Sodak Gaming, Inc. was a

gaming Gaming may refer to: Games and sports The act of playing games, as in: * Legalized gambling, playing games of chance for money, often referred to in law as "gaming" * Playing a role-playing game, in which players assume fictional roles * Playing ...

company based in

Rapid City, South Dakota Rapid City ( lkt, link=no, Mni Lúzahaŋ Otȟúŋwahe; "Swift Water City") is the second most populous city in South Dakota and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed, it is in western So ...

that distributed

slot machines A slot machine (American English), fruit machine (British English) or poker machine (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known pejoratively as ...

Indian casinos Native American gaming comprises casinos, bingo halls, and other gambling operations on Indian reservations or other tribal lands in the United States. Because these areas have tribal sovereignty, states have limited ability to forbid gambling th ...

and financed casino projects. It was acquired by

International Game Technology International Game Technology PLC (IGT), formerly Gtech S.p.A. and Lottomatica S.p.A., is a multinational gambling company that produces slot machines and other gambling technology. The company is headquartered in London, with major offices in ...

(IGT) in 1999 for $230 million.

History

Sodak was formed in 1989 to supply equipment to gambling halls in

Deadwood, South Dakota Deadwood (Lakota: ''Owáyasuta''; "To approve or confirm things") is a city that serves as county seat of Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. It was named by early settlers after the dead trees found in its gulch. The city had it ...

, and soon became the exclusive distributor of IGT machines to tribal casinos. The

Promus Companies In Greek mythology, the suitors of Penelope (also known as the Proci) are one of the main subjects of Homer's ''Odyssey''. Role in the ''Odyssey'' In the ''Odyssey'' Homer describes Odysseus' journey home from Troy. Prior to the Trojan War, Odys ...

acquired a 20 percent stake in Sodak in November 1992. Sodak made its

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

in June 1993. Sodak purchased and refitted a riverboat and leased it to Gaming Supply Co., who opened it in December 1994 as the Miss Marquette casino, in

Marquette, Iowa Marquette is a city in Clayton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 429 at the time of the 2020 census, up from 421 in 2000. The city, which is located on the Mississippi River, is named after Jesuit missionary Jacques Marquette, who al ...

. After Gaming Supply defaulted on lease payments, Sodak bought out the company for less than $5.5 million, taking over operation of the casino in July 1996. The company moved into the South American market in an effort to diversify its revenue base. In May 1995, it began establishing gaming halls and slot route operations in Peru, reaching a total of 1,300 machines by the end of 1996. It opened a casino at the

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in Quito, Ecuador in March 1996, followed by a gaming hall in

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

in June 1996. In June 1998, Sodak announced its decision to divest its South American operations, citing a lack of profitability and an unstable regulatory environment. The ventures in Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil were sold off by the end of the year. Sodak agreed in March 1999 to be acquired by IGT for $230 million. As IGT executives did not want to operate casinos, the deal called for Sodak to sell the Miss Marquette casino and its interest in a Louisiana casino project. The Miss Marquette was sold to

Lady Luck Gaming Lady Luck Gaming Corp. was a gambling, gaming company based in Las Vegas, Nevada, that developed and operated casinos in the Midwestern and Southern United States, Southern United States. It was acquired by Isle of Capri Casinos in 2000. History ...

for $42 million. Sodak's partner in the Louisiana project,

Hollywood Casino Corp. Hollywood Casino Corp. was a gaming company based in Dallas, Texas. It was acquired in 2003 by Penn National Gaming for $328 million plus $360 million in assumed debt. In the early 1990s, as legalized gambling spread to new states, the Pratts, own ...

, purchased Sodak's stake for $2.5 million. The acquisition of Sodak by IGT was completed in September 1999. Following the acquisition, Sodak continued to operate out of Rapid City as a division of IGT, focused on distributing products to Indian casinos. IGT began a reorganization of its North American businesses in 2005, which included dispersing Sodak's operations around the country, and phasing out the Sodak name.

References

{{reflist, colwidth=30em Defunct gambling companies Defunct companies based in South Dakota Gambling companies of the United States Gambling companies established in 1989 Gambling companies disestablished in 2005 1989 establishments in South Dakota 2005 disestablishments in South Dakota