Rumors are rife of a possible tie-up between casino resort giants MGM and Caesars.
A potential merger is being touted and MGM has reportedly hired investment bank Morgan Stanley and a law firm to study the options.
Still, it is far from a done deal, says one unnamed source.
Activist investors have been putting pressure on Caesars to explore a merger with MGM.
These very same hedge funds were apparently behind the ousting of Caesars CEO Mark Frisora, who just days ago announced he would leave in early 2019.
"Everyone knows that without a CEO, Caesars is in play," one source said.
If the two companies came together they would effectively operate about half the hotel rooms on the Las Vegas strip and Atlantic City.
Combined, the enterprise value of the two companies is in excess of $50 billion.
Caesars just rejected a takeover proposal from the Golden Nugget casino chain.
MGM and Caesars declined to comment on the speculation.
