Tropicana Entertainment President Scott Butera had a $225 million deal to sell Casino Aztar in hand. Not good enough, he said. Thus, a second round of bids was solicited. The grand total number of offers received: one.
This lays the groundwork for Butera to do what I think he’s been meaning to do all along: Declare the lone bid inadequate (maybe even a “fire sale”), much like the previous Eldorado Resorts deal he’s trying to vacate. The next step would be to petition the State of Indiana to be allowed to resume control of Casino Aztar.
Whether the state plays ball is another matter. Evansville‘s mayor, Jonathan Weinzapfel told WEHT-TV he “looks forward to a new owner.” Maybe my English is rusty, but that sure sounds like he wants no part of TropEnt, even in its post-William J. Yung III incarnation. Having been singed aplenty ever since the Aztar Corp. sale went through, Weinzapfel’s “once burned, twice shy” frostiness is quite understandable. Butera’s persuasive skills are going to be tested in the weeks ahead.
Having also scuttled the sale of Horizon Vicksburg, Butera’s plan is obviously to reconstitute TropEnt at full strength (including the Atlantic City Tropicana). Not only would this increase the potential for cross-marketing the merged Columbia Sussex/Aztar portfolio to consumers, it’s undoubtedly crossed Butera’s mind that TropEnt is a much better resale proposition if kept intact … not peddled off piece by little piece, as Yung was doing.
