INDIANAPOLIS - An interim trustee with experience in the gaming industry, Robert "Tom" Dingman, will operate Casino Aztar as an interim trustee until the Evansville riverboat is sold to Nevada-based gaming company Eldorado Resorts LLC, the Indiana Gaming Commission decided today.
The current owner of Aztar, Columbia Sussex Corp., has agreed to sell the casino to Eldorado for as much as $245 million, according to a news release issue Monday.
Columbia Sussex also signed a power-of-attorney designating Dingman as the casino's temporary operator until the sale goes through.
Before the deal may take place, the gaming commission must decide whether it will license Eldorado to run Aztar. Eldorado has its headquarters in Reno, Nev., and operates casinos in Nevada and Louisiana.
The deal announced today by Gaming Commission executive director Ernest Yelton averted the need for the commission to decide whether to renew or revoke Columbia's gaming license.
Dingman, who was at the meeting today, said he will be in Evansville on Tuesday to tour the riverboat and speak to the staff. He will also meet with Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel and hold a news conference at the riverboat at 4 p.m. Tuesday.
Dingman said he hopes to keep Aztar's employment at current staffing levels. In 25 years in the casino business, he said, he never had to lay off an employee.
He has held management positions at properties owned by Harrah's in San Diego, New Orleans, Vicksburg, Miss., and Auckland, New Zealand. He is now a consultant to companies in the gambling business.