Accord to sell 2 Cripple Creek casinos unravels
A complicated deal to sell two large Cripple Creek casinos unraveled this week.
The aborted deal means the Double Eagle Hotel and Casino and the adjacent Gold Creek Casino will remain under their current owners.
Under the planned $23.6 million deal, Minneapolisbased Southwest Casino Corp. planned to become the city’s top casino owner by buying the Double Eagle and Gold Creek casinos, which together operate 744 slot machines and card tables.
Southwest Casino Corp. said Thursday that it halted the deal after the transaction unraveled.
Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Pinnacle Casino and Resorts LLC had agreed to buy the stock of Colorado Casino Resorts Inc., which owns Double Eagle and Gold Creek, and subsequently lease the buildings and sell the casino operations to Southwest.
Southwest said in a news release the stock purchase agreement between Pinnacle and Colorado Casino Resorts had been terminated because Pinnacle failed “to make a required payment.” Southwest said in December it had agreed to buy the casinos and won approval of the deal from state regulators last month.
In Cripple Creek, Southwest owns the Gold Rush Hotel & Casino, Gold Digger’s Casino and Uncle Sam’s Casino. If the Double Eagle and Gold Creek deal had been completed, Southwest said it planned to close Uncle Sam’s and convert it to a bar and nightclub without gaming.
Officials from Southwest and Colorado Casino Resorts were not available Friday for comment; officials from Pinnacle couldn’t be reached for comment.
