The former Las Vegas home of the World Series of Poker, the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, is getting a major makeover. News emerged Monday that the Rio’s parent company, New York real estate investor Dreamscape Companies, has raised $850m to remodel the resort and invest in similar properties.
Bloomberg cited an interview with Dreamscape founder and CEO Eric Birnbaum in which he said he’d created both a real estate investment trust (REIT) to own the resort and a property management company. He intends to leverage the two new entities to acquire more gambling and entertainment-related assets.
people crave experiences and being with others.”
Driving this move is the CEO’s belief there is potential for growth in this sector as leisure activities and travel bounces back to pre-pandemic levels. He said that something he learned from the pandemic was that “people crave experiences and being with others.”
Dreamscape’s REIT will operate along similar lines to its New York-based peer VICI Properties, formed as a spin-off of Caesars Entertainment in 2017. Caesars sold the Rio to Dreamscape in 2019 for $516m.
The lion’s share of the $850m will go toward the REIT and the remainder to the management company. Makeover plans for the Rio include entertainment options, restaurants, and rooms.