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Evansville - A Nevada gambling company is buying Casino Aztar of Evansville in a deal worth up to $245 million.
The casino had been up for sale since December, when Fort Mitchell, Ky.-based Columbia Sussex Corp. said it would sell the riverboat to avoid bankruptcy. The company agreed to sell the casino to Eldorado Resorts LLC for as much as $245 million, including $25 million in potential incentives linked to the casino's performance, according to a press release issued Monday.
Before the deal can be approved, the Indiana Gaming Commission must determine whether it will license Eldorado to run the riverboat casino. Eldorado is based in Reno, Nev., and runs casinos in Nevada and Louisiana.
The Indiana Gaming Commission decided Monday that an interim trustee, Robert "Tom" Dingman, will run Casino Aztar until the deal is completed. Dingman said he will tour the riverboat this week and hopes to keep employment at current staffing levels.
Staffing has been an issue at the Casino Aztar. Two months after Columbia Sussex acquired the riverboat in January 2007, Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel said the company reneged on a pledge when it said it would cut 90 of the boat's 1,200 jobs.
City leaders said they thought only 20 people would be laid off, and Weinzapfel asked the gaming commission to investigate. The gaming commission halted its investigation in December, however, when Columbia Sussex said it would sell the boat to avoid bankruptcy.
Weinzapfel said he was glad that Columbia Sussex agreed to allow a trustee to run Aztar "rather than make this a long, drawn out battle."
"I look forward to working with the owners of Eldorado Resorts on issues mutually beneficial to the community and company," he said.
Casino Aztar opened as Indiana's first casino in December 1995, and has been trailing all others in total admissions.
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