Del Lago Resort & Casino’s new owner to be in place by year-end

Del Lago Resort & Casino in the town of Tyre in Seneca County will soon be under new ownership. Churchill Downs Inc., the company that owns the Kentucky Derby, has an agreement to buy the Virginia–based business that operates del Lago. (ADAM ROMBEL / CNYBJ FILE PHOTO)

The company that operates del Lago Resort & Casino is expected to have a new owner by the end of 2022.  Churchill Downs Inc.(CDI) (NASDAQ: CHDN) plans to acquire “substantially all” of the assets of Richmond, Virginia–based Peninsula Pacific Entertainment LLC (P2E) for nearly $2.5 billion. Del Lago is visible from and located just off the […]

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The company that operates del Lago Resort & Casino is expected to have a new owner by the end of 2022. 

Churchill Downs Inc.(CDI) (NASDAQ: CHDN) plans to acquire “substantially all” of the assets of Richmond, Virginia–based Peninsula Pacific Entertainment LLC (P2E) for nearly $2.5 billion.

Del Lago is visible from and located just off the New York State Thruway in the town of Tyre in Seneca County.

Louisville, Kentucky–based CDI owns horse-racing tracks, casinos, and online-wagering platforms. It is most known for operating the Kentucky Derby and the Churchill Downs racetrack where the world-famous horse race is held annually.

CDI will acquire all of P2E’s assets in New York and Virginia, as well as the operations of its Sioux City, Iowa casino property. 

The P2E transaction is dependent on usual and customary closing conditions, including the company obtaining approvals from the New York State Gaming Commission, the Virginia Racing Commission, and the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission. 

The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2022, per a news release on the CDI website.

“This unique set of assets expands our geographic footprint and provides additional scale,” Bill Carstanjen, CEO of CDI, said. “P2E has done an exceptional job developing and managing this collection of assets, which we are very excited to acquire and plan to strategically grow in the years ahead.”

Del Lago is among the properties that CDI will acquire in this deal. It’s a 96,000-square-foot casino with about 1,700 slot machines, 80 table games, a 205-room hotel, nine restaurants / bar areas, 758 covered parking spaces, a 6,000-square-foot sportsbook area, a 2,400-seat entertainment venue, and a 7,200-square-foot outdoor event venue.

Eric Reinhardt: