Caesars became an iconic name after the opening of Caesar’s Palace on the Las Vegas Strip in 1966. But its roots date back to the 1930s in Reno, Nevada. It operates nine hotels on the Strip and owns properties in over a dozen states.

Fertitta is the CEO of Fertitta Entertainment, a company that owns Las Vegas’ Golden Nugget and chains like Rainforest Cafe and Morton’s. Fertitta also owns the NBA team Houston Rockets, and he is the largest shareholder in Wynn Resorts as well as in DraftKings, the sports betting company. Fertitta is also a major GOP mega donor and US ambassador to Italy.

Fertitta Entertainment will pay $5.7 billion and take on close to $12 billion in debt from Caesars, putting the total value of the deal at about $17.6 billion.

As part of the agreement, Caesars can seek competing bids through July 11.

The deal must be approved by its shareholders. But if it goes through, the sale will create one of the largest gaming empires with 60 casino resorts, online gaming, retail sports betting at more than 200 locations through the William Hill brand, and over 600 Fertitta Entertainment outlets, such as restaurants and entertainment venues.

Caesars investors will get $31 in cash for each share they own, a 49% premium over the share price before chatter about a possible tie-up between the two entertainment companies began in February.

Shares of Caesars Entertainment Inc., which are up 15% since merger rumors emerged, rose almost 2% before the opening bell Thursday.

David Schwartz, a gaming historian at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas, said Fertitta’s investment in the Las Vegas Strip is a sign of a lot of optimism about Las Vegas, which had struggled with a decline in visitors following the COVID-19 pandemic and what some officials said was the Trump administration’s immigration policies and tariffs.

“Fertitta has been in Las Vegas for over 20 years at this point, so I’m not saying he’s not a gaming operator, but he just has such a big portfolio outside of gaming. I think that’s significant, and that could be something really exciting,” Schwartz said.

The Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165, which represents over 60,000 hospitality workers in Nevada, said it has strong relationships with both Caesars and Fertitta, and it does not see that changing.

“We anticipate there will be discussions ahead about the full ramifications of this purchase and while we do not know all the details yet, we are confident that based on our relationships with both companies, we will continue to have a positive relationship going forward,” the union said in a Thursday statement.