Eldorado Effect: Caesars Rewards Membership Jumps 20 Percent Thanks to Merger

Posted on: October 21, 2020, 09:45h. 

Last updated on: October 21, 2020, 10:27h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.

Eldorado Resorts’ takeover of Caesars Entertainment is having tangible benefits in at least one area. The transaction, sealed in July, created a massive influx of new members to the Caesars Rewards loyalty program.

Caesars Rewards
Caesars Palace Las Vegas pictured here. Caesars Rewards got a membership boost of 20 percent, according to the company. (Image: Las Vegas Review-Journal)

In terms of membership total, the perks plan jumped by 20 percent thanks to the addition of 18 properties following Eldorado’s $17.3 billion acquisition of Caesars. The buyer’s management team runs the new company, which operates under Caesars’ name.

Customers from each company’s legacy rewards programs were seamlessly integrated into the expanded Caesars Rewards loyalty program on day one,” according to a statement. “Members can now also use their loyalty currency anywhere in the enterprise, as well as match their status universally.”

In the release, the gaming company didn’t disclose a specific number of members in the rewards club.

In 2019, prior to the aforementioned acquisition, Caesars said it had “more than 55 million members worldwide” on its benefits roster. Eldorado’s One Club program had more than 10 million participants at the time the takeover of Caesars was announced in mid-2019.

Expansive Network

The newly combined company is the largest gaming firm in the US, with 55 properties across 17 states.

Not only is Caesars the second-largest operator in Las Vegas behind MGM Resorts, but the Eldorado marriage also gives it a deep bench of regional venues. In Sin City, the company controls nine integrated resorts, and its regional network taps into marquee gaming markets outside Nevada, including Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania, among others.

Portfolio depth outside the Silver State is important over the near-term because Las Vegas is struggling against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. The gaming company can also leverage Caesars Rewards to entice members to return to higher-end Strip venues when a coronavirus vaccine comes to market and the US economy rebounds.

The number of venues where gamblers can earn Caesars Rewards points will decline in the coming months as the operator wraps up sales of venues in Atlantic City, NJ, Louisiana, and Northern Nevada. But the company will remain the largest as measured by the number of domestic casinos.

Accolades for Caesars Rewards

Caesars Rewards members earn points through casino play, hotel stays, dining, entertainment, and other activities. At least one credit is earned for every dollar spent, and there are six tier levels: Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Diamond Plus, Diamond Elite, and Seven Stars.

Recently, the program was ranked as the top players club by USA Today, marking the third time Caesars captured that honor.

On that top 10 list, Caesars Rewards is the only loyalty program offered by a commercial operator in the top six and ranks well ahead of Boyd Gaming’s B Connected and MGM Resorts’ M life Rewards, which are ninth and tenth, respectively.