Founded in 1993, Centaur Gaming partnered with Churchill Downs to open Hoosier Park, Indiana’s first pari-mutuel horse racetrack. Since its founding, Centaur continued to expand its racing and gaming facilities throughout the State of Indiana.
In 2007, when Centaur purchased Churchill’s ownership stake in Hoosier Park and began construction of a Racino at Hoosier Park, Centaur called on Ice Miller for help. Ice Miller was engaged by Centaur as its sole legal counsel in connection with a $470,000,000 first lien syndicated credit facility, a $180,000,000 second lien syndicated credit facility and a $200,000,000 private equity investment to finance the expansion in Anderson.
From October 2009 through October 2011, Centaur again engaged Ice Miller as its finance, merger & acquisition and regulatory counsel in connection with the divestiture of its Colorado and Pennsylvania assets and development, negotiation and regulatory approval of a unique financing structure that retained local ownership. Centaur turned to Ice Miller because of Ice Miller’s background and experience in negotiating and closing complex credit transactions in the debt finance space and its familiarity with Centaur and its business. In connection with the transaction, Ice Miller attorneys reviewed in excess of 250 financing documents and provided counsel in the areas of finance, business, real estate, tax and gaming law.
In February 2013, Ice Miller was again engaged by Centaur in connection with the purchase of Indiana Grand Racing and Casino located south of Indianapolis in Shelbyville. The acquisition added a turf racecourse and Vegas-style casino facility to Centaur’s portfolio. Ice Miller attorneys were instrumental in the successful closing of the purchase and financing transactions for the overall acquisition.
In addition to the 2007, 2011 and 2013 transactions, Centaur has also engaged Ice Miller to assist in multiple refinancings of its various debt structures throughout the past several years.
Striving to provide the most effective counsel possible, Ice Miller consistently approached its representation of Centaur by using a team approach, involving attorneys from the business, finance, real estate, tax and public affairs groups.
In July 2018, Ice Miller closed out our more than 15-year relationship with Centaur by acting as the company's corporate, finance and antitrust counsel and deal co-counsel in its $1.7 billion acquisition by Caesars Entertainment Corporation.