous grand ballroom. It has ample space, appeal, and a well-known brand to attract large crowds.
An alternative would be to hold the WSOP at Caesars’ main casino. It makes sense, doesn’t it? Caesars has plenty of room, and there wouldn’t be any further confusion about who owns the WSOP brand. It appears to be a mutually beneficial situation.
An alternative solution is to distribute the WSOP over several Caesars properties. This could definitely reduce the lengthy bathroom and restaurant queues, but it also brings up new challenges. Specifically, the association of the WSOP with a single casino would be lost, which could potentially devalue the brand.
Perhaps I’m alone in this, but a significant part of the WSOP’s appeal is witnessing the sheer scale of poker’s biggest yearly competition in person. If the event were to be scattered across multiple convention centers, it would somewhat dilute the WSOP’s impressive impact. This would also cause inconvenience for many players who typically stay in the same hotel as the WSOP tournaments.
Many players and poker media personnel are already advocating for relocating WSOP to the Strip, irrespective of the Rio’s fate. This suggests that regardless of whether Caesars continues to oversee the casino, or if it is sold or closed down, it is likely to move to another location eventually.
Regardless of the situation, take comfort in the fact that the WSOP has a future, which is likely to be bright.
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