By Dan Shaw, Evansville Courier & Press
A group that wants to buy the Tropicana casino in Atlantic City is not interested in owning Casino Aztar in Evansville.
Joseph Palladino submitted a bid of $950 million last month for the Tropicana.
"He has other projects on the map for 2008, which are hotel resorts," J. Rosa, a spokesman for Palladino, said Tuesday. "Other casinos are not on the blueprints."
Columbia Sussex, which has its headquarters in Fort Mitchell, Ky., is selling the Tropicana casino, Casino Aztar and a casino in Vicksburg, Miss., to avoid bankruptcy. Money troubles threatened the company in December, when the New Jersey Casino Control Commission revoked Columbia Sussex's license to operate the Tropicana.
Palladino and another company - Colony Capital of Los Angeles - made public last week their interest in buying the Tropicana. Colony offered $850 million for the Atlantic City casino. As for Casino Aztar, though, Colony Capital is not ready to say if it would like to acquire it as well, according to Owen Blicksilver, spokesman for Colony.
After New Jersey revoked Columbia Sussex's license, it placed the Tropicana casino under the control of a trustee, Gary Stein, a former justice on the state supreme court. Stein is charged with deciding which among those companies that want to buy Tropicana will be the best owner.
Of the 25 or so suitors that have shown an interest in the Atlantic City casino, none have told him they also want to buy Casino Aztar, Stein said. But that doesn't necessarily preclude an interest in the Evansville property, he said.
He has been asked only to concern himself with the Tropicana, he said. Many of the discussions about the Atlantic City casino are taking place with Bear Stearns, an investment firm that is helping him review the suitors. Calls to Bear Stearns were not returned.
Last week, Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel said two companies had told him they are interested in acquiring the Evansville casino. He declined to divulge the names of either. Audra Levy, spokeswoman for the mayor, said Tuesday she wasn't aware of any other suitors.
Attendance dropping
Weinzapfel said last week he believes Casino Aztar continues to be an attractive property. In recent years, though, attendance at the casino has dropped slightly, according to the Indiana Gaming Commission.
And new competition threatens to further harm Casino Aztar. The French Lick Casino may already have begun to draw patrons away from the boat. And the situation will become worse for Evansville only if Kentucky makes gambling legal, a change that Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear is advocating.
In March, the mayor asked the Indiana Gaming Commission to investigate Columbia Sussex, saying he was unhappy about how the company was running Casino Aztar. In particular, he said Columbia Sussex had reneged on its promise to keep a certain number of workers employed there.
Ernest Yelton, executive director of the commission, said no companies have told him they would like to buy Casino Aztar. He hopes a suitor steps forward by March, when the commission is scheduled to meet and consider whether it will renew Columbia Sussex's license to operate Casino Aztar.
According to an agreement Columbia Sussex reached after its New Jersey license was revoked, it is to sell Tropicana, Casino Aztar and the Vicksburg, Miss., casino by June. Hud Englehart, spokesman for Columbia Sussex, declined to say if he knew of any companies that want to buy Casino Aztar.
Columbia Sussex acquired the Evansville casino along with other properties formerly owned by Aztar Corp. in 2006, after winning a bidding war against several other companies. The rival bidders included Pinnacle Entertainment, Ameristar and Colony Capital.
Karen Lynn, a spokeswoman for Ameristar, declined to say whether Ameristar, based in Las Vegas, is still interested in Casino Aztar.
A Pinnacle spokeswoman declined to comment on whether that company is interested in Casino Aztar.