More than $5 billion created three dominate regional casino players in 2018. Penn National Gaming paid $2.8 billion for a dozen Pinnacle Entertainment casinos, and Boyd Gaming Corp. took operational control of four other Pinnacle properties for $575 million. Meanwhile, Eldorado Resorts bought seven Tropicana Entertainment casinos for $1.85 billion. The deals involved the Gaming and Leisure Properties real estate investment trust and created a regional gaming hierarchy, with Penn National at the top, followed by Boyd and Eldorado.