As part of a roughly $2.5 billion deal, del Lago Resort & Casino in Seneca County will get a new owner.
Churchill Downs Inc. said this week that it’s purchasing the casino and several other properties in Virginia and Iowa from Peninsula Pacific Entertainment.
According to Churchill Downs, they have a purchase agreement to acquire nearly all of Peninsula Pacific’s assets. In addition to del Lago, that includes Colonial Downs Racetrack and six Rosie’s Gaming Emporium locations in Virginia and the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Sioux City, Iowa.
The deal, which is expected to close by the end of the year, needs to meet several conditions, including approvals from racing and gaming commissions in New York, Virginia and Iowa.
In a statement, Churchill Downs CEO Bill Carstanjen said Peninsula Pacific “has done an exceptional job developing and managing this collection of assets, which we are very excited to acquire and plan to strategically grow in the years ahead.”
This would be the second ownership change since del Lago opened in 2017. In 2019, the Wilmot family – the Rochester-based developers who operate Wilmorite – sold their 50% investment to Peninsula Pacific, which already owned the other half. Tom Wilmot had long worked to locate a casino in the region.
Churchill Downs is based in Louisville, Kentucky.