'Business as usual': Eldorado acquisition of Caesars Entertainment will change little for Windsor employees

Unifor Local 444 president David Cassidy says he first learned about Eldorado Resorts' acquisition of Caesars from the media on Monday morning.

Once news of the $17 billion takeover was made public, however, Cassidy said he had a conversation with Eldorado's vice president of HR in an attempt to clarify what the merger means for employees.

"Nothing has changed for our employees," said Cassidy.

"They understand we have a collective agreement — the collective agreement is going nowhere."

Cassidy acknowledged that he doesn't know very much about Eldorado, other than the cities in which it operates.

"I don't know their history or anything really about them," he said.

Still, Cassidy said he believes the merger — which, if approved, will put 60 casinos and resorts across 16 U.S. states under a single corporate entity with headquarters in Las Vegas — will be positive for employees.

"When you put a couple organizations together and with a change in technology and everything else, I think it's a good thing," he said.

Merger won't affect day-to-day operations

While Caesars Windsor is operated by a Canadian subsidiary of Nevada-based Caesars Entertainment, the casino itself is owned by the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG).

In an email to CBC News, OLG clarified that the change in ownership of the casino's parent company "does not affect the day-to-day operations of that gaming site, nor OLG's returns to the province."

"It remains business as usual at Caesars Windsor as it continues to deliver gaming excellence, world class hospitality and superior customer service," wrote Tony Bitonti, OLG's director of external communications.

The OLG's contract with Caesars is set to expire in 2020, but Cassidy said that "there's a whole bunch of other operators that can bid on this site" when the license expires.

For their part, Caesars Windsor echoed the OLG's sentiment that little is expected to change.

"It remains business as usual at Caesars Windsor as we continue to deliver gaming excellence, world class hospitality and superior customer service," wrote Susanne Tomkins, manager of public relations and communications at Caesars Windsor, in an email to CBC News.