Dreamscape, a New York-based real estate development and investment firm, has completed an $850 million capital raise, money that will help launch two new gaming and entertainment ventures and renovate an iconic Las Vegas casino.
The capital raise, secured through Wells Fargo and Raymond James, will help finance the formation of Dreamscape Entertainment Properties and Dreamscape Entertainment Integrated Resorts.
It will also help finance the renovation of The Rio Hotel & Casino Las Vegas, which Dreamscape acquired in late 2019 from Caesars Entertainment. It leased the property back to Caesars until it was to assume operations, now scheduled for late this year.
“As Dreamscape continues to evolve and expand, we knew the gaming and entertainment sector would be a natural fit and become a central part of our business,” Eric Birnbaum, CEO and founder of Dreamscape, said in a statement. “We are poised to become a differentiated player within this space.”
Dreamscape Entertainment Properties is a new real estate investment trust that will own gaming, hospitality and entertainment properties. Dreamscape Entertainment Integrated Resorts will operate the facilities.
In 1990, The Rio was the first all-suite hotel to hit the Las Vegas Strip, and Dreamscape intends to preserve the property. The firm will use the financing to re-imagine the two-tower complex, upgrading it with modernized amenities.
With the capital raise, Dreamscape also this month paid off a $295 million loan on the Rio securitized in 2019, according to CoStar data. The property was last appraised at $527 million in October 2019.
“The previous year introduced unexpected and incredibly challenging financial market conditions for gaming and real estate development issuers,” Duane Bouligny, managing director at Wells Fargo, said in a statement. “Amidst this challenging economic environment, we are pleased to have successfully led the debt capital raise for Dreamscape.”