Billionaire Reuben Brothers Hit Vegas With Financing for Rio Casino

(Bloomberg) -- Billionaire British property investors David Reuben and Simon Reuben have helped finance Dreamscape Cos.' acquisition of the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino from Caesars Entertainment Corp.

“We're believers in Las Vegas and its future,” the brothers said Friday in an emailed statement. With the Oakland Raiders football team relocating to the city next year, “new resorts on the horizon and the expanding convention center, it's a great time to enter the market.”

Dreamscape, owned by New York-based real estate investor Eric Birnbaum, completed the $516.3 million transaction this week and plans to renovate the 2,522-room hotel and casino, home to the World Series of Poker.

“The property has untapped potential and our unique perspective on the Las Vegas market will ideally differentiate us from the masses and cater to a new generation,” Birnbaum said in an interview. He added that consumer preferences have changed in the past two decades but that many casino resort operators haven't been responsive.

Caesars will continue to operate the property for at least two years, paying annualized rent of $45 million, according to the terms of the deal.

The Reubens -- who have a combined net worth of $12.6 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index -- have been lenders to iconic properties including New York's Plaza Hotel and the Grosvenor House hotel in London.

To contact the reporter on this story: Gillian Tan in New York at gtan129@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alan Goldstein at agoldstein5@bloomberg.net, Peter Eichenbaum, Steven Crabill

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