A democratic mega-donor and a top Trump ally are each spending billions to buy up the Las Vegas Strip. Here's the 1 thing they agree on

Diller’s company, People Inc., formally offered to acquire the roughly 74% of MGM Resorts it doesn’t already own, valuing the company at $18 billion, the New York Times reports. The bid of $48.30 per share in cash represents a premium of nearly 11% over MGM’s May 29 closing price and about 30% above its 90-day average. MGM shares jumped roughly 15% on the news, CNBC notes.

People Inc. has held a 26.1% stake in MGM since Diller began building his position in 2020. He also sits on the casino’s board, though he said in a letter to the MGM board he would recuse himself from board actions around the deal proposition, CNBC reports.

Meanwhile, just days earlier, Houston billionaire Tilman Fertitta’s company struck a deal to acquire Caesars Entertainment in an all-cash transaction valued at $17.6 billion, including the assumption of $11.9 billion in Caesars’ outstanding debt, Casino Beats reports.

The price of $31 per share is substantially above Caesars’ February low of $18.14. The deal is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval, with a “go-shop” period running through July 11, allowing Caesars to solicit competing bids.

If both deals close, two men from different political universes will effectively control the spine of the Las Vegas Strip: MGM operates properties including Bellagio, Aria and the MGM Grand, while Caesars owns Caesars Palace, Harrah’s, Planet Hollywood, Paris Las Vegas and the Flamingo, along with more than 50 casinos nationwide.

Different political affiliations, one shared outlook

Diller is a Democrat who has contributed more than $1 million to Democratic candidates and organizations since 2006, CNBC notes, and has been a vocal critic of Donald Trump.

Fertitta, on the other hand, is one of Trump’s most prominent backers, donating more than $1 million to Republican PACs political action committees during the 2024 election cycle alone, including approximately $487,000 to the Trump 47 fundraising committee, and co-hosting Trump’s inauguration reception, Houston Public Media reports.

Trump nominated Fertitta as U.S. Ambassador to Italy in December 2024, the Texas Tribune notes, praising him as “an accomplished businessman” who had “founded and built one of our Country’s premier entertainment and real estate companies.” He assumed the role in May 2025.

The one thing they agree on: Vegas real estate is irreplaceable.

“We began investing in MGM nearly six years ago because we believed it represented a rare kind of business: one with real-world assets that AI cannot easily replicate or disintermediate,” Diller said in a news release.

In an earlier shareholder letter, he described MGM’s 40% ownership of the Las Vegas Strip as “an entertainment nucleus that simply cannot be replicated anywhere in the world” — a “perfect hedge in a world that is changing so unpredictively fast.”

Fertitta’s calculation is similar. By absorbing Caesars, he would add an empire of iconic Strip properties to his existing Golden Nugget casino portfolio and large stake in Wynn Resorts, a concentrated bet that physical, experiential destinations hold value that digital businesses simply can’t replicate.