Fitzgerald Gaming
FormerlyLincoln Management Corporation
TypePublic
IndustryGaming, Hospitality, Tourism
Founded1981 (1981)
DefunctNovember 2007 (November 2007)
FateChapter 11 bankruptcy
HeadquartersReno, Nevada, U.S.
ProductsCasinos, Hotels, Entertainment, Resorts

Fitzgeralds Gaming was a gaming and hotel company based in Reno, Nevada, that operated four casinos under the Fitzgeralds brand. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2000, and subsequently sold all its properties.

History

Lincoln Management

Lincoln Management Inc. was founded in 1984 by Philip Griffith and several other former casino executives of the Summa Corporation, who had worked at Harolds Club in Reno and the Sands Casino in Las Vegas.[1] It was formed to assume the management of the nearby Fitzgeralds Hotel-Casino under a contract with the casino's owner, Meta Fitzgerald.[1] Fitzgerald had operated the property since the 1981 death of her husband, the casino's founder, Lincoln Fitzgerald.[2] The new company's management agreement took effect in April 1985.[3]

In December 1986, Lincoln Management exercised an option to buy Fitzgeralds from Meta Fitzgerald for $26 million.[4] On the same day, the company also assumed management of the Nevada Club, a nearby casino also owned by Fitzgerald; the property was closed briefly before reopening under the company's management in February 1987.[5][6][7]

Also in December 1986, the company expanded into Southern Nevada, taking over management of the Sundance casino in Downtown Las Vegas for its owner, Moe Dalitz.[8] The following year, Lincoln's principals partnered with members of Oppenheimer & Co. to purchase the property from Dalitz.[9] The Sundance was rebranded under the Fitzgeralds name in March 1988.[10]

In 1988, Lincoln Management bought Harolds Club from the Summa Corporation,[11][12] and also acquired the Nevada Club from Fitzgerald.[13]

In April 1993, the company was selected by the Oneida Indian Nation to assist in developing the Turning Stone Casino and to manage the casino.[14][15] Before opening, however, the tribe opted instead to self-manage the casino.[15]

In May 1993, the company received preliminary approval for a casino to be built near Tunica, Mississippi.[16] Fitzgeralds Tunica opened in June 1994, at a cost of $46 million.[17][18] A hotel was added to the casino in 1996 at a cost of $34 million.[18]

In 1993, the company made a bid for the last available gaming license in the Kansas City area, proposing a $145 million casino in Sugar Creek, Missouri.[19] The license was awarded to Station Casinos instead, to build what is now the Ameristar Casino Kansas City. Station was later investigated for improper contact with the president of the gaming commission, and Fitzgeralds sued and received a $38 million settlement in 2004.[20]

Fitzgeralds Gaming

In 1994, Lincoln Management was reorganized as Fitzgeralds Gaming Corp. in preparation for a potential initial public offering.[21][22] The IPO was canceled, however, in 1995, because of weak stock market demand for mid-size casino companies.[23]

In May 1995, the company opened Fitzgeralds Black Hawk in Black Hawk, Colorado. The company had assumed management of the casino and licensed the Fitzgeralds name to what had previously been the 101 Main Street Casino.[24][25] Fitzgeralds Gaming bought a 22 percent interest in the casino in February 1996 for $2.5 million, and then bought the remaining 78 percent in August 1997 for $27 million.[24][26]

Another casino under the company's management, the Cliff Castle Casino in Camp Verde, Arizona, owned by the Yavapai-Apache Nation, opened on the same day as Fitzgeralds Black Hawk.[27] Fitzgeralds operated the casino until 1998, when the tribe bought out the management agreement for $8 million.[28]

Meanwhile, Fitzgeralds disposed of two of its smaller properties. The company closed Harolds Club in March 1995 and sold it two months later for $8.9 million.[29][30] The Nevada Club was closed in December 1997, and six months later was sold to the neighboring Harrah's Reno for $3.8 million.[31][32]

In 1999, the company found itself in financial difficulty because of slower than expected growth and stiff competition.[33] It defaulted on payments to bondholders in July 1999, and began negotiating a debt restructuring.[34] A deal was ultimately reached for the company to sell three of its casinos (Las Vegas, Tunica, and Black Hawk) to Indiana-based Majestic Star Casino for $149 million, and for bondholders to forgive much of the company's remaining $205 million in public debt.[35] The plan was filed in December 2000 as a prepackaged bankruptcy case.[35] The sale of the three properties was completed in December 2001.[36]

The agreement with bondholders also called for Fitzgeralds Reno to be sold.[37] No buyer was readily found, because of concerns about competition from Northern California Indian casinos and disruption from a railroad construction project next to the property.[38] In 2003, the casino was taken off the market, and ownership of Fitzgeralds Gaming was transferred to its creditors, a group of institutional lenders.[39]

Fitzgeralds Reno was finally sold in November 2007 to L3 Development, developer of the neighboring Montage Reno condominiums, leaving Fitzgeralds Gaming with no remaining operations.[40][41]

List of properties

References

  1. 1 2 Voyles, Susan (October 30, 1984). "Summa execs resign to run Fitzgerald's". Reno Gazette-Journal – via Newspapers.com. (Part 2 of article)
  2. ↑ Kling, Dwayne (2010). The Rise Of The Biggest Little City: An Encyclopedic History Of Reno Gaming. University of Nevada Press. p. 51. ISBN 978-0-87417-829-6.
  3. ↑ Voyles, Susan (March 22, 1985). "Fitzgeralds partners given licenses". Reno Gazette-Journal – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ Anderson, Tim (March 16, 1987). "Betting on a turnaround". Reno Gazette-Journal – via Newspapers.com. (Part 2 of article)
  5. ↑ Miller, Ken (January 1, 1987). "Historic Nevada Club closes its doors". Reno Gazette-Journal – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ Miller, Ken (January 31, 1987). "Nevada club reopens Tuesday with '40s look". Reno Gazette-Journal – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ Jerkovich, Roger (February 4, 1987). "Awaiting opening". Reno Gazette-Journal – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ Morrison, Jane Ann (November 26, 1986). "Fitzgerald's operators to run Sundance in Vegas". Reno Gazette-Journal – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "After 3 years, gaming panel OKs sale of Sundance". Reno Gazette-Journal. AP. October 16, 1987 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Fitzgeralds to hold fetes". Reno Gazette-Journal. March 17, 1988 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ Morrison, Jane Ann (May 20, 1988). "Gaming Commission rules out slots in art galleries". Reno Gazette-Journal – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ Voyles, Susan (August 7, 1988). "Casino owners miffed, want downtown cleaned up". Reno Gazette-Journal – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ Stearns, John (February 7, 1996). "$6 million price tag on Nevada Club". Reno Gazette-Journal – via Newspapers.com. (Part 2 of article)
  14. ↑ Gonzalez, Daniel (June 18, 1993). "Oneidas picked a winner to run casino, experts say". The Post-Standard. Syracuse, NY – via NewsBank.
  15. 1 2 Form 10-K405: Annual Report (Report). March 31, 1997. p. 11 – via EDGAR.
  16. ↑ Campbell, Sarah C. (May 25, 1993). "Nine Tunica casino sites win OK". The Commercial Appeal. Memphis, TN – via NewsBank.
  17. ↑ Lollar, Michael (July 17, 1994). "Gaming choices are just short drive from Memphis". The Commercial Appeal. Memphis, TN – via NewsBank.
  18. 1 2 Form 10-K405: Annual Report (Report). Fitzgeralds Gaming. March 31, 1998. p. 5 – via EDGAR.
  19. ↑ "Suit: Station 'rigged game' to get license". Lawrence Journal-World. 22 December 2000. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
  20. ↑ "Station Casinos settles for $38 million in Missouri". Las Vegas Review-Journal. 12 February 2004. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
  21. ↑ Robbins, James (December 10, 1994). "Fitzgeralds considering going public". Reno Gazette-Journal – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ↑ Robbins, James (August 3, 1995). "Fitzgeralds mulls public offering". Reno Gazette-Journal – via Newspapers.com. (Part 2 of article)
  23. ↑ Robbins, James (October 24, 1995). "Fitzgeralds cancels public offering". Reno Gazette-Journal – via Newspapers.com.
  24. 1 2 Stearns, John (March 2, 1996). "Fitzgeralds closer to ambition in Colorado". Reno Gazette-Journal – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ↑ Form 10-K405: Annual Report (Report). Fitzgeralds Gaming. March 31, 1997. p. 9 – via EDGAR.
  26. ↑ Form 10-K405: Annual Report (Report). Fitzgeralds Gaming. March 31, 1998. p. F-16 – via EDGAR.
  27. ↑ Form 10-K405: Annual Report (Report). Fitzgeralds Gaming. March 31, 1997. p. 2 – via EDGAR.
  28. ↑ Form 10-K: Annual Report (Report). Fitzgeralds Gaming. March 30, 1999. p. 9 – via EDGAR.
  29. ↑ Cox, Don (April 1, 1995). "Harolds Club closes". Reno Gazette-Journal – via Newspapers.com.
  30. ↑ Form 10-K405: Annual Report (Report). Fitzgeralds Gaming. March 31, 1997. p. F-30 – via EDGAR.
  31. ↑ Cox, Don (December 30, 1997). "Nevada Club shut down ahead of schedule". Reno Gazette-Journal – via Newspapers.com.
  32. ↑ Stearns, John (June 19, 1999). "Harrah's comes through". Reno Gazette-Journal – via Newspapers.com.
  33. ↑ Wilen, John (May 20, 1999). "Fitzgeralds pumps funds into casinos, restructuring debt". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
  34. ↑ Strow, David (July 26, 1999). "Bankruptcy likely for LV casino company". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
  35. 1 2 "Fitzgeralds in bankruptcy, three casinos being sold". Las Vegas Sun. December 6, 2000. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
  36. ↑ Flaum, David (December 7, 2001). "New owners at Fitzgeralds; Indiana firm takes charge". The Commercial Appeal. Memphis – via NewsBank.
  37. ↑ Stearns, John (May 10, 2001). "Fitzgeralds earnings down in 1st quarter". Reno Gazette-Journal – via Newspapers.com.
  38. ↑ Walsh, Thomas J. (March 15, 2003). "Fitzgeralds proving to be a tough sell". Reno Gazette-Journal – via Newspapers.com.
  39. ↑ Walsh, Thomas J. (August 26, 2003). "Fitzgeralds gets new owners, management". Reno Gazette-Journal – via Newspapers.com. (Part 2 of article)
  40. ↑ "L3 Development completes purchase of Fitzgeralds Casino/Hotel" (Press release). L3 Development. November 1, 2007 – via BusinessWire.
  41. ↑ Riley, Brendan (October 19, 2007). "Cashell's son to run Fitzgeralds". Reno Gazette-Journal. AP – via Newspapers.com.

Further reading

  • Sunzeri, Jeff. "The Nevada Club." Gold Star. 2016 ISBN 978-0996217712
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