Archon Corporation is an entertainment company based in

Laughlin, Nevada Laughlin () is an unincorporated community in Clark County, Nevada, United States. Laughlin lies south of Las Vegas, in the far southern tip of Nevada. As a resort town, it is known for its gaming and water recreation. As of the 2020 census, t ...

. The company has owned

casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

s and

water park A water park (also waterpark, water world, or aquapark) 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 ...

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 (United States), Republican Party in Nevada. The organization has a history that goes back to 1864. The party currently controls Nevada's Governor of Nevada, governorship, Nevad ...

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 original ...

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

Santa Fe Gaming

Santa Fe Valley 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 th ...

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

Sahara Hotel and Casino The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Arctic. The name "Sahara" ...

was sold to

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

. Followed by a rename to Santa Fe Gaming Corporation. In 2000, the Santa Fe Casino 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 () is a Neighborhoods in 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, Dorset, E ...

* Commercial office buildings in

Gaithersburg, Maryland Gaithersburg ( ) is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. At the time of the 2020 United States census, Gaithersburg had a population of 69,657, making it the third-largest incorporated city and the ninth-most populous communit ...

* 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, Laughlin, Nevada. It is known for its neon cigarette-puffing "River Rick" marque. It was a sister proper ...

Hacienda A ''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 Golden Nugget Lake Tahoe Hotel & Casino (formerly Sahara Tahoe, High Sierra, Horizon Lake Tahoe, and Hard Rock Lake Tahoe) is a casino hotel in Stateline, Nevada. It is one of four major casino hotels in Stateline. Horizon Lake Tahoe closed on Ap ...

* Sahara Reno * Santa Fe Casino * 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