Argosy Gaming Company was an

Alton Alton may refer to: People *Alton (given name) * Alton (surname) Places Australia * Alton National Park, Queensland * Alton, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Balonne Canada * Alton, Ontario * Alton, Nova Scotia New Zealand * Alton, New Zeala ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

based

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 ...

operator.

History

The company through the political connections of its chairman William F. Cellini received the first gambling license in Illinois in modern times. It began operations in September 1991 with the opening of the

Alton Belle Casino Alton may refer to: People *Alton (given name) * Alton (surname) Places Australia * Alton National Park, Queensland * Alton, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Balonne Canada * Alton, Ontario * Alton, Nova Scotia New Zealand * Alton, New Zeala ...

. Among the biggest initial investors was John Connors, brother of tennis champion

Jimmy Connors James Scott Connors (born September 2, 1952) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 2 ...

, Illinois attorney and Democratic power-broker L. Thomas Lakin, as well as other influential St. Louis area businessmen. Jimmy Connors would later become a substantial investor with both brothers maintaining a 19 percent share after it went public. It traded on the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...

under the

ticker symbol A ticker symbol or stock symbol is an abbreviation used to uniquely identify publicly traded Share (finance), shares of a particular stock or Security (finance), security on a particular stock exchange. Ticker symbols are arrangements of symbols ...

"AGSY. The company toyed with bankruptcy in the late 1990s with John Connors personally declaring

Chapter 7 bankruptcy Chapter 7 of Title 11 U.S. Code is the bankruptcy code that governs the process of liquidation under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. This is in contrast to bankruptcy under Chapter 11 and Chapter 13, which govern the process of ''re ...

. In November 2004,

Penn National Gaming Penn Entertainment, Inc., formerly Penn National Gaming, is an American entertainment company and operator of integrated entertainment, sports content, and casino gambling. It operates 43 properties in 20 states, under brands including Hollywood ...

acquired it for $2.2 billion in cash creating the third largest casino operator in the United States. The merger raised

antitrust Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...

concerns because Penn National, which already owned Casino Rouge, would gain a monopoly on casinos in Baton Rouge. In order to expedite approval for the merger from federal and state regulators, Penn National put the Argosy Baton Rouge up for sale.

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 ...

agreed to buy the property for $150 million. Penn National and Argosy completed their merger in October 2005.

Casinos

* Argosy Casino Alton -

Alton, Illinois Alton ( ) is a city on the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois, United States, about north of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 25,676 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a part of the River Bend (Illinois), Riv ...

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 Bally's Corporation. Facilities The casino boat is a , four-deck sternwheeler built by Avondale Ship ...

formerly known as Argosy Baton Rouge * Argosy Casino Riverside in

Riverside, Missouri Riverside is a city in Platte County, Missouri, and part of the Kansas City metropolitan area in the United States. The population was 4,013 at the 2020 census. History Riverside lies on the edge of the Missouri River and was formally incorpo ...

* Argosy Lawrenceburg in

Lawrenceburg, Indiana Lawrenceburg is a city and the county seat of Dearborn County, Indiana, United States. The population was 5,129 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the largest city in Dearborn County. Lawrenceburg is in southeast Indiana, on th ...

, now carrying the Hollywood brand *

Argosy Casino Sioux City Argosy Casino Sioux City was a riverboat casino located on the Missouri River in Sioux City, Iowa. It was owned by Penn National Gaming Penn Entertainment, Inc., formerly Penn National Gaming, is an American entertainment company and operator o ...

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury County, Iowa, Woodbury and Plymouth County, Iowa, Plymouth counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Iowa, fo ...

* Argosy Empress Casino in

Joliet, Illinois Joliet ( ) is a city in Will County, Illinois, Will and Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, located southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County, Illinois, Will County. It had a population of ...

; Destroyed by fire on March 20, 2009. Rebuilt as Hollywood Casino Joliet

References

External links

* Hospitality companies of the United States Gambling companies of the United States Alton, Illinois Companies based in Madison County, Illinois Defunct companies based in Illinois 1991 establishments in Illinois American companies established in 1991 American companies disestablished in 2005 {{casino-stub