Tropicana will sell its real estate to Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. and merge its gaming and hotel operations into Eldorado Resorts Inc. for aggregate consideration of approximately $1.85 billion, according to a release from Icahn Enterprises L.P.

The sale includes the Tropicana Atlantic City as part of the deal. Eldorado said the Tropicana properties are in excellent shape, and does not anticipate needing to invest significant money into them. 

"The acquisition of seven Tropicana Entertainment properties will allow Eldorado to enter two new gaming jurisdictions and deliver additional financial and geographic diversity to our operating base," said company chairman and CEO Gary Carano. The statement later adds that "Eldorado Resorts intends to implement our proven strategy of enhancing margins by further improving customer service and the customer experience while focusing on promotion and other spending in all areas of the newly acquired properties."

The company said it enters the Atlantic City market realizing it is about to expand with the re-opening of two shuttered casinos that will increase the amount of properties to nine, but feels it can operate the Tropicana Atlantic City profitably. That casino recently became the No. 2 casino in Atlantic City in terms of gambling revenue, trailing only the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa.

In addition to the Tropicana Casino and Resort, Atlantic City, Eldorado Resorts is acquiring the operating assets of seven casinos in six states, including two in Nevada — the Tropicana Laughlin Hotel and Casino and the MontBleu Casino Resort & Spa in South Lake Tahoe — as well as casinos in Indiana (Tropicana Evansville); Louisiana (Belle of Baton Rouge Casino & Hotel); Mississippi (Trop Casino Greenville); and, Missouri (Lumière Place).

These properties include approximately 7,900 slot machines, 265 table games and 5,400 hotel rooms plus dining, retail and entertainment amenities. Upon completion of all pending transactions, Eldorado's property portfolio will feature about 26,800 slot machines and VLTs, more than 800 table games and over 12,500 hotel rooms.

The transaction does not include Tropicana’s Aruba asset, which will be disposed of as a condition of closing, or the MontBleu Casino Resort & Spa in South Lake Tahoe, Utah.

Tropicana President and CEO Tony Rodio said in the release “I am incredibly proud of what the entire Tropicana team has been able to accomplish over the past eight years, taking Tropicana from bankruptcy to one of the industry’s success stories. I would like to thank Carl Icahn, Icahn Enterprises and the Tropicana Board of Directors for their personal support, financial commitment and the confidence that they have shown in Tropicana’s management.”

The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2018, subject to receipt of required gaming approvals, termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Anitrust Improvements Act of 1976. 

In Atlantic City, Icahn still owns the shuttered former Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino, which shut down in 2014. The billionaire hedge-fund manager sold the former Trump Taj Mahel Casino to Hard Rock International in March 2017.

Eldorado Resorts Inc. operates twenty properties in ten states, including Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. 

Eldorado also announced Monday it is buying the Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin, Illinois from MGM Resorts International for $327.5 million in cash.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. (GLPI) is engaged in the business of acquiring, financing, and owning real estate property to be leased to gaming operators in triple-net lease arrangements

The Associated Press contributed to this report. This is a developing story. Please check back for more updates.