Players International was a company, based in
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497. , that built and operated
riverboat casino
A riverboat casino is a type of casino on a riverboat found in several states in the United States with frontage on the Mississippi River and its tributaries, or along the Gulf Coast. Several states authorized this type of casino in order to en ...
s and a
horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...
track.
History
The company was founded by brothers David and Edward Fishman in 1984.
The company was originally known for its "Player's Club," a service which offered discounts on rooms, shows and dining at various
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 in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
,
Atlantic City
Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...
and outside the country. Club members paid $125 for the first year's membership and a lower fee for annual renewals. The company advertised heavily on late-night television, with actor
Telly Savalas
Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas (January 21, 1922 – January 22, 1994) was an American actor and singer whose career spanned four decades. Noted for his bald head and deep, resonant voice, he is perhaps best known for portraying Lt. Theo Kojak on th ...
as its spokesperson. In a time when casino gambling was only legal in Nevada and Atlantic City, casino ownership was much more fragmented than today and
mass marketing
Mass marketing is a marketing strategy in which a firm decides to ignore market segment differences and appeal the whole market with one offer or one strategy, which supports the idea of broadcasting a message that will reach the largest number o ...
was unheard of for casinos, the Player's Club concept proved popular. The company also arranged gaming tournaments for casinos and arranged travel for competing players.
After a brief foray into call-in telephone games based on ''
Jeopardy!
''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given gene ...
'' and ''
Wheel of Fortune The Wheel of Fortune or ''Rota Fortunae'' has been a concept and metaphor since ancient times referring to the capricious nature of Fate. Wheel of Fortune may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Art
* ''The Wheel of Fortune'' (Burne-Jo ...
'', the brothers decided to get out of the discount travel business and into the casino business itself. Casino legalization was spreading rapidly, especially in the
Midwest
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...
, and the Fishmans applied for and received a license for a riverboat casino in
Metropolis, Illinois
Metropolis is a city located along the Ohio River in Massac County, Illinois, Massac County, Illinois, United States. It has a population of 6,537 according to 2010 United States Census, the 2010 United States Census. Metropolis is the county sea ...
. Backed by
game show
A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...
impresario
An impresario (from the Italian ''impresa'', "an enterprise or undertaking") is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film or television producer.
His ...
and former
talk show
A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show ...
host
Merv Griffin
Mervyn Edward Griffin Jr. (July 6, 1925 – August 12, 2007) was an American television show host and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer, later appearing in film and on Broadway. From 1965 to 1986 he hosted his own t ...
, the company opened the casino in 1993. With little competition close by, it was an immediate success.
Flush from the success of the Metropolis property, Players developed a second riverboat casino in
Lake Charles, Louisiana
Lake Charles (French: ''Lac Charles'') is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the parish seat of Calcasieu Parish, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Founded in 1861 in Calcas ...
later in 1993. With its proximity to the
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
state line, the Lake Charles property attracted gamblers from the
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
market, and was extremely profitable. The operation expanded in 1995 with the addition of a second riverboat, purchased from a closed casino operation on
Lake Pontchartrain
Lake Pontchartrain ( ) is an estuary located in southeastern Louisiana in the United States. It covers an area of with an average depth of . Some shipping channels are kept deeper through dredging. It is roughly oval in shape, about from west ...
. This allowed guests to board at more convenient times, getting around state regulations which allowed them to board only during a 45-minute window every three hours by staggering the "cruise" schedules.
Also in 1995, the company purchased
Bluegrass Downs
Bluegrass or Blue Grass may refer to:
Plants
* Bluegrass (grass), several species of grasses of the genus ''Poa''
**Kentucky bluegrass (''Poa pratensis''), one well-known species of the genus
Arts and media
*Bluegrass music, a form of Ameri ...
, a small
horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...
track in
Paducah, Kentucky
Paducah ( ) is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky. The largest city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located at the confluence of the Tennessee and the Ohio rivers, halfway between St. Louis, Miss ...
, just across the
Ohio River
The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...
from Metropolis. Players hoped that the Kentucky legislature would eventually legalize casino gaming at its horse tracks (a concept now known as a
racino
A racino is a combined race track and casino. In some cases, the gambling is limited to slot machines, but many locations are beginning to include Casino game#Table games, table games such as blackjack, poker, and roulette.
In 2003, Joe Bob Br ...
), and that the purchase would serve to stem any potential competition for the Metropolis boat.
Players' first and only land-based casino was the
Players Island Resort
CasaBlanca is a hotel, casino, and RV park located in Mesquite, Nevada. The resort, originally known as Players Island, was opened by Players International on June 29, 1995. After struggling financially, the resort was sold to Randy Black Sr., ...
in
Mesquite, Nevada
Mesquite is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States adjacent to the Arizona state line and northeast of Las Vegas on Interstate 15. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 20,471. The city is located in the Virgin River valle ...
, about an hour away from Las Vegas. This resort featured a spa and luxury hotel, and was unusual in that one of its main marketing efforts was toward casino workers from Vegas.
The company's final major project was a third riverboat casino facility in
Maryland Heights, Missouri
Maryland Heights is a second-ring north suburb of St. Louis, located in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 27,472 at the 2010 census. The city was incorporated in 1985. Edwin L. Dirck was appointed the city's first may ...
, a suburb of
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
. This project was a
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and economic risk, risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four rea ...
with
Harrah's Entertainment
Harrah's Entertainment (later named Caesars Entertainment Corporation, previously The Promus Companies) was an American casino and hotel company founded in Reno, Nevada, and based in Paradise, Nevada, that operated over 50 properties and seven g ...
, with separate adjacent casino barges sharing parking and boarding facilitie
Harrah's takeover (2000)
The company started to feel the effects of increased competition from further legalization of casinos throughout the country, and turned its focus to its existing operations in 1997. The company briefly returned to profitability, enough so to emerge as a takeover target. The company's stock also became publicly traded by
NASDAQ
The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...
.
In 1999, Players entered into an agreement with
Jackpot International
Jackpot or Jackpot! may refer to:
* A prize, such as a progressive jackpot
* Gardena jackpots, a poker variant
* Jackpot, Nevada, a community on the Nevada–Idaho state border
Comics
* Jackpot (comics), several comic book characters
* ''Jack ...
to be acquired for $8.25 per share. But later that year, Harrah's approached the company with an unsolicited offer for $8.50. Jackpot would not match or beat the offer, so Players paid Jackpot a fee to back out of the deal and accepted the Harrah's offer. The deal amounted to $825 million.
The Metropolis and Lake Charles casinos became
Harrah's Metropolis
Harrah's Metropolis is a riverboat casino located on the Ohio River in Metropolis, Illinois. It opened in 1994 as Players Island, a joint venture between Players International and show business impresario Merv Griffin as one of the state's first ...
and
Harrah's Lake Charles, respectively. Harrah's assumed full control of the joint venture in Maryland Heights.
Players Island in
Mesquite
Mesquite is a common name for several plants in the genus '' Prosopis'', which contains over 40 species of small leguminous trees. They are native to dry areas in the Americas.
They have extremely long roots to seek water from very far under gr ...
was not included in the deal, and was sold to
Black Gaming Black Gaming, LLC was a casino holding company that owned the CasaBlanca Resort and the Virgin River Casino in Mesquite, Nevada. It also owned the former Mesquite Star hotel-casino, which the company operated as a non-gaming convention center. The ...
, which operated the
Virgin River Hotel and Casino in that city; the property was renamed
CasaBlanca Resort and Casino. Harrah's retained a 50 percent interest in Bluegrass Downs. The deal was finalized in 2000.
Casinos
*
Players Island Lake Charles
*
Players Island Metropolis
*
Players Island Resort
CasaBlanca is a hotel, casino, and RV park located in Mesquite, Nevada. The resort, originally known as Players Island, was opened by Players International on June 29, 1995. After struggling financially, the resort was sold to Randy Black Sr., ...
Horse racing tracks
*
Bluegrass Downs
Bluegrass or Blue Grass may refer to:
Plants
* Bluegrass (grass), several species of grasses of the genus ''Poa''
**Kentucky bluegrass (''Poa pratensis''), one well-known species of the genus
Arts and media
*Bluegrass music, a form of Ameri ...
References
{{reflist
See also
*
Players (disambiguation)
Gambling companies of the United States
American companies established in 1984
Entertainment companies disestablished in 2000
Entertainment companies established in 1984
1984 establishments in New Jersey
2000 disestablishments in New Jersey