History
The company was founded in 1990 by Bernard Goldstein (born 1929) who rolled his two privately held companies Riverboat Corporation of Mississippi and Riverboat Services into a newly named Kana Corporation.
In April 1992 it was renamed Anubis II Corporation. In June 1992 it was renamed again to Casino America, Inc. and began trading on the NASDQ under the ticker symbol CSNO. In 1995 it announced a move to trade to the New York Stock Exchange but that did not happen. In September 1998 it became Capris Casinos, Inc. and changed its ticker symbol to "ISLE."
Goldstein's first casino operations were in the Quad City area of Iowa and Illinois where Goldstein operated the riverboats Diamond Lady and the Emerald Lady under the corporate name Steamboat Casino Cruises. The two boats which sailed from Bettendorf, Iowa on April 1, 1991 were the first modern riverboat gambling boats.
Isle of Capri Casinos opened its first casino in Biloxi, Mississippi in August 1992, and was the first gaming establishment to trade on the NASDAQ.
In 2000, Isle of Capri spent $400 million in a multi-part deal to acquire the Lady Luck chain of casinos. Lady Luck Gaming, which owned two adjacent Lady Luck casinos in Lula, Mississippi, one in Natchez, Mississippi, the Miss Marquette casino in Marquette, Iowa, and a half interest in the Lady Luck casino in Bettendorf, Iowa, was bought for $59 million in cash, $177 million in assumed debt, and $22 million to redeem preferred stock. On the same day, Isle of Capri bought the other half of the Bettendorf property from Goldstein's family for $62 million, and the rights to the Lady Luck trademark from Lady Luck's founder, Andrew Tompkins, for $31 million. Six months later, it completed the purchase of the Lady Luck Hotel & Casino in downtown Las Vegas from Tompkins for $14.5 million. The Las Vegas property was sold two years later to a group of real estate investors. The other Lady Luck properties were all rebranded under the Isle of Capri name.
In 2005, its Biloxi casino (but not its hotel) was destroyed and its Lake Charles facilities were damaged by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, respectively.
In August 2006, Isle of Capri Casinos moved its headquarters from Biloxi to St. Louis suburb Creve Coeur, Missouri. Missouri had offered $4.2 million in tax incentives to lure the operation. Company officials said they were looking for new headquarters after evacuating their building three times in 2004-05 due to hurricanes.
On February 14, 2006, Isle of Capri sold the Isle of Capri Bossier City and Isle of Capri Vicksburg to Legends Gaming for $240 million. The properties are now known as "Diamond Jack's".
The company competed for a gambling license in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 2006, offering $290 million toward the construction of a new arena for the Pittsburgh Penguins as an incentive and thus drawing enormous public support in Pittsburgh. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board nevertheless awarded the license to PITG Gaming Majestic Star instead, who was required to partially fund the building of the new arena, the Consol Energy Center.
On March 19, 2007 Isle of Capri purchased Casino Aztar in Caruthersville from Columbia Sussex for about $45 million.
In April, 2007 the Company opened the Isle Casino & Racing at Pompano Park in Pompano Beach FL
On July 1, 2007 Isle of Capri opened a new property in Waterloo, Iowa.
In 2008, the company adopted a two-brand strategy, reviving the Lady Luck name for smaller properties with limited amenities, while keeping the Isle of Capri name for properties with full-service facilities like hotel rooms, convention space, and expanded dining options. The Marquette and Caruthersville casinos were the first to be rebranded as Lady Luck properties.
In June 2010, Isle of Capri bought the Rainbow Casino in Vicksburg, Mississippi from Bally Technologies for $80 million.
On December 1, 2010, the Missouri Gaming Commission awarded the company the state's 13th gaming license for a casino project in Cape Girardeau. The project is expected to include 1,000 slot machines, 28 table games, 3 restaurants, a lounge and terrace overlooking the Mississippi River and a 750-seat event center at an estimated cost of $125 million.
On April 14, 2011, Isle of Capri and Nemacolin Woodlands Resort were selected as the recipients of Pennsylvania's last casino resort license by the state's gaming board. Lady Luck Casino Nemacolin is expected to include 600 slot machines, 28 table games, a casual dining restaurant and lounge.
In November 2012, Isle of Capri sold the Isle Casino Hotel Biloxi to Landry’s Inc. for $45 million.
Read more about this topic: Isle Of Capri Casinos
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