Owners of the Tin Lizzie Casino and Grill in Deadwood, South Dakota, will purchase the Hampton Inn Deadwood at Four Aces Casino from Lamont Companies of Aberdeen, owners of the Gold Dust Casino and the Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Deadwood. The newly merged property will be renamed the Tin Lizzie Gaming Resort. The acquisition is expected to tighten competition in the historic gambling community. Caleb Arceneaux, chief executive officer of ISIS Hospitality, managers of Tin Lizzie Casino, said, “We are extremely excited about this. Extremely excited.”
Within the next 30-45 days, a new 15-foot wide wall will be built to connect the two properties. Also at the casino, 70 slot machines and an additional table will be added, the property will be re-carpeted and the parking lot will be repaved. Over the next 24 months, the 59 guest rooms will be renovated.
Arceneaux said initially the Tin Lizzie Casino owners–Donnie Patton, David Bradsky and Sandra Bradsky of Rapid City—considered building their own hotel but the proximity of the Four Aces, combined with its Hampton brand, offered an attractive alternative. He added the owners saw the purchase as a logical expansion in a plan to become Deadwood gaming market leaders, especially as gaming consumers increasingly want resort-style facilities that provide gambling, dining and accommodations. The Tin Lizzie Casino does not have a hotel.
Arceneaux declined to disclose the purchase price of the Four Aces, but noted the new owners were impressed by the city’s recent revitalization plans. “Obviously we would not be making this kind of investment in the town if we didn’t feel confident about its future,” he said.
Deadwood Mayor Chuck Turbiville said as far as he could remember the Four Aces sale is the first in many years involving the purchase of a casino by a neighboring one. “I know there are other casinos for sale, and this is an instance where a very well-run casino wants to expand their operation. It just was an opportunity that came up, and they took it. I think it’s going to be great for the town. Everybody is anxious to see what changes will be made at the Four Aces. The new ownership is very aggressive and very progressive,” he said.
The timing of the transaction is significant since Deadwood gaming and occupancy numbers are up. Deadwood Chamber of Commerce Director Lee Harstad said, “The beginning of the summer, our gaming numbers were soft and were pretty flat, but as we got into July and into parts of August the numbers are increasing. In terms of occupancy, over the past three months we’ve seen increases between three to five percent every month and that’s coming off a 2013 which was a really terrific year.”
Harstad added, “Some of the things that we’ve started to do is to really highlight some of the good properties that there are to stay in Deadwood, and there are a lot of places to stay. We have over 1,500 hotel rooms in town and a lot of folks don’t realize that we have that.”
