Tropicana Entertainment Inc. was a
publicly traded
A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (list ...
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 that owned and operated casinos and resorts in Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Missouri, New Jersey and Aruba. Tropicana properties collectively had approximately 5,500 rooms, 8,000 slot positions and 270 table games. The company was based in
Spring Valley,
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
, and was majority-owned by
Icahn Enterprises
Icahn Enterprises L.P. is an American conglomerate headquartered at Milton Tower in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida. The company has investments in various industries including energy, automotive, food packaging, metals, real estate and home fashion. ...
. The company was acquired in 2018 by
Eldorado Resorts
Caesars Entertainment, Inc., formerly Eldorado Resorts, Inc., is an American hotel and casino entertainment company founded and based in Reno, Nevada that operates more than 50 properties. Eldorado Resorts acquired Caesars Entertainment Corporat ...
and
Gaming and Leisure Properties
Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. is a real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in casino properties, based in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. It was formed in November 2013 as a corporate spin-off from Penn National Gaming. The company owns ...
for $1.85 billion.
History
In January 2007,
Columbia Sussex
Columbia Sussex is a privately owned hotel company based in Crestview Hills, Kentucky. The company, owned by the Yung family, owns and operates hotels in various parts of the United States. The current president and founder is William J. Yung III. ...
acquired
Aztar Corporation
Aztar Corporation was a hospitality company based in Phoenix, Arizona, focused on resort hotels and casinos. In 2005, the company had revenues of more than $915 million and earnings before interest and taxes of $212 million. During 2006 the compa ...
, owner of the Tropicana casinos in Las Vegas and
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 three other casinos, for $2.1 billion. A new subsidiary, Tropicana Entertainment LLC, was created to hold the combined company's casinos. After losing control of its largest property, the
Tropicana Atlantic City
Tropicana Atlantic City, also known as The Trop and previously as TropWorld Resort, is a resort, casino hotel located on the beach and Boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It is owned by Gaming and Leisure Properties and operated by Caesars ...
, the new company was quickly forced into bankruptcy in May 2008. While in bankruptcy, the
Tropicana Las Vegas
The Tropicana Las Vegas is a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Bally's Corporation, on land leased from Gaming and Leisure Properties. It offers 1,467 rooms, a gaming floor, and of convention ...
was split off as a separate entity.
The rest of the company emerged from bankruptcy on March 8, 2010 as Tropicana Entertainment Inc., under the leadership of investor
Carl Icahn
Carl Celian Icahn (; born February 16, 1936) is an American financier. He is the founder and controlling shareholder of Icahn Enterprises, a public company and diversified conglomerate holding company based in Sunny Isles Beach. Icahn takes l ...
. On the same day, it regained control of the Tropicana Atlantic City, which Icahn and other investors had bought for $200 million in canceled debt. In approving the transfer, the Casino Control Commission stressed that Tropicana was a "different company" than the company that had lost its license in 2007.
In March 2011, Tropicana sold the Horizon Casino in Vicksburg to a partnership of Tangent Gaming and Great Southern Investment Group, who renamed it as the Grand Station Hotel and Casino.
In 2012, the company closed the Jubilee casino and consolidated its operations into the Lighthouse Point casino, which was expanded and rebranded as the Trop Casino Greenville.
In May 2013, Tropicana agreed to sell the
River Palms
The Laughlin River Lodge (formerly Sam's Town Gold River, Gold River and River Palms) is a hotel and casino on the banks of the Colorado River in Laughlin, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Richard Craig Estey ( Nevada Restaurant Services). Th ...
for $7 million to M1 Gaming, owner of
Boomtown Reno
Boomtown Reno is a hotel and casino located in Verdi, Nevada, just west of the Reno–Sparks metropolitan area. The hotel has 318 guest rooms and suites and the casino has a gaming area.
History
The property originally began as a truck stop, ...
, but the sale never went through. In July 2014, Tropicana instead agreed to sell the River Palms for $6.75 million to the owners of
Dotty's
Dotty's is a chain of slot machine parlors with about 175 locations in Nevada, Oregon and Montana and another 150 locations planned in Illinois. The business model is controversial, with sites "offering minimal food and beverage choices with a he ...
.
In March 2014, it was announced that the company‘s lease to operate the
Horizon Casino Resort had expired on March 31, 2014 and was not renewed. The Park Companies took over the property under an LLC known as "NevaOne" and closed the property on April 1, 2014 to begin an intense $40 million top-to-bottom makeover.
In April 2014, Tropicana acquired
Lumière Place
Horseshoe St. Louis, formerly Lumière Place, is a casino hotel in St. Louis, Missouri. It is owned by Gaming and Leisure Properties and operated by Caesars Entertainment.
History
Located in downtown St. Louis, Lumière Place opened on December ...
, HoteLumière, and the
Four Seasons Hotel
Four Seasons Hotels Limited, trading as Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, is an international luxury hotel and resort company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Four Seasons currently operates more than 100 hotels and resorts worldwide.D ...
St. Louis from
Pinnacle Entertainment
Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. was an American gambling and hospitality company. It was acquired by Penn National Gaming in 2018. At the time of acquisition, it operated sixteen casino properties, located in Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Missi ...
for $260 million.
The company assumed management of the
Trump Taj Mahal
The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City (formerly Trump Taj Mahal) is a casino and hotel on the List of boardwalks in the United States#Atlantic City, Boardwalk, owned by Hard Rock Cafe, Hard Rock International, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. ...
in Atlantic City after Icahn Enterprises purchased the casino's parent company. It closed in 2016.
In April 2018, the company agreed to be acquired for $1.85 billion by
Eldorado Resorts
Caesars Entertainment, Inc., formerly Eldorado Resorts, Inc., is an American hotel and casino entertainment company founded and based in Reno, Nevada that operates more than 50 properties. Eldorado Resorts acquired Caesars Entertainment Corporat ...
and
Gaming and Leisure Properties
Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. is a real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in casino properties, based in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. It was formed in November 2013 as a corporate spin-off from Penn National Gaming. The company owns ...
(GLP). GLP would pay $1.21 billion to buy the land and buildings of Tropicana's casinos, while Eldorado would acquire Tropicana Entertainment for $640 million, and lease the casinos from GLP. The parties later modified the deal so that the real estate of Lumière Place would be sold to Eldorado instead of to GLP.
The sale was completed on October 1, 2018.
The Tropicana Aruba was excluded from the deal and was separately sold to Icahn Enterprises.
Casinos
The properties owned by the company at the time of its acquisition were:
*
Belle of Baton Rouge
The Belle of Baton Rouge is a riverboat casino and hotel in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is owned by Gaming and Leisure Properties and operated by CQ Holding.
Facilities
The casino boat is a , four-deck sternwheeler built by Avondale Shipyard. It ...
—
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties i ...
*
Lumière Place
Horseshoe St. Louis, formerly Lumière Place, is a casino hotel in St. Louis, Missouri. It is owned by Gaming and Leisure Properties and operated by Caesars Entertainment.
History
Located in downtown St. Louis, Lumière Place opened on December ...
—
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
*
MontBleu
Bally's Lake Tahoe (formerly Park Tahoe, Caesars Tahoe, and MontBleu Resort Casino) is a casino hotel in Stateline, Nevada. It is owned by Edgewood Companies and operated by Bally's Corporation. The property includes a casino and a 438-room hote ...
—
Stateline, Nevada
Stateline is a census-designated place (CDP) on the southeastern shore of Lake Tahoe in Douglas County, Nevada, United States. It lies next to the California state line and City of South Lake Tahoe. The population was 842 at the 2010 census. ...
*
Trop Casino Greenville
Hebrew cantillation is the manner of chanting ritual readings from the Hebrew Bible in synagogue Jewish services, services. The chants are written and notated in accordance with the special signs or marks printed in the Masoretic Text of the B ...
—
Greenville, Mississippi
Greenville is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 34,400 at the 2010 census. It is located in the area of historic cotton plantations and culture known as the Mississippi Delta.
Hi ...
*
Tropicana Aruba Tropicana may refer to:
Companies
*Tropicana Entertainment, a former casino company that owned several Tropicana-branded casinos
*Tropicana Products, a Chicago-based food company known for orange juice
Hotels and nightclubs
*Tropicana Casino & Re ...
—
Noord, Aruba
*
Tropicana Casino & Resort Atlantic City
Tropicana Atlantic City, also known as The Trop and previously as TropWorld Resort, is a resort, casino hotel located on the beach and Boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It is owned by Gaming and Leisure Properties and operated by Caesars Ent ...
—
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.
*
Tropicana Evansville
Bally's Evansville is a casino hotel and entertainment complex in downtown Evansville, Indiana, owned by Gaming and Leisure Properties and operated by Bally's Corporation.
Originally named Casino Aztar, it was opened by Aztar Corporation in 1995 ...
—
Evansville, Indiana
Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...
*
Tropicana Laughlin
The Tropicana Laughlin (formerly Ramada Express and Tropicana Express) is a casino hotel in Laughlin, Nevada. It is owned by Gaming and Leisure Properties and operated by Caesars Entertainment. The hotel has 1,498 guest rooms and suites, located i ...
—
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 ...
Previous casinos
*
Bayou Caddy's Jubilee Casino — Greenville, Mississippi
*Casino Aztar —
Caruthersville, Missouri
Caruthersville is a city in and the county seat of Pemiscot County, Missouri, United States, located along the Mississippi River in the Bootheel region of the state's far southeast. The population was 5,562, according to the 2020 census.
Histo ...
(now
Lady Luck Casino Caruthersville
Century Casino Caruthersville, formerly Lady Luck Casino Caruthersville, is a riverboat casino and hotel in Caruthersville, Missouri. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by Century Casinos. The riverboat is named ''City of Caruthersville'' ...
)
*Horizon Casino Resort — Stateline, Nevada (now
Hard Rock Hotel and Casino (Stateline)
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 ...
)
*Horizon Vicksburg Casino —
Vicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat, and the population at the 2010 census was 23,856.
Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vic ...
(now
Grand Station Vicksburg
Grand may refer to:
People with the name
* Grand (surname)
* Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor
* Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist
* Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper
Places
* Grand, Oklahoma
* Grand, Vosges, village and comm ...
)
*River Palms — Laughlin, Nevada (now
Laughlin River Lodge
The Laughlin River Lodge (formerly Sam's Town Gold River, Gold River and River Palms) is a hotel and casino on the banks of the Colorado River in Laughlin, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Richard Craig Estey ( Nevada Restaurant Services). Th ...
)
*
Tropicana Las Vegas
The Tropicana Las Vegas is a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Bally's Corporation, on land leased from Gaming and Leisure Properties. It offers 1,467 rooms, a gaming floor, and of convention ...
—
Las Vegas, Nevada
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 ...
*Trump Taj Mahal — Atlantic City, New Jersey (management only; closed on October 10, 2016; now
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City
The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City (formerly Trump Taj Mahal) is a casino and hotel on the Boardwalk, owned by Hard Rock International, in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
The casino, originally known as the ''Trump Taj Mahal,'' was inaugura ...
)
References
{{Reflist, 35em
2018 mergers and acquisitions
American companies disestablished in 2018
Companies based in Spring Valley, Nevada
Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2008
Gambling companies of the United States
Gambling companies disestablished in 2018
Hospitality companies of the United States