- Ameristar Casinos
Infobox_Company
company_name = Ameristar Casinos, Inc.
company_
company_type = Public
company_slogan =
foundation = 1954
location =Las Vegas, Nevada
key_people = John Boushy, President/CEO
num_employees = 7,000
industry = Gaming and hospitality
revenue = profit$854,698,000 USD (2004 )
products =
homepage = [http://www.ameristarcasinos.com/ www.ameristarcasinos.com]Ameristar Casinos, Inc. Nasdaq|ASCA is a Las Vegas,
Nevada basedcasino operator.Despite having its headquarters in Las Vegas, Ameristar has not owned or operated a Las Vegas area casino since selling The Reserve Hotel Casino (now
Fiesta Henderson ) toStation Casinos Inc. in 2001.History
The roots of Ameristar Casinos date to
1954 when "Cactus Pete" Piersanti opened Cactus Petes Desert Lodge onU.S. Route 93 just south of the Nevada/Idaho border in what became Jackpot, Nevada. In1956 Piersanti and others incorporated the property as Cactus Petes, Inc.The corporation took over management of the neighboring Horseshu Club in
1964 . Cactus Petes came under the partial control of Ray Neilsen of Twin Falls,Idaho , in 1967. Nielsen's construction company had built many of the structures atCactus Petes . Neilsen's son Craig assumed control of day-to-day operations upon the elder Nielsen's death in 1971. Craig Nielsen became sole owner in 1984, remaining as CEO until his unexpected death onNovember 19 2006 . President John Boushy succeeded Nielsen as CEO. [ [http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=mergersNews&storyID=2006-11-20T162615Z_01_N20272874_RTRIDST_0_LEISURE-AMERISTAR-UPDATE-1.XML] Dead link|date=March 2008]In 1992 the company made its first investment outside Jackpot by securing ownership in a Vicksburg,
Mississippi , property known asDelta Pointe . This property was opened in 1994 asAmeristar Casino Vicksburg . Ameristar opened the first of several riverboat casinos in Council Bluffs,Iowa , in 1996. In 1998 theReserve Hotel Casino opened in Henderson, Nevada.The company was renamed Ameristar Casinos, Inc. and went public in 1993. Company headquarters was moved from Twin Falls to Las Vegas in 1996.
The company built and operated The Reserve Hotel and Casino in
Henderson, Nevada . It was later sold to Station Casinos which renamed it to Fiesta Henderson.In 2004, Ameristar acquired the Mountain High Casino in
Black Hawk, Colorado and subsequently rebranded the property, expanded the gaming floor and began construction on a new parking garage and hotel. Ameristar also completed the acquisition of theResorts East Chicago casino from Resorts International Holdings in 2007.Following the death of Craig Nielsen, a foundation was created in his name that has since funded many organizations that support
spinal cord injury (SCI) research, cancer research and children's charities. Ameristar has also partnered with the Craig H. Nielsen Foundation to support the rehabilitation of individuals affected by SCI and was one of the first companies to help fundresearch at theNevada Cancer Institute by making a $500,000 donation in 2004.Casinos
*
Ameristar Casino Council Bluffs , Council Bluffs,Iowa
*Ameristar Casino Kansas City , Kansas City,Missouri
**According to Ameristar's website, this is the largest casino both in revenue and size in Kansas City [ [http://www.ameristarcasinos.com/corp/ACKCFactsheet.pdf Ameristar Casino Hotel Council Bluffs ] ]*
Ameristar Casino St. Charles , St. Charles,Missouri
*Ameristar Casino Vicksburg , Vicksburg,Mississippi
*Cactus Pete's Resort Casino , Jackpot,Nevada
*Horseshu Hotel and Casino , Jackpot,Nevada
*Ameristar Casino Black Hawk , Black Hawk,Colorado
*Resorts East Chicago , East Chicago,Indiana External links
* [http://www.ameristarcasinos.com/ Ameristar Casinos web site]
References
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