A Las Vegas insider’s tweet helped intensify a rumor that the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas will soon be sold and demolished, leaving Caesars Entertainment searching for a new WSOP venue.
On top of that rumor, CNBC reports that Caesars is up for sale. And a deal could be made within weeks. The supposed buyers, which is reportedly between Eldorado Resorts and Tilman Fertitta, the owner of the NBA’s Houston Rockets, are actively pursuing the $24 billion company, according to CNBC.
But the report also says that “a person close to the situation” disputes those rumors. He or she claims the board has “made no decision.” However, the source didn’t refute the possibility of a sale. So, for the time being, the gambling world will just sit back and see what happens in the coming weeks.
Last WSOP at Rio?
Earlier this year, another completely different rumor about the Rio made its way through social media. Vital Vegas, a Las Vegas entertainment blog, floated the idea of the Rio being demolished and replaced by a baseball stadium.
Another local insider, Las Vegas Locally (@lasvegaslocally on Twitter), shared a new rumor about the home of the World Series of Poker since 2005.
Source: The @RioVegas is in the process of being sold and will soon be demolished.
— Las Vegas Locally 🌴 (@LasVegasLocally) April 11, 2019
CardsChat reached out to Las Vegas Locally to see if we could verify this rumor. While the individual understandably disclose the source, we did find out a few details.
“The source is pretty good,” they told CardsChat News. “He’s provided several tips in the past that proved to be accurate. One thing I can tell you for sure is that Caesars has been actively trying to sell the Rio for at least the past year.”
Las Vegas Locally also told us their sources have confirmed that a sale of the Rio is “happening very soon, like in the next couple of weeks.”
Immediately after the tweet was posted, some poker players wondered about the future of the WSOP. David “ODB” Baker, fresh off his WPT L.A. Poker Classic title, questioned if the series would even take place at the Rio this year. But the WSOP social media manager informed the poker pro that “we’ll be there, 100% certain.”
Future of the World Series of Poker
Although the WSOP quickly squashed any rumors that the 2019 series might take place elsewhere, there’s still one unanswered question. And that is which venue will host the annual poker extravaganza starting next year?
If Caesars still owns the Rio in 2020, a move elsewhere in Las Vegas is unlikely. But if Las Vegas Locally is correct and the Rio is demolished, it will obviously have to move to a different venue.
One possibility is the new Caesars convention center which is being built near the Linq on the Strip. There’s only one potential problem with that idea.
The city of Las Vegas recently announced a major three-year road construction plan along the Las Vegas Strip. That is bound to cause massive traffic jams at certain times of the day.
For now, though, we’ll just wait and see how it all progresses as, at this point, it’s all just rumors.
