Archon Corporation is an entertainment company based in

Laughlin, Nevada Laughlin is an unincorporated resort town and census-designated place in Clark County, Nevada, United States. It is located on the Colorado River, directly across from the much larger Bullhead City, Arizona. Laughlin lies south of Las Vegas, i ...

. The company has owned

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

s and

water park A water park (or waterpark, water world) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming, and other baref ...

s. Members of board of directors include State Senator Sue Lowden who was chairwoman of the

Nevada Republican Party The Nevada Republican Party is the affiliate of the Republican Party in Nevada. The organization has a history that goes back to 1864. The party currently controls Nevada's governorship and lieutenant governorship, which are currently held by J ...

and State Senator Bill Raggio. Lowden is also executive vice president, secretary and treasurer for the company.

History

Hacienda Resorts

The company began in 1983 as Hacienda Resorts, Inc., owner of the Hacienda Casino.

Name Changes

The company was first renamed Santa Fe Corporation and later renamed again to the Sahara Gaming Corporation. Sahara Gaming attempted to sell of land to

Players International Players International was a company, based in Atlantic City, New Jersey, that built and operated riverboat casinos and a horse racing track. History The company was founded by brothers David and Edward Fishman in 1984. The company was originally ...

in 1994. The deal fell through on February 7, 1995.

Santa Fe Gaming

Santa Fe Valley Santa Fe Valley (also known later as the Santa Fe Galleria Hotel & Casino) is a cancelled hotel-casino that was planned by Santa Fe Gaming for of land in Henderson, Nevada, next to the Galleria at Sunset mall. The project was announced in 1994, an ...

was announced in 1994, and construction was expected to begin in July 1996. The start of construction was delayed several times because of poor financial quarters for Santa Fe Gaming and because of the company not yet receiving financing for the project. Site preparation started in July 1998, with an opening date scheduled for December 1999, but construction never began. In 1999, the property was sold to

Station Casinos Station Casinos, LLC is an American hotel and casino company based in Las Vegas suburb of Summerlin South, Nevada, and founded by Frank Fertitta Jr. Station Casinos, along with Affinity Gaming, Boyd Gaming and Golden Entertainment, dominate the ...

, which sold the land a year later for use as a shopping center. In 1995, the Hacienda was sold to

Circus Circus Enterprises Mandalay Resort Group (formerly Circus Circus Enterprises) was an American hotel and casino operator based in Paradise, Nevada. Its major properties included Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Excalibur and Circus Circus, as well as half of the Monte Carlo. ...

and the

Sahara Hotel and Casino Sahara Las Vegas is a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada. It is owned and operated by the Meruelo Group. The hotel has 1,616 rooms, and the casino contains . The Sahara anchors the northern end of the Las Vegas ...

was sold to

William Bennett William John Bennett (born July 31, 1943) is an American conservative politician and political commentator who served as secretary of education from 1985 to 1988 under President Ronald Reagan. He also held the post of director of the Office of ...

. Followed by a rename to Santa Fe Gaming Corporation. In 2000, the

Santa Fe Casino Santa Fe Station is a hotel and casino located on North Rancho Drive in Las Vegas, Nevada. The casino is owned by Station Casinos and is located on of land. The hotel-casino originally opened as the Santa Fe in 1991, and for several years includ ...

was sold to

Archon

The company changed its name to Archon Corp. in May 2001. In March 2013, Boston-based private equity firm Esplanade Capital, Archon's second-largest shareholder, offered to buy the company for $101.5 million. Lowden dismissed the proposal as "not really a serious" offer. Chris Lowden, son of Paul and Sue Lowden, is currently being sued by investors for fraud and racketeering within the Stoney's Rockin' Country organization. The Stoney's trademark is currently owned by Archon Corporation

Assets

* Commercial office buildings in

Dorchester, Massachusetts Dorchester (colloquially referred to as Dot) is a Boston neighborhood comprising more than in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Originally, Dorchester was a separate town, founded by Puritans who emigrated in 1630 from Dorchester ...

* Commercial office buildings in

Gaithersburg, Maryland Gaithersburg ( ), officially the City of Gaithersburg, is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. At the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census, Gaithersburg had a population of 69,657, ...

* Stoney's Rockin' Country Trademark

Former

Pioneer Hotel & Gambling Hall Pioneer Hotel & Gambling Hall (formerly Colorado Club) is a hotel and casino located on the banks of the Colorado River in Laughlin, Nevada. It is known for its neon cigarette-puffing "River Rick" marque. It was a sister property of the Pioneer ...

Hacienda An ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or ''finca''), similar to a Roman ''latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards), ...

Sahara Tahoe Hard Rock Lake Tahoe (formerly Sahara Tahoe, High Sierra, Horizon Lake Tahoe and Park Tahoe) is a hotel and casino located in Stateline, Nevada. Also previously known as Sahara Tahoe and High Sierra resorts, it is one of four major casino hotels ...

Sahara Reno The Montage Reno is a high-rise residential building in Reno, Nevada. It previously operated as a hotel and casino from 1978 to 2005, under various names, including Sahara Reno, Reno Hilton, Flamingo Hilton Reno, Flamingo Reno, and Golden Phoeni ...

* Wet 'n Wild

References

{{reflist Companies traded over-the-counter in the United States Companies based in Paradise, Nevada Gambling companies of the United States