After Caesars Goes Private, These 3 Casino Stocks Are Next on the Buyout List, Ranked

By Trey Thoelcke Published May 30, 9:50AM EDT

Quick Read

Fertitta family supervoting control and unencumbered real estate make RRR the top take-private candidate, while PENN's 53% EBITDA growth attracts strategic buyers.
CZR's $18 billion deal at a 49% premium and GDEN's REIT sale-leaseback validated the take-private playbook now reshaping regional casinos.
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After Caesars Goes Private, These 3 Casino Stocks Are Next on the Buyout List, Ranked — © 24/7 Wall St.

On May 28, 2026, Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ: CZR | CZR Price Prediction) announced a definitive agreement to be acquired by Fertitta Entertainment. The all-cash transaction is valued at approximately $17.6 billion, including the assumption of approximately $11.9 billion of outstanding debt. Shareholders get $31.00 per share, a 49% premium to the unaffected price on February 25, 2026. Financing is locked, the board has signed off, and a go-shop period runs through July 11, 2026.

Golden Entertainment (NASDAQ: GDEN) CEO Blake Sartini and affiliates announced a take-private deal on November 6, 2025, that closed on April 30, 2026. VICI Properties acquired seven casino real estate assets for $1.16 billion in a sale-leaseback. Golden set the precedent: the founder rolls over their shares, splits the business operations from the real estate, and uses a REIT sale-leaseback to fund the buyout. The same blueprint now lights up the other names on this list.

The rest of the regional casino sector is now on the clock. Below are three publicly traded casino names most exposed to the next take-private headline, ranked from least to most likely.

3. Bally’s

Bally’s (NYSE: BALY) is the cheapest name on the board with the messiest cap table. Market cap is roughly $684.8 million, against $4.41 billion in long-term debt and a price-to-book of 0.85. The asset base is sprawling:

The $4.0 billion Bally’s Bronx integrated resort targeting a 2030 opening
Bally’s Chicago under construction
A 38% equity stake in Star Entertainment in Australia
A 58% controlling stake in Intralot.

Standard General has chased it before. Reports of acquisition talks with Evoke are circulating. The strategic options are numerous, but the path forward remains unclear. Shares traded at $13.99 on May 28, 2026, down 15.3% year to date.

2. PENN Entertainment

PENN Entertainment (NASDAQ: PENN) has the activist track record and the digital turnaround. Q1 2026 delivered adjusted EPS of $0.11 versus a consensus estimate of $0.0206. Consolidated adjusted EBITDA totaled $265.8 million, up 53.4% year over year. CEO Jay Snowden has guided to 20% segment adjusted EBITDAR growth in 2026 and initially an Interactive break-even. Boyd Gaming already tried once. HG Vora forced a board settlement. Forward P/E is 12x.

Here’s the catch: PENN is an operating company (OpCo) sitting on $247.7 million in quarterly triple-net rent, with lease-adjusted leverage of 6.4x to 6.8x. There is no separable real estate to monetize, which caps the LBO math. The stock has already moved: $19.44 on May 28, up 31.8% year to date. A strategic bidder makes more sense than a sponsor.

1. Red Rock Resorts

Red Rock Resorts (NASDAQ: RRR) is the cleanest fit for the Golden Entertainment template, scaled up. Frank Fertitta III and Lorenzo Fertitta (cousins of Tilman Fertitta) already control the company through Class B supervoting shares. That means a friendly family-led take-private is the only realistic path, and that path has just been validated next door.

The asset base is premium and concentrated. Las Vegas operations generated $492.64 million of Q4 2024 revenue, 99.4% of total. That was anchored by Red Rock, Green Valley Ranch, and the $780 million Durango Resort that opened December 5, 2023. Adjusted EBITDA runs at a consistent $200 million-plus quarterly clip. EV/EBITDA is 8.5x, with a $67.25 analyst target that is well above the $57.78 close on May 28. Crucially, Red Rock owns most of its real estate outright, giving any take-private the same VICI-style sale-leaseback option Sartini just executed at Golden. Insider sales in February and March at $58.81 to $66.24 are a near-term flag, but those are executive-level dispositions. The Fertitta family themselves did not signal a retreat from the equity.

Infographic analyzing the $17.6 billion Caesars acquisition and forecasting future takeover targets in the regional casino market including Bally's, Penn, and Red Rock Resorts. — The $17.6 billion Caesars deal just redrew the industry playbook. See which regional giants are now in the crosshairs for a massive take-private payout.

The Catalyst to Watch

Red Rock has the structure, the EBITDA, the unencumbered real estate, and a sitting controlling family who just watched their cousins monetize a sister business at a 49% premium. The first tell will be a 13D amendment or an SEC filing disclosing a sponsor partner. The second will be a quiet pause in the quarterly dividend or capex commentary on the next call. The Caesars deal redrew the regional casino playbook in a single afternoon, and Red Rock is the name with the shortest distance left to travel.

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About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.