US casino operator Eldorado Resorts has secured approval from the Mississippi Gaming Commission to proceed with its pending acquisition of Caesars Entertainment.
Eldorado in June 2019 agreed to acquire Caesars in a deal worth $17.3bn, though the arrangement is subject to various approvals, including clearance from certain state regulatory bodies.
Approval by the Mississippi Gaming Commission was one of the conditions that Eldorado and Caesars had to satisfy on order to push ahead with the deal.
Eldorado said it expects to complete the acquisition during the first half of 2020, though it still remains subject to all other required regulatory approvals, as well various other closing conditions.
Clearance from the Mississippi regulator comes after Eldorado this month also secured approval from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board and the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission.
Last month, the Louisiana Gaming Control Board gave its approval to the deal, while Missouri’s gaming commission also cleared the pending acquisition in December last year.
In addition, shareholders of Eldorado and Caesars separately voted to approve certain actions in connection with the proposed merger, with over 99% of all votes cast in favour of the transaction.
Should the deal go ahead as expected, the combined Eldorado-Caesars business would run around 60 casino resorts and gaming facilities across 16 states in the US.
It is set to operate in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.