Former type Public Headquarters Reno Ceased operations 2000 | Defunct 2000 (2000) Founded 1981 | |
Formerly called Lincoln Management Corporation Industry Gaming, Hospitality, Tourism Products Casinos, Hotels, Entertainment, Resorts Fate Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code | ||
Fitzgeralds Gaming was a gaming company based in Reno, Nevada, that operated four casinos under the Fitzgeralds brand. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2000, and subsequently sold all its properties.
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Lincoln Management Corporation
After Lincoln Fitzgerald died in 1981, the Lincoln Management Corporation was formed to run his two Reno casinos, Fitzgeralds and the Nevada Club, under a contract with Fitzgerald's widow, Meta. In 1986, Lincoln exercised an option to buy Fitzgeralds for $26.25 million.
In 1987, the Lincoln Group bought the Sundance casino in downtown Las Vegas from Moe Dalitz, renaming it as Fitzgeralds.
In 1988, it bought Harolds Club, the last remaining casino in Howard Hughes's gambling empire, from the Hughes Corporation.
In 1993, the company made a bid for the last available gaming license in the Kansas City area, proposing a $145 million casino in Sugar Creek, Missouri. The license was awarded to Station Casinos instead, to build what is now the Ameristar Casino Kansas City. Station was later investigated for improper contact with the president of the gaming commission, and Fitzgeralds sued and received a $38 million settlement in 2004.
Fitzgerald Gaming
In 1994, Lincoln was reorganized as Fitzgeralds Gaming Corp.
In December 2001, The Majestic Star Casino, LLC made its first expansion beyond Gary, acquiring three Fitzgeralds casinos from bankrupt Fitzgeralds Gaming for $149 million, in Las Vegas, Nevada, Black Hawk, Colorado, and Tunica, Mississippi. Chief operating officer Michael Kelly, a former Fitzgeralds executive, engineered the deal.