Aztar Corporation was a hospitality company based in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, focused on

resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that aims to provide most of a vacationer's needs. This includes food, drink, swimming, accommodation, sports, entertainment and shopping, on the premises. A hotel ...

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

s and

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. In 2005, the company had revenues of more than $915 million and earnings before interest and taxes of $212 million. During 2006 the company became the subject of a bidding war for ownership, with

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 ...

winning.

History

Aztar was formed in 1989 as part of a restructuring of Ramada Inn, Inc. Ramada's gaming businesses, including the

Tropicana Atlantic City The Tropicana Atlantic City, often referred to as The Trop, 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 Entertainment, and is th ...

and the

Tropicana Las Vegas The Tropicana Las Vegas was a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It operated from 1957 to 2024. In its final years, the property included a casino and 1,467 rooms. The complex occupied at the southeast corner of the Tro ...

, were spun off as Aztar Corporation, which was given to Ramada's shareholders, while Ramada's restaurant and non-gaming hotel businesses remained with the original company, which was immediately acquired by Hong Kong-based

New World Development New World Development Company Limited (NWD) is a Hong Kong–based company focused on property, hotels, infrastructure and services and department stores. It was established on 29 May 1970 by Cheng Yu-tung. The company is publicly listed on t ...

. Aztar took its name as a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

of "Aztec" and "star". In 1995, the new Aztar Corporation expanded its operations to include riverboat casinos in

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. Hist ...

and

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is Indiana's List of cities in Indiana, third-most populous city after India ...

. On March 5, 2002 Aztar acquired full ownership of the Tropicana location in Las Vegas by purchasing the 50% share held by Chicago's Jaffe family. During 2005, the company acquired a site in

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in eastern Pennsylvania, United States. The county seat of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, it is the List o ...

with the intention of securing a

gaming license A gaming control board (GCB), also called by various names including gambling control board, casino control board, gambling board, and gaming commission, is a government agency charged with regulating casino and other types of gaming in a defined ...

and then developing a casino. On March 13, 2006, Aztar announced plans to be acquired by

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, Mis ...

for $2.1 billion. Subsequent bids were made by Colony Capital, LLC,

and Ameristar Casinos. As of April 26, 2006, all four companies were engaged in bidding over Aztar, with Pinnacle increased its bid to $45 per share, matching Ameristar's bid; Columbia Sussex had previously bid $47 per share. Later, Columbia Sussex increased its bid to $50 a share, all in cash. Aztar management determined on May 1 that the latest bid was preferred over Pinnacle's late increase to $48 a share, in cash and stock. On May 4, 2006, Ameristar announced that it was pulling out of the bidding for Aztar. Additionally, Colony apparently lost interest, having failed to increase its bid beyond $41 a share and making no public comment for several weeks. Since Columbia Sussex eventually outbid Pinnacle, the latter company was paid a $50 million

termination fee An early termination fee (ETF) is a charge levied when a party wants to break the term of an agreement or long-term contract. They are stipulated in the contract or agreement itself, and provide an incentive for the party subject to them to abide ...

plus expenses, which may total $16 million. Bidding ended on May 19, 2006 with the acceptance of a $2.75 billion bid from Columbia Sussex. Columbia Sussex paid a $313 million breakup fee in advance, in case the deal fell through with $78 million of that used to pay the breakup fee to Pinnacle Entertainment. The sale closed in January 2007. The

New Jersey Casino Control Commission The Casino Control Commission is a New Jersey state governmental agency that was founded in 1977 as the state's Gaming Control Board, responsible under the Casino Control Act for licensing casinos in Atlantic City. The commission also issues lic ...

ultimately rejected Columbia Sussex's application for a gaming license for the Tropicana Atlantic City, sending the company's gaming businesses into bankruptcy. Most of the Aztar properties became part of the reorganized Tropicana Entertainment Inc. in March 2010.

Casinos at time of acquisition

Tropicana Casino & Resort Atlantic City The Tropicana Atlantic City, often referred to as The Trop, 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 Eldorado Resorts, Caesars Enterta ...

–

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

–

Paradise, Nevada Paradise is an Unincorporated towns in Nevada, unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Clark County, Nevada, United States, adjacent to the city of Las Vegas. It was formed on December 8, 1950. Its population was 191,238 at the ...

* Ramada Express –

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 ...

Casino Aztar Evansville Bally's Evansville is a casino hotel and entertainment complex in downtown Evansville, Indiana, United States, owned by Gaming and Leisure Properties and operated by Bally's Corporation. Originally named Casino Aztar, it was opened by Aztar Cor ...

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Casino Aztar Caruthersville Century Casino & Hotel Caruthersville, formerly Lady Luck Casino Caruthersville, is a land-based casino and hotel in Caruthersville, Missouri. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by Century Casinos. Missouri's first non-floating casino ...

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References

{{Reflist, 30em 1989 establishments in Arizona 2007 disestablishments in Arizona Companies based in Phoenix, Arizona Defunct companies based in Arizona Defunct gambling companies Gambling companies established in 1989 Hospitality companies established in 1989 Gambling companies disestablished in 2007 Hospitality companies of the United States