The name over a Las Vegas casino often belongs to the company running the games, booking the rooms and issuing the loyalty cards. It may not belong to the company that owns the land or the building. MGM Resorts operates the MGM Grand, and Caesars Entertainment operates Caesars Palace, while real estate investment trusts and other financial firms hold much of the property beneath those brands.
This arrangement grew out of debt, bankruptcy and a series of sale-leaseback deals. Casino operators sold their buildings for billions of dollars, kept operating them and signed long-term leases. VICI Properties became the most prominent landlord in that process. In 2024, it reported $3.6 billion in leasing revenue.
When operators owned the dirt
For much of Las Vegas history, ownership and operation were combined. The people and companies behind the Flamingo, Stardust, Sands, Desert Inn and other early resorts owned the land, the buildings and the casino businesses. The same pattern continued into the corporate era. Kirk Kerkorian owned the MGM Grand when it opened on December 18, 1993, with more than 5,000 rooms. Steve Wynn owned the Mirage and Bellagio, and Sheldon Adelson owned the Venetian when those resorts were built.
Owning the property gave operators control over a fixed business. A casino license is tied to a physical location, and a large resort cannot be moved if a landlord raises the rent or ends the lease. The operator also kept any increase in the value of the land and building.
The model came under pressure during the 2000s. Mergers, construction projects and competition left casino companies carrying heavy debt. In January 2008, Apollo Global Management and TPG Capital bought Caesars Entertainment for $30.7 billion, using $24.7 billion in borrowed money. After the financial crisis damaged Las Vegas gaming revenue, the debt became much harder to manage.
The sale-leaseback model
A sale-leaseback separates the physical property from the operating company. The casino sells its building to a real estate investor, receives cash and signs a lease to keep using the property. The guests see the same entrances, tables and slot machines. The balance sheet shows a new landlord and a new rent obligation.
Caesars' largest operating subsidiary filed for Chapter 11 on January 15, 2015, with $18.4 billion in subsidiary-level debt. Its reorganization took effect on October 6, 2017, and created VICI Properties as a company designed to own casino real estate while operators continued running the resorts.
VICI uses long-term triple-net leases. The casino operator pays base rent, property taxes, insurance and maintenance. Initial lease terms commonly run from 15 to 30 years, with renewal options and rent increases of 2% annually or increases linked to the Consumer Price Index, subject to specified limits. VICI is a real estate investment trust, which must distribute at least 90% of its taxable income to shareholders to retain its tax treatment.
The Strip changes hands
In October 2019, MGM Resorts sold the Bellagio real estate to a Blackstone-led joint venture for $4.25 billion and leased it back. The initial annual rent was $245 million, roughly $671,000 a day.
In January 2020, MGM sold the real estate of the MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay in a transaction valued at about $4.6 billion. Blackstone and MGM Growth Properties formed the purchasing joint venture. VICI later acquired Blackstone's remaining 49.9% interest for approximately $1.27 billion, making it the sole landlord of both properties.
Las Vegas Sands made a similar decision in March 2021. VICI acquired the real estate of the Venetian, Palazzo and Sands Expo for about $4 billion, while Apollo Global Management acquired the operating business for $2.25 billion. The combined transaction was valued at $6.25 billion. Sands left its American flagship behind and focused on its Asian properties.
VICI then announced a $17.2 billion acquisition of MGM Growth Properties on August 4, 2021. MGM Growth Properties had completed its IPO as a REIT in April 2016. The transaction closed in the first half of 2022 and brought many MGM properties under VICI's ownership. By 2025, VICI reported 93 experiential assets, including 54 gaming properties and 39 other hospitality venues, across the United States and Canada.
Separate owners, shared exposure
The modern Strip has several ownership layers. REITs and investment firms own land and buildings. MGM Resorts, Caesars Entertainment and Wynn Resorts run casinos and hold gaming licenses. Banks and bondholders finance both sides. Public shareholders, pension funds and other investors receive returns through the operators and landlords.
A Nevada gaming license applies to the operating company. Real estate ownership sits in a different category, allowing financial companies to become landlords without running the games. VICI's headquarters are in New York City, while Gaming & Leisure Properties, another casino REIT, is headquartered in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. GLPI was spun off from Penn National Gaming on November 1, 2013, and holds regional casino properties.
The structure changes how risk is distributed. An operator receives cash when it sells a building, and its reported return on invested capital can improve because less real estate remains on its balance sheet. It also takes on a fixed lease payment that continues during weak business conditions. The landlord receives contractual rent, while the operator remains responsible for keeping the resort open and competitive.
Nevada gaming revenue reached a record $15.6 billion in 2024, the state's fourth consecutive record year. The Las Vegas Strip declined 1% that year to $8.8 billion. At the same time, rent escalators continued under existing contracts. When casinos closed for weeks during the COVID-19 shutdown in March 2020, operators lost revenue while lease obligations remained in place.
The timeline
- November 1, 2013Gaming & Leisure Properties was spun off from Penn National Gaming, creating one of the first major U.S. casino REITs.
- January 15, 2015Caesars’ largest operating subsidiary filed for Chapter 11 with $18.4 billion in subsidiary-level debt.
- October 6, 2017Caesars’ reorganization plan took effect and VICI Properties emerged as a separate casino real estate company.
- October 2019MGM Resorts announced the $4.25 billion sale-leaseback of the Bellagio real estate to a Blackstone-led joint venture.
- March 3, 2021Las Vegas Sands announced the $6.25 billion sale of the Venetian, Palazzo and Sands Expo real estate and operations.
- August 4, 2021VICI announced its $17.2 billion agreement to acquire MGM Growth Properties.
What the video leaves out
The research records that MGM Growth Properties completed its IPO as a REIT in April 2016 before becoming part of VICI. It also lists VICI’s 2024 holdings as 61 casinos, hotels and racetracks, along with 4 golf courses and 38 bowling alleys. Those figures use a different asset-counting method from VICI’s 2025 total of 93 experiential assets.
The research places casino REITs within a larger sale-leaseback pattern involving retailers, healthcare operators and warehouse companies. It also identifies Formula 1 in 2023 and Super Bowl LVIII in 2024 as events used to support new investment and high property valuations in Las Vegas.
