Casino Vicksburg

Casino Vicksburg, formerly Lady Luck Casino Vicksburg, in Vicksburg, Mississippi is a 25,000-square-foot (2,300 m2) casino with an 89-room hotel.[1][2] It is owned and operated by Bally's Corporation.

Casino Vicksburg
Location Vicksburg, Mississippi
Opening dateJuly 12, 1994
No. of rooms89[1]
Total gaming space25,000 sq ft (2,300 m2)[1]
Casino typeRiverboat casino
OwnerBally's Corporation
Previous names
  • Rainbow Casino
  • Lady Luck Casino Vicksburg
Websitecasinovb.com

History

The project was initiated by the Rainbow Casino Corporation (RCC), made up of John A. Barrett and Leigh Seippel. Hospitality Franchise Systems agreed to provide $7.5 million in financing, and to franchise a hotel at the property under its Days Inn brand.[3] Six Flags agreed to build a 10-acre theme park named Pennants.[4][5] United Gaming (later known as Alliance Gaming, and then Bally Technologies) signed on to manage the casino.[6]

The Rainbow Casino opened on July 12, 1994, with 574 slot machines and 28 table games.[7] United Gaming took a 45 percent ownership stake on the day it opened.[6] It took a controlling stake the following year, after RCC failed to finance elements of the casino that it was responsible for.[8]

The hotel, owned by AmeriHost, opened in May 1995, and the company called it "the most upscale Days Inn anywhere".[9] It was rebranded as an AmeriHost Inn by 2000,[10] and in 2002 it was sold to AmeriHost's former chairman, Michael P. Holtz.[11]

The theme park, renamed as Funtricity Entertainment Park, also opened in May 1995.[12] Six Flags designed it as the flagship in a new chain of entertainment centers, targeted at markets too small to support a full-size park;[13] within two years, though, the concept was reportedly put on hold.[14] The park closed in 1998,[15] and Alliance bought the site for $500,000[16] and adapted its main building for use as a concert venue.[17]

A casino expansion was completed in 1999, increasing the number of slot machines from 725 to over 1,000.[18]

In 1999, United Gaming put the property, along with its other casino in Nevada, on the market, to help pay down corporate debts, but no satisfactory offers were received.[18]

Bally put the Rainbow back on the market in 2006.[19] In 2010, a sale was finally made to Isle of Capri Casinos for $80 million.[20] Isle of Capri rebranded the property under its Lady Luck name in November 2012.[21]

In March 2018, Eldorado Resorts (which had acquired Isle of Capri Casinos in 2017) agreed to sell the property to Churchill Downs Inc., owner of the neighboring Riverwalk Casino, for $51 million.[22] The sale was canceled, however, as a result of inquiries from antitrust regulators.[23] In July 2019, Eldorado agreed instead to sell the property to Twin River Worldwide Holdings, along with the Isle of Capri Casino Kansas City, for a total of $230 million.[24] The deal was made to help finance Eldorado's pending acquisition of Caesars Entertainment.[24] The sale to Twin River (later Bally's Corporation) closed in July 2020, and the property was renamed as Casino Vicksburg.[25]

See also

References
  1. Wally Northway (2010-04-06). "Isle of Capri buys Rainbow Casino". Mississippi Business Journal.
  2. Howard Stutz (2010-04-06). "Isle of Capri acquires casino in Mississippi". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
  3. "N.J. firm signs pact for Vicksburg casino". The Advocate. Baton Rouge: via NewsBank. AP. September 28, 1993. Retrieved 2012-06-14. (subscription required)
  4. Taylor, Louise (February 18, 1994). "Lady Luck gets approval at Coahoma". The Sun Herald. Biloxi: via NewsBank. Retrieved 2012-06-14. (subscription required)
  5. "Six Flags plans Vicksburg park". The Commercial Appeal. Memphis: via NewsBank. AP. February 23, 1995. Retrieved 2012-06-14. (subscription required)
  6. "Utd Gaming to acquire 45% stake in partnership". Dow Jones News Service. via Factiva. July 13, 1994. Retrieved 2012-06-14. (subscription required)
  7. "Vicksburg welcomes 4th casino". The Sun Hearld. Biloxi: via NewsBank. AP. July 13, 1994. Retrieved 2012-06-14. (subscription required)
  8. Form 10-K (Report). Alliance Gaming. September 28, 1995. p. F-18. Retrieved 2012-06-14.
  9. Faust, Fred (May 15, 1995). "4 operators share Vicksburg". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. via NewsBank. Retrieved 2012-06-14. (subscription required)
  10. Form 10-K (Report). AmeriHost Properties. March 24, 2000. p. 6. Retrieved 2012-06-15.
  11. Form 10-K (Report). Arlington Hospitality. March 31, 2003. p. 39. Retrieved 2012-06-15.
  12. Form 10-K (Report). Alliance Gaming. September 28, 1995. Casino Operations. Retrieved 2012-06-14.
  13. McCann, Nita Chilton (May 29, 1995). "Flagship location of Six Flags' newest attraction comes to Vicksburg". Mississippi Business Journal. via Factiva. Retrieved 2012-06-15. (subscription required)
  14. Johnson, Greg (March 23, 1997). "The Players". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-06-15.
  15. "Funtricity Family Entertainment Park to close" (Press release). Premier Parks (via Factiva). September 11, 1998. Retrieved 2012-06-14. (subscription required)
  16. Form 10-K (Report). Alliance Gaming. September 28, 1999. Casino Operations. Retrieved 2012-06-15.
  17. Purpura, Paul (June 20, 1999). "Rainbow approaches 5th anniversary". Associated Press Newswires. via Factiva. Retrieved 2012-06-14. (subscription required)
  18. "Few serious offers may pull Rainbow Casino off market". The Commercial Appeal. Memphis: via NewsBank. AP. February 23, 2000. Retrieved 2012-06-15. (subscription required)
  19. Hamerman, Joshua (December 4, 2006). "More gaming M&A deals: A safe bet". Mergers & Acquisitions Report. via HighBeam. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved 2012-06-15. (subscription required)
  20. Stutz, Howard (June 9, 2010). "Isle of Capri completes $80 million casino purchase". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
  21. "Lady Luck returns to Mississippi with re-branding of Vicksburg casino" (PDF) (Press release). Isle of Capri Casinos. November 30, 2012. Retrieved 2012-12-03.
  22. Hidalgo, Jason (March 1, 2018). "Eldorado Resorts agrees to sell two casinos in Pennsylvania and Mississippi". Reno Gazette Journal. Retrieved 2018-03-01.
  23. Marty Finley (July 9, 2018). "Churchill Downs Inc. terminates plan to purchase casino". Louisville Business First. Retrieved 2018-07-13.
  24. Bailey Schulz (July 11, 2019). "Eldorado Resorts to sell 2 properties in preparation of Caesars deal". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 2019-07-13.
  25. Bailey Schulz (July 2, 2020). "Eldorado sells 2 properties ahead of Caesars merger". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 2020-07-02.

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