Jacobs Entertainment

Jacobs Entertainment, Inc. is a gaming, hospitality, and entertainment company based in Golden, Colorado.[1]

Jacobs Entertainment, Inc.
IndustryGaming
FounderJeffrey Jacobs
HeadquartersGolden, Colorado, U.S.
Websitejacobsentertainmentinc.com

History

The company was formed by Cleveland real estate developer Jeffrey Jacobs.[2] In 1995, it announced a joint venture with Black Hawk Gaming & Development to build a casino hotel in Black Hawk, Colorado.[3] Jacobs was also reported to be exploring gaming opportunities in 10 other states and South Africa and Aruba.[2] Later that year, the company purchased 50 percent of Colonial Downs, a horse track under development in New Kent, Virginia, for $5 million, and was negotiating to purchase River Downs, an Ohio horse track.[4][5]

In 1996, the company made a $9 million investment in the Boardwalk Casino on the Las Vegas Strip.[6]

The Lodge Casino, the company's $73-million joint venture with Black Hawk Gaming, opened in 1998, with Jacobs owning a 25 percent share.[7]

In 2002, Jeffrey Jacobs and his father, Richard Jacobs, consolidated their gaming holdings into a reorganized Jacobs Entertainment, which simultaneously purchased all outstanding shares of Black Hawk Gaming & Development and Colonial Holdings.[8] The combined company at that point owned the Lodge Casino and Gilpin Casino in Black Hawk; the Gold Dust West Casino in Reno, Nevada; Colonial Downs racetrack; and six truck stop casinos in Louisiana.[8]

The company applied for a license to operate a casino in Orange County, Indiana in 2003, but withdrew its bid in the face of stiff competition.[9][10] It also made plans to develop a casino in D'Iberville, Mississippi, but pulled out of the project in 2004.[11]

Jacobs held discussions about buying New York racetrack Vernon Downs in 2005, and Casino Aztar Caruthersville in Missouri in 2007, but neither acquisition materialized.[12][13]

In 2006, Jacobs spent over $2 million in support of an Ohio ballot measure that would have authorized the company to open a casino at the Nautica Entertainment Complex, owned by Jeffrey Jacobs.[14] The measure failed.[15]

Jacobs purchased the Piñon Plaza casino in Carson City, Nevada in 2006 for $14.5 million, and rebranded it as the Gold Dust West Carson City.[16] The company opened its third casino under the Gold Dust West name in Elko, Nevada in 2007.[17]

In 2008 and 2009, the company bought out the shares of Richard Jacobs, leaving his son as the sole owner.[18]

The company acquired the Nautica Entertainment Complex from Jeffrey Jacobs in phases between 2008 and 2012.[19][20][21] It then purchased the Greater Cleveland Aquarium, located in the complex, in 2014.[22]

Jacobs offered itself for sale to MTR Gaming in 2013 for $145 million in stock, but withdrew the offer after MTR agreed to be acquired by Eldorado Resorts.[23][24] The Jacobses had begun purchasing shares in MTR Gaming in 2006, eventually accumulating an 18 percent stake in the company.[23][25] Later in the year, Jacobs made a competing offer to buy MTR, and then withdrew it after Eldorado increased its offer.[24][26]

Since 2008, Jacobs has pursued plans to develop a casino in Diamondhead, Mississippi.[27] The state gaming commission rejected the proposal in March 2017, but the company filed an appeal.[28]

Jacobs purchased the Sands Regency Casino Hotel in Reno, a few blocks away from the Gold Dust West casino, for $30 million in July 2017.[29][30][31] The company soon began a $500-million plan to redevelop the corridor between the two casinos with mixed-use developments and retail and entertainment venues.[32][33]

In April 2018, Jacobs sold Colonial Downs, which had been closed since 2014. The track was sold to Revolutionary Racing, a Chicago-based group of investors and gaming executives, for a price of more than $20 million.[34]

Properties
Gilpin Casino in Black Hawk, Colorado

Former properties

References
  1. "Contact Us". Jacobs Entertainment. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  2. Diane Solov; Bill Sloat (February 26, 1995). "Ohio developers line up for shot at casinos". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland, OH – via NewsBank.
  3. Lynn Bronikowski (January 4, 1995). "Black Hawk project to double in size". Rocky Mountain News. Denver, CO – via NewsBank.
  4. "Investor buys half of track". Daily Press. Newport News, VA. Associated Press. November 7, 1995 – via NewsBank.
  5. John Markon (August 17, 1995). "Live racing pledged for '96". Richmond Times-Dispatch – via NewsBank.
  6. Donald Sabath (July 17, 1996). "Jeffrey Jacobs buys stake in Nevada casino". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland, OH – via NewsBank.
  7. Bill Lubinger (August 30, 1998). "Casino operator is good bet". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland, OH – via NewsBank.
  8. Form 10-K: Annual Report (Report). Jacobs Entertainment. March 31, 2003. pp. 2–3 – via EDGAR.
  9. Mike Lewis; Roger Moon (November 16, 2003). "Casino process in Orange County on a fast track". The Herald-Times. Bloomington, IN – via NewsBank.
  10. Roger Moon (December 26, 2003). "Casino applicant withdraws request". The Times-Mail. Bedford, IN – via NewsBank.
  11. Tom Wilemon; Anita Lee (October 21, 2004). "D'Iberville sees plans for casino evaporate". The Sun Herald. Biloxi, MS – via NewsBank.
  12. Glenn Coin (April 27, 2005). "Vernon Downs has new suitor". The Post-Standard. Syracuse, NY – via NewsBank.
  13. "Isle of Capri may buy Casino Aztar". Kansas City Star. March 13, 2007 – via NewsBank.
  14. Tom Breckenridge (November 4, 2006). "Issue 3 could boost downtown Developers putting money on proposal for gambling". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland, OH – via NewsBank.
  15. John McCarthy (November 8, 2006). "State voters again reject gambling issue". The Cincinnati Post. Associated Press – via NewsBank.
  16. Becky Bosshart (June 26, 2006). "Piñon Plaza changes hands; to become Gold Dust West". Nevada Appeal. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  17. Marianne Kobak (March 2, 2007). "Gold Dust West ready to open". Elko Daily Free Press – via NewsBank.
  18. Form 10-K: Annual Report (Report). Jacobs Entertainment. March 30, 2010. p. F-23 – via EDGAR.
  19. Form 10-Q: Quarterly Report (Report). Jacobs Entertainment. August 13, 2012. p. 15 – via EDGAR.
  20. Form 10-K: Annual Report (Report). Jacobs Entertainment. March 29, 2011. p. 7 – via EDGAR.
  21. "About Nautica Entertainment Complex". Nautica Entertainment Complex. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  22. "Jacobs takes over ownership of the Greater Cleveland Aquarium; new exhibits announced". Akron Beacon Journal. June 3, 2014. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  23. "Jacobs Entertainment pitches sale to W.Va. company". The Denver Post. Associated Press. May 14, 2013. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  24. "Jacobs Entertainment offers rival bid for MTR Gaming". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Associated Press. October 3, 2013. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  25. Stan Bullard (July 14, 2008). "Younger Jacobs seeking bigger stake in owner of Mountaineer resort". Crain's Cleveland Business – via NewsBank.
  26. "Jacobs Entertainment, Inc. supports Eldorado's proposal to MTR Gaming" (Press release). Jacobs Entertainment. November 20, 2013 – via Marketwired.
  27. Stan Bullard (September 19, 2008). "Jacobs Entertainment pursues Miss. casino". Crain's Cleveland Business. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  28. Mary Perez (April 5, 2017). "Diamondhead casino developer appeals Gaming Commission decision". The Sun Herald. Biloxi, MS. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  29. Higdon, Mike (April 26, 2017). "Casino co. investing over $40M into Sands purchase and three blocks of downtown Reno". Reno Gazette-Journal. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  30. Annie Conway (June 26, 2017). "Jacobs Entertainment to acquire Sands". Northern Nevada Business Weekly. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  31. Location Details - Public (Report). Nevada Gaming Control Board. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  32. Jason Hidalgo (November 10, 2017). "Downtown Reno Courtyard Inn sold to Fountain District developer for $2.1M". Reno Gazette-Journal. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
  33. Mike Higdon (February 23, 2018). "Jacobs Entertainment tearing down 'heroin hotel' and two other downtown Reno motels". Reno Gazette-Journal. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
  34. Moomaw, Graham (April 25, 2018). "Racing group buys Colonial Downs for more than $20 million, promising to revitalize Virginia horse racing". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
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