Wednesday, July 30, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Sale of
riverboat
company
rumored
Argosy, Harrah's, Ameristar listed as possible suitors
By JEFF SIMPSON
GAMING WIRE
Las Vegas-based Horseshoe Gaming, owned by long-time casino operator Jack Binion, could be sold soon, knowledgeable industry sources said Tuesday.
Among the companies mentioned as potential Horseshoe Gaming riverboat suitors are Argosy Gaming, Ameristar Casinos and Harrah's Entertainment.
"Something's cooking with Jack Binion and Horseshoe," one source said. "I hear that there are offers on the table for at least one of his properties, and possibly for the entire company."
Complicating matters for Binion's 7,800 worker, $840 million in annual revenue company is the company's incredible profitability.
"No one can run these boats as well as Jack," a second source said. "The big question is whether these (potential buyers) need growth enough to pay a premium."
Binion was unavailable for comment Tuesday, and Horseshoe President Roger Wagner didn't return a phone call.
Binion ran downtown's Binion's Horseshoe in Las Vegas until 1998, when he sold most of his stake in the property to his sister Becky Binion Behnen.
The 52-year old property is unrelated to Horseshoe Gaming, but Jack Binion maintains a very small stake in the downtown property as a way to keep his Nevada gaming license.
Horseshoe Gaming is the largest privately held gaming company in the United States. It operates casinos in Bossier City, La.; Hammond, Ind.; and Tunica, Miss.
Harrah's interest is in Hammond, Argosy's is in Tunica and Ameristar's is in Bossier City, one source said. A second source suggested that Binion may still want to sell all three together.
Harrah's operates casinos in each of the states in which Binion operates, while Argosy has a boat in Baton Rouge, La., and Ameristar has one in Vicksburg, Miss.
MGM Mirage has also been mentioned as a possible buyer for Horseshoe's Hammond, Ind., casino, but MGM Mirage Chairman Terry Lanni recently ruled out an acquisition.
Binion is a top-flight casino operator, Lanni said, and so good at maximizing properties' performances that MGM Mirage would not be interested. MGM Mirage won't make an acquisition if it can't improve on the purchased property's performance, he said.
Harrah's spokesman Gary Thompson and Ameristar spokeswoman Kathy Callahan declined to discuss the company's interest in one or more Horseshoe casinos.
"We don't comment on rumors or speculation," Thompson said.
Added Callahan: "It's a rumor that's been circulating. I can't comment on (mergers and acquisition) activity."
Horseshoe recently moved its corporate offices from suburban Chicago to Las Vegas.
