Expansion
In 1992 the company made its first investment outside of Jackpot by acquiring a Vicksburg, Mississippi, property known as Delta Pointe. This property was opened in 1994 as Ameristar Casino Vicksburg. The company subsequently constructed an adjoining hotel and, in 2008, completed a $100 million expansion of the facility.[12] Ameristar opened the first of several riverboat casinos in Council Bluffs, Iowa, in 1996. In 1998, the company opened the Reserve Hotel Casino in Henderson, Nevada.[13]
The company was renamed Ameristar Casinos, Inc., and went public in 1993 on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "ASCA." Company headquarters were moved from Twin Falls to Las Vegas in 1996.
In 2000, Ameristar purchased properties in Kansas City, Missouri, and St. Charles, Missouri, from Station Casinos, Inc., and in 2001, sold The Reserve Hotel and Casino to Station Casinos, which renamed it Fiesta Henderson.[14]
In 2004, Ameristar acquired the Mountain High Casino in Black Hawk, Colorado. In 2006, the Ameristar brand debuted after an $80 million renovation and expansion project that included additional covered parking; and announced details of its planned 33-story hotel and spa. Ameristar officially opened its new Casino Resort Spa complex in October 2009 to become the first destination resort casino in Colorado. The property's $230 million expansion included a 33-story luxury hotel and day spa, an enclosed rooftop swimming pool, and 15,000 sqft of meeting and event space. The 33-story hotel, which contains 536 rooms and 64 suites, became the tallest structure between Salt Lake City, Utah, and Denver.
Ameristar also completed the acquisition of the Resorts East Chicago casino in East Chicago, Indiana from Resorts International Holdings in 2007. It was rebranded Ameristar Casino Hotel East Chicago in June 2008. An outdoor summer concert series promoted the rebranding, and featured Lionel Richie, Smokey Robinson and Reba McEntire.[15]
In 2010, Ameristar announced plans to renovate all of Ameristar East Chicago's 280 superior guest rooms and 10 luxury suites; and to add 100 rooms and a fitness center to Ameristar Kansas City's existing luxury hotel. The addition will complement the property's existing 184 rooms and hotel lobby, which were extensively renovated in September 2006.
In Massachusetts, where casinos were legalized in November 2011,[16] Ameristar applied for the one gaming license allotted to Western Massachusetts, proposing to build a $910 million hotel and casino.[17] It acquired a 41-acre site in East Springfield, a former Westinghouse plant, for $16 million.[18] In November 2012, however, Ameristar withdrew its proposal in the face of competing bids from MGM Resorts International and Penn National Gaming,[19] saying that city officials were more likely to endorse a downtown casino.[20]
In March 2012, Ameristar agreed to acquire Creative Casinos, the developer of the proposed Mojito Pointe casino resort in Lake Charles, Louisiana, for $32.5 million.[21] Ameristar planned to spend at least $500 million on the resort and open it in mid-2014.
