 | |
| Formerly |
|
|---|---|
| Type | Private |
| Industry | Gambling |
| Founded | 1987 |
| Headquarters | Paradise, Nevada |
Key people | Andrei Scrivens (CEO) |
| Owner | Z Capital Partners |
| Website | affinityinteractive |
Affinity Interactive, formerly known as Herbst Gaming and Affinity Gaming, is an American private casino and sports betting company based in Paradise, Nevada. It operates eight casinos in Nevada, Missouri, and Iowa, and publishes the Daily Racing Form .
The company traces its roots to 1987, when its predecessor was formed to service the slot machines at the Terrible Herbst gas stations. [1] [2] It was operated by brothers Ed, Tim, and Troy Herbst, whose father, Jerry Herbst, owned the gas stations. [2] [3] Their company later became a slot route operator, maintaining slot machines at other businesses such as taverns and laundromats. [4]
The Herbsts opened their first casino, the Terrible's Town Casino in Pahrump, Nevada, in 1996. [5] This was followed by Terrible's Town Casino and Bowl in Henderson, Nevada; [6] [7] Terrible's Lakeside Casino in Pahrump in 1999; [8] [9] and Terrible's Hotel and Casino (formerly the Continental Hotel and Casino) in 2000 near the Las Vegas Strip. [10]
In 2000, the Herbsts' slot company, E-T-T Inc., doubled its size by acquiring the slot route operation of Jackpot Enterprises for $41 million, bringing it to a total of 6,000 machines under management. [11] [12]
In 2001, the Herbst brothers' gaming interests were reorganized as Herbst Gaming, Inc., in connection with a $170-million bond offering. [13]
The company opened its fifth casino, Terrible's Searchlight Casino in Searchlight, Nevada, in 2002. [14]
In 2003, Herbst became the largest slot route operator in Nevada by acquiring Anchor Coin and its 1,100 machines from International Game Technology for $61 million. [15] [16]
In 2005, Herbst expanded to the Midwest by acquiring three casinos in Missouri and Iowa from W.M. Grace Entertainment for $287 million. [17] [18]
In 2006, a statewide smoking ban was enacted in Nevada at taverns and convenience stores, which was expected to hurt the revenues of slot route operators such as Herbst. [19] [20] In response, the company began to diversify by acquiring more casinos. [21] In January 2007, Herbst purchased Sands Regent, a company with four Northern Nevada casinos, including the Sands Regency and the Rail City Casino, for $119 million. [22] [23] Later that year, it also acquired the Primm Valley Casino Resorts, a group of three casinos at the Nevada–California state line, from MGM Mirage for $400 million. [24]
In early 2008, the company revealed that it was considering a sale or bankruptcy, because of poor financial results stemming from the economic slowdown and the smoking ban. [25] [26] Analysts said that the company was also suffering from having overpaid for the Primm casinos, which faced increasing competition from expanding tribal casinos in Southern California. [26]
Herbst Gaming filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March 2009 with a prepackaged plan to hand ownership of the casinos to the company's bank lenders, while the Herbst family would receive a 90 percent stake in the slot route business. [27] After objections from bondholders, the plan was revised to give full ownership of the slot route operation to the creditors, leaving the Herbsts with no role in the business. [28] The company, reorganized as Herbst Gaming LLC, emerged from bankruptcy at the end of 2010, owned by a group of approximately 140 investment companies and banks. [29] [30] [31]
The company changed its name to Affinity Gaming in May 2011, to avoid confusion as the Herbst family planned to rejoin the gaming industry. [32] Some properties continued to use the Terrible's name and logo under license from Terrible Herbst, while others were reverted to their previous names. [32] [33] The last Affinity property bearing the name, Terrible's Hotel and Casino, was rebranded as the Silver Sevens in 2013. [33] [34]
In 2012 and 2013, Affinity sold off several "non-core assets". [35] [36] The slot route was sold to Golden Gaming and JETT Gaming (a new company formed by Jerry Herbst). [37] [38] The two casinos in Pahrump were also sold to Golden Gaming, and the Searchlight casino to JETT. [37] The Sands Regency and two smaller casinos in Northern Nevada were sold for $19.2 million to Truckee Gaming, a new company led by Affinity executive Ferenc Szony. [39] [40] Meanwhile, Affinity expanded to Colorado by buying three casinos in Black Hawk from Golden Gaming. [37]
In February 2017, Z Capital Partners, a private equity firm which had already built up a 41 percent stake in Affinity, bought all outstanding shares in a transaction valuing the company at $580 million. [41] [42]
In October 2018, Z Capital proposed to acquire competing casino operator Full House Resorts and merge it into Affinity, but the offer was rejected by Full House executives. [43] [44]
Affinity sold its three Colorado casinos in January 2020 to Twin River Worldwide Holdings for $51 million. [45] [46]
In March 2020, Affinity established a special-purpose acquisition company, Gaming & Hospitality Acquisition Corp. (GHAC), through which it planned to become a publicly-traded company and merge with a to-be-determined company in the gaming industry. [47] [48] GHAC completed an initial public offering in February 2021, raising $200 million. [49] [50] Z Capital later announced that it would merge Affinity with a sister company, Sports Information Group, the parent company of the Daily Racing Form . [51] The combined company would be named Affinity Interactive, and would continue to seek an acquisition target with GHAC. [51] The merger was completed in July 2021. [52]
MGM Resorts International is an American global hospitality and entertainment company operating destination resorts in Las Vegas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Maryland, Ohio, and New Jersey, including Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, and Park MGM.
Primm Valley Casino Resorts is a group of three hotel-casinos in Primm, Nevada, along Interstate 15 at the California state line. They are owned and operated by Affinity Gaming. It is named after the Primm family, benefactors of the hotel and casino properties by Ernest and Gary Primm.
The Wild Wild West Gambling Hall & Hotel was a hotel and casino in Paradise, Nevada, near the Las Vegas Strip. It was owned and operated by Station Casinos. While the casino and adjoining 260-room hotel were relatively small, the site is over 58 acres (23 ha) in size.
JW Marriott Las Vegas Resort and Spa is a resort in Summerlin, Nevada, near Las Vegas. The Rampart Casino is located within the hotel. The property is owned and operated by Hotspur Resorts, which franchises the JW Marriott name from Marriott International. The hotel has 548 rooms and the casino measures 57,610 square feet (5,352 m2).
Buffalo Bill's is a hotel and casino in Primm, Nevada, United States, at the California state line. It is one of the Primm Valley Resorts, owned and operated by Affinity Gaming. It has 1,242 guest rooms and suites. The hotel is home to the currently closed Desperado roller coaster, a hypercoaster with a 225-foot drop, and a top speed of 80 mph, a log flume ride, as well as a pool in the shape of a buffalo. The hotel-casino has two hotel room towers: the Annie Oakley Tower and the Buffalo Bill Tower. It is named after Buffalo Bill.
Primm Valley Resort & Casino is a hotel and casino located in Primm, Nevada. It is one of the Primm Valley Resorts, owned and operated by Affinity Gaming. It is named after the Primm family, benefactors of the hotel and casino properties owned by Ernest and Gary Primm.
The Colorado Belle is a casino hotel on the banks of the Colorado River in Laughlin, Nevada, owned and operated by Golden Entertainment. Initially closed on March 17, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, on May 18, 2020, Golden Entertainment announced that the Colorado Belle would remain closed "indefinitely," even after casinos were allowed to reopen. As of April 2023, the property remains closed.
Terrible's Hotel & Casino, formerly the Gold Strike Hotel and Gambling Hall, is a defunct casino hotel in Jean, Nevada, approximately 13 mi (21 km) north of the California state line, and about 32 miles (51 km) south of Downtown Las Vegas. It opened in 1987, and closed in 2020. It was owned and operated by JETT Gaming from 2015 until its closure. It had 811 rooms, several restaurants, and 40,006 square feet (3,716.7 m2) of gaming space. The property is planned to be demolished and replaced with an industrial park.
The Westin Las Vegas Hotel & Spa is a hotel and former casino near the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The Westin is owned by Highgate and Cerberus Capital Management, and uses the Westin brand under franchise from Marriott International. It is noteworthy for being one of the first Las Vegas resorts to prohibit smoking in almost all parts of the property.
J Resort, formerly the Sands Regency Casino Hotel, is a casino hotel in downtown Reno, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Jacobs Entertainment, Inc.
Golden Entertainment is an American gaming company based in Enterprise, Nevada that operates casinos, taverns and slot routes. It was formed in 2015 by the merger of Golden Gaming and Lakes Entertainment. It is the largest tavern operator and largest slot route operator in Nevada. In October 2017, the company completed an $850 million acquisition of American Casino & Entertainment Properties. The company now has eight casino resorts, all located in Southern Nevada.
Terrible Herbst, or Terrible Herbst Oil Company, is an American privately held gas station company based in Paradise, Nevada, United States.
Cannery Casino Resorts was a hotel and casino operator based in Spring Valley, Nevada. It was acquired by Boyd Gaming in 2016.
Silver Sevens Hotel and Casino is a Las Vegas locals casino and hotel 1 mile (1.6 km) east of the Las Vegas Strip, in Paradise, Nevada. Silver Sevens has 370 rooms and a 35,000 sq ft (3,300 m2) casino.
Mark Twain Casino is a casino located in La Grange, Missouri owned by Affinity Gaming. LaGrange is in Northeast Missouri and sits on the Mississippi River. The property has an 18,000 sq ft (1,700 m2) casino. The casino floor has over 400 slot machines and video poker, as well as table games.
Rail City Casino is a casino in Sparks, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Affinity Gaming. It contains 23,854 square feet (2,216.1 m2) of gaming space, with 896 slot machines, 7 table games, a keno parlor, and a William Hill race and sports book. Dining amenities include the Rail City Ale House and The Buffet & Cafe at Rail City.
United Coin Machine Co. was an American slot route operator based in Paradise, Nevada. It operated slot machines in locations such as bars, convenience stores, and grocery stores. For many years, United Coin was the largest slot route operator in Nevada.
Blake L. Sartini is an American entrepreneur in the Nevada gaming and entertainment industry.
Paragon Gaming is a gaming company based in Enterprise, Nevada that owns and manages casinos in the United States and formerly in Canada.
Bally's Corporation is a gaming, betting, and interactive entertainment company headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. It owns and operates 15 casinos across ten states, a horse track in Colorado, and online sports betting operations in 14 states. Additionally, the company owns the sports betting platform Bet.Works, daily fantasy sports operator Monkey Knife Fight, and SportCaller, a free-to-play game provider.