Players International
Encyclopedia
Players International was a United States
company which built and operated riverboat casino
s and a horse racing
track.
The company was founded by brothers David and Edward Fishman in 1984. The company was originally known for its "Player's Club," a service which offered discounts on rooms, shows and dining at various casino
s in Las Vegas
, Atlantic City
and outside the country. Club members paid $125 for the first year's membership and a lower fee for annual renewals. The company advertised heavily on late-night television
, with actor
Telly Savalas
as its spokesperson. In a time when casino gambling was only legal in Vegas and Atlantic City, casino ownership was much more fragmented than today and mass marketing
was unheard of for casinos, the Player's Club concept proved popular. The company also arranged gaming tournaments for casinos and arranged travel for competing players.
After a brief foray into call-in telephone games based on Jeopardy!
and Wheel of Fortune
, the brothers decided to get out of the discount travel business and into the casino business itself. Casino legalization was spreading rapidly, especially in the Midwest
, and the Fishmans applied for and received a license for a riverboat casino in Metropolis, Illinois
. Backed by game show
impresario
and former talk show
host Merv Griffin
, the company opened the casino in 1993. With little competition close by, it was an immediate success.
Flush from the success of the Metropolis property, Players developed a second riverboat casino in Lake Charles, Louisiana
later in 1993. With its proximity to the Texas
state line, the Lake Charles property attracted gamblers from the Houston
market, and was extremely profitable. The operation expanded in 1995 with the addition of a second riverboat, purchased from a closed casino operation on Lake Ponchatrain. This allowed guests to board at more convenient times, getting around state regulations which allowed them to board only during a 45-minute window every three hours by staggering the "cruise" schedules.
Also in 1995, the company purchased Bluegrass Downs, a small horse racing
track in Paducah, Kentucky
, just across the Ohio River
from Metropolis. Players hoped that the Kentucky
legislature would eventually legalize casino gaming at its horse tracks (a concept now known as a racino
), and that the purchase would serve to stem any potential competition for the Metropolis boat.
Players' first and only land-based casino was the Players Island Resort in Mesquite, Nevada
, about an hour away from Las Vegas. This resort featured a spa and luxury hotel, and was unusual in that one of its main marketing efforts was toward casino workers from Vegas.
The company's final major project was a third riverboat casino facility in Maryland Heights, Missouri
, a suburb
of St. Louis
. This project was a joint venture
with Harrah's Entertainment
, with separate adjacent casino barges sharing parking and boarding facilities.http://www.answers.com/topic/players-international-inc
.
In 1999, Players entered into an agreement with Jackpot International to be acquired for $8.25 per share. But later that year, Harrah's approached the company with an unsolicited offer for $8.50. Jackpot would not match or beat the offer, so Players paid Jackpot a fee to back out of the deal and accepted the Harrah's offer. The deal amounted to $425 million.
The Metropolis and Lake Charles casinos became Harrah's Metropolis
and Harrah's Lake Charles, respectively. Harrah's assumed full control of the joint venture in Maryland Heights. Players Island in Mesquite was not included in the deal, and was sold to Black Gaming, which operated the Virgin River Hotel and Casino in that city; the property was renamed CasaBlanca Resort and Casino. Harrah's retained a 50 percent interest in Bluegrass Downs. The deal was finalized in 2000.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
company which built and operated riverboat casino
Riverboat casino
A riverboat casino is a type of casino found in several areas of the United States which use a riverboat as a casino. Several states authorized this type of casino to limit the areas where casinos could be constructed under a type of legal fiction.-History:...
s and a horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
track.
The company was founded by brothers David and Edward Fishman in 1984. The company was originally known for its "Player's Club," a service which offered discounts on rooms, shows and dining at various casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
s in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, Atlantic City
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
and outside the country. Club members paid $125 for the first year's membership and a lower fee for annual renewals. The company advertised heavily on late-night television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, with actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
Telly Savalas
Telly Savalas
Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas was an American film and television actor and singer, whose career spanned four decades. Best known for playing the title role in the 1970s crime drama Kojak, Savalas was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Birdman of Alcatraz...
as its spokesperson. In a time when casino gambling was only legal in Vegas and Atlantic City, casino ownership was much more fragmented than today and mass marketing
Mass marketing
Mass marketing is a market coverage strategy in which a firm decides to ignore market segment differences and go after the whole market with one offer. It is type of marketing of a product to a wide audience. The idea is to broadcast a message that will reach the largest number of people possible...
was unheard of for casinos, the Player's Club concept proved popular. The company also arranged gaming tournaments for casinos and arranged travel for competing players.
After a brief foray into call-in telephone games based on Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
and Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune (U.S. game show)
Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin, which premiered in 1975. Contestants compete to solve word puzzles, similar to those used in Hangman, to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a large wheel. The title refers to the show's giant carnival wheel that...
, the brothers decided to get out of the discount travel business and into the casino business itself. Casino legalization was spreading rapidly, especially in the Midwest
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
, and the Fishmans applied for and received a license for a riverboat casino in Metropolis, Illinois
Metropolis, Illinois
Metropolis is a city located along the Ohio River in Massac County, Illinois, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 6,482...
. Backed by game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
impresario
Impresario
An impresario is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays or operas; analogous to a film producer in filmmaking, television production and an angel investor in business...
and former talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
host Merv Griffin
Merv Griffin
Mervyn Edward "Merv" Griffin, Jr. was an American television host, musician, actor, and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer who went on to appear in movies and on Broadway. From 1965 to 1986 Griffin hosted his own talk show, The Merv Griffin Show on Group W Broadcasting...
, the company opened the casino in 1993. With little competition close by, it was an immediate success.
Flush from the success of the Metropolis property, Players developed a second riverboat casino in Lake Charles, Louisiana
Lake Charles, Louisiana
Lake Charles is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Located in Calcasieu Parish, a major cultural, industrial, and educational center in the southwest region of the state, and one of the most important in...
later in 1993. With its proximity to the Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
state line, the Lake Charles property attracted gamblers from the Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
market, and was extremely profitable. The operation expanded in 1995 with the addition of a second riverboat, purchased from a closed casino operation on Lake Ponchatrain. This allowed guests to board at more convenient times, getting around state regulations which allowed them to board only during a 45-minute window every three hours by staggering the "cruise" schedules.
Also in 1995, the company purchased Bluegrass Downs, a small horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
track in Paducah, Kentucky
Paducah, Kentucky
Paducah is the largest city in Kentucky's Jackson Purchase Region and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. It is located at the confluence of the Tennessee River and the Ohio River, halfway between the metropolitan areas of St. Louis, Missouri, to the west and Nashville,...
, just across the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
from Metropolis. Players hoped that the Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
legislature would eventually legalize casino gaming at its horse tracks (a concept now known as a racino
Racino
A racino is a combined race track and casino. In some cases, the gambling is limited to slot machines, but many locations are beginning to include table games such as blackjack, poker, and roulette....
), and that the purchase would serve to stem any potential competition for the Metropolis boat.
Players' first and only land-based casino was the Players Island Resort in Mesquite, Nevada
Mesquite, Nevada
Mesquite is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, adjacent to the Arizona state line and northeast of Las Vegas. As of the 2010 United States Census, it had a population of 15,277. The city is located in the Virgin River Valley...
, about an hour away from Las Vegas. This resort featured a spa and luxury hotel, and was unusual in that one of its main marketing efforts was toward casino workers from Vegas.
The company's final major project was a third riverboat casino facility in Maryland Heights, Missouri
Maryland Heights, Missouri
Maryland Heights is a second-ring west-central suburb of St. Louis, located in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 27,472 at the 2010 census. The city was incorporated in 1985. Edwin L. Dirck was elected the city's first mayor. Mark M. Levin has been City Administrator...
, a suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. This project was a joint venture
Joint venture
A joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets...
with Harrah's Entertainment
Harrah's Entertainment
Caesars Entertainment Corporation is a private gaming corporation that owns and operates over 50 casinos, hotels, and seven golf courses under several brands. The company, based in Paradise, Nevada, is the largest gaming company in the world, with yearly revenues $8.9 billion...
, with separate adjacent casino barges sharing parking and boarding facilities.http://www.answers.com/topic/players-international-inc
Harrah's takeover
The company started to feel the effects of increased competition from further legalization of casinos throughout the country, and turned its focus to its existing operations in 1997. The company briefly returned to profitability, enough so to emerge as a takeover target. The company's stock also became publicly traded by NASDAQNASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
.
In 1999, Players entered into an agreement with Jackpot International to be acquired for $8.25 per share. But later that year, Harrah's approached the company with an unsolicited offer for $8.50. Jackpot would not match or beat the offer, so Players paid Jackpot a fee to back out of the deal and accepted the Harrah's offer. The deal amounted to $425 million.
The Metropolis and Lake Charles casinos became Harrah's Metropolis
Harrah's Metropolis
Harrah's Metropolis is a riverboat casino located on the Ohio River in Metropolis, Illinois. Originally opened by in 1994 as a joint venture between Players International and show business impresario Merv Griffin as one of the state's first casinos, the property became part of Harrah's as part of...
and Harrah's Lake Charles, respectively. Harrah's assumed full control of the joint venture in Maryland Heights. Players Island in Mesquite was not included in the deal, and was sold to Black Gaming, which operated the Virgin River Hotel and Casino in that city; the property was renamed CasaBlanca Resort and Casino. Harrah's retained a 50 percent interest in Bluegrass Downs. The deal was finalized in 2000.