I've never been to an Indian casino, though I've heard enough bad things about Harrah's Cherokee in the Carolinas, that I'd never make a special trip to go.
That's one nice thing about Tunica -- 9 casinos, none Indian casinos. GoldStrike is owned by MGM; Horseshoe, Sheraton, & Grand are owned by Harrah's (boo!); Sam's Town is Boyd Gaming; Hollywood -- I dunno, but they're being sold; Resorts and Ballys are Resorts International; Fitzgerald's I'm not sure, but it was once a real yucky, dank, stinky casino but has new managers and is being renovated and is now looking good.
Some corporate history on Fitzgeralds:
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The Majestic Star Casino, LLC ("the Company") was formed by Mr. Don Barden in December 1993 to pursue one of two gaming licenses at Buffington Harbor in Gary, Indiana. In June 1996, along with Trump Indiana, both companies opened dockside facilities to take advantage of gaming opportunities in the Chicagoland market, now the third largest gaming market in the United States behind Las Vegas and Atlantic City.
In December 2001, the Company grew substantially with the purchase of the Fitzgerald-brand properties in Las Vegas, Tunica, Mississippi (30 miles south of Memphis) and Black Hawk, Colorado (35 miles west of Denver). With these additions, the Company diversified itself into a national gaming company.
On December 31, 2003, the Fitzgeralds Las Vegas property was spun out of the Company to Barden Development Inc., the Company's ultimate parent and member, and also owned by Mr. Barden. Fitzgeralds Las Vegas and the Company have entered into an expense sharing agreement in which Fitzgeralds Las Vegas reimburses the Company for certain services provided by the Company.
On December 21, 2005, the Company took another step forward by acquiring the Trump facilities at Buffington Harbor. We re-branded Trump Indiana's casino vessel as the Majestic Star II and Trump Indiana's 300 room hotel as the Majestic Star Hotel. At Buffington Harbor, we now have complete ownership of both the Majestic Star and Majestic Star II casino operations, the previously mentioned hotel, the pavilion that houses the restaurants, retail outlets, entertainment venue, lounge and boarding access to our two casinos, and a 2,000 space parking garage. We also have 240 acres of undeveloped land for future expansion and the addition of amenities to support our gaming operations.
As of December 31, 2005, our casinos (including Fitzgeralds Las Vegas) collectively included approximately 5,800 slot machines, 165 table games, 21 poker tables and 1,441 hotel rooms.
The Company currently has $300.0 million of 9.5% senior secured notes, due October 2010, and $200.0 million of 9.75% senior notes, due January 2011, outstanding. In addition, the Company has an $80.0 million revolving credit facility that will mature in April 2010.
For more information about the Company, we ask that you further explore our website in which the Company maintains its annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, press releases and presentations made to the investment community.