Lakes Entertainment, Inc. was an American

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

Minnetonka Minnetonka ( ) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. A western suburb of the Twin Cities, Minnetonka is located about west of Minneapolis. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 53,781. Minnetonka is the home of Car ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. It merged with Golden Gaming in 2015 to form

Golden Entertainment Golden Entertainment, Inc. is an American Gambling, gaming company based in Enterprise, Nevada, Enterprise, Nevada that operates casinos and taverns. It was formed in 2015 by the merger of Golden Gaming (founded in 2001 by Blake Sartini) and Lakes ...

History

The company was created on December 31, 1998 as part of the merger between

Grand Casinos Grand Casinos () was a casino operator, co-founded by poker player Lyle Berman and Dave Anderson, Founder of Famous Dave's BBQ Restaurants, that started out managing several casinos in Minnesota in 1990. The company ceased to exist when it was pu ...

and Hilton's gaming businesses to form

Park Place Entertainment Park Place Entertainment, later named Caesars Entertainment, Inc., was a casino company based in Paradise, Nevada. For a time it was the largest casino operator in the world. It was formed in 1998 as a corporate spin-off of the gaming division of ...

. Park Place acquired Grand's three

riverboat casino A riverboat casino is a type of casino on a riverboat found in several states in the United States with frontage on the Mississippi River and its tributaries, or along the Gulf Coast. Several states authorized this type of casino in order to en ...

s in Mississippi, while Grand's other businesses were spun off to Grand's shareholders as Lakes Gaming. Lakes's business at the time of its formation included the management of two

Indian casinos Native American gaming comprises casinos, bingo halls, slots 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 for ...

in Louisiana ( Grand Casino Avoyelles and Grand Casino Coushatta) and ownership of of land on the

Las Vegas Strip The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of the Las Vegas city limits ...

. In 1999, Lakes struck a deal to buy the

Rainforest Cafe Rainforest Cafe is a jungle-Theme restaurant, themed restaurant chain owned by Landry's, Landry's, Inc. of Houston. The first location opened in the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, on February 3, 1994. By 1997, the chain consisted of ...

chain for $108 million, but the agreement fell through after

Landry's Landry's, Inc., is a privately held American multi-brand dining, hospitality, entertainment, and gaming corporation headquartered in Houston, Texas. Landry's, Inc., owns and operates more than 600 restaurants, hotels, casinos, and entertainment ...

made a higher offer. Lakes's management agreement at the Grand Casino Avoyelles was bought out in 2000, and its management agreement for the Grand Casino Coushatta expired in 2002. This left the company with no active operations, though it had plans to develop casinos with several tribes. In 2002, Lakes launched the

World Poker Tour The World Poker Tour (WPT) is an internationally televised gaming and entertainment brand. Since 2002, the World Poker Tour has operated a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting playdown and the ...

(WPT). The company changed its name to Lakes Entertainment to reflect its involvement in the WPT and potentially other non-casino businesses. Lakes sold off a portion of the WPT through an

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 investm ...

in 2004, but retained majority ownership. In 2008, Lakes spun off WPT, distributing its remaining shares to shareholders. Lakes developed the Red Hawk Casino in

Shingle Springs Shingle Springs (formerly, Shingle Spring and Shingle) is a census-designated place (CDP) in El Dorado County, California, El Dorado County, California, United States. The population was 4,432 at the 2010 census, up from 2,643 at the 2000 census. ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

for the

Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians The Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, Shingle Springs Rancheria (Verona Tract), California is a federally recognized tribe. Government The Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians is an independent, sovereign tribal government led by an elected ...

, and managed the casino from its opening in 2008 until 2013. Lakes opened the Rocky Gap Casino Resort in Maryland in May 2013. Lakes sold its interest in Dania Jai-Alai in 2014. In January 2015, Lakes agreed to merge with Golden Gaming. The combined company would be named Golden Entertainment. Golden Gaming head Blake Sartini would own 35% of the company and serve as its chief executive officer, while Lakes head

Lyle Berman Lyle Arnold Berman (born August 6, 1941, in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American professional poker player and business executive. Business Berman grew up in Minnesota and attended the University of Minnesota where he was graduated in 1964 wi ...

would be a board member and consultant. In preparation for the merger, Lakes sold its 10 percent interest in Rock Ohio Ventures, which owns five casinos and racetracks in Ohio and Kentucky. The merger was completed on August 3, 2015.

Properties

* Red Hawk Casino * Dania Jai-Alai * Rocky Gap Casino Resort * Rock Ohio Ventures (10%)

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.lakesentertainment.com/, Lakes Entertainment 2015 disestablishments in Minnesota 2015 mergers and acquisitions Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq Companies based in Minnetonka, Minnesota Defunct gambling companies Gambling companies established in 1998 Gambling companies disestablished in 2015 Gambling companies of the United States