Under a “change of control” petition unanimously approved by the Missouri Gaming Commission, Delaware-based Z Capital Group LLC will acquire all outstanding shares of Affinity Gaming, thereby becoming the new owners of the Mark Twain Casino in LaGrange and the St. Jo Frontier Casino in St. Joseph. Affinity, owner of the Mark Twain riverboat casino since 2010, will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Z Capital and no longer will be publicly traded.
Missouri gaming commissioners found Z Capital Group has been licensed, approved or found suitable by gaming regulators in Missouri, Iowa, Nevada and Colorado, the four states where it operates. Affinity Gaming officials said in a statement, “Z Capital and Affinity Gaming anticipate receiving all necessary approvals and closing the transaction early in the first quarter of 2017.”
Mark Twain Casino opened July 25, 2001 and was owned by Grace Entertainment. Owner William Grace died and Nevada-based Herbst Gaming Inc., a subsidiary of the Terrible Herbst Oil Company, bought the Mark Twain and St. Joseph casinos on February 1, 2005. The name was changed to Terrible’s Mark Twain Casino.
Herbst Gaming filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2009, and the company emerged from bankruptcy on December 31, 2010 as Herbst Gaming LLC. In May 2011, the company changed its name to Affinity Gaming LLC and Mark Twain Casino dropped “Terrible’s” from its name.
