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Jackpot sets $424M deal
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February 9, 1999: 11:28 a.m. ET
Slot-machine owner buying riverboat casinos in Illinois, Louisiana
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Jackpot Enterprises Inc., one of the biggest slot-machine operators in Las Vegas, said Tuesday it agreed to buy a riverboat casino gambling company for $424 million including assumption of debt.
Jackpot, based in Las Vegas, said it would pay cash and stock worth $264 million for Players International Inc. - owner of riverboat casinos in Illinois and Louisiana and a horse-racing track in Kentucky - and take on $160 million in debt.
The deal comes after Jackpot agreed last year to buy Carnival Resorts & Casinos, a closely held operator of casinos in Louisiana and Canada, for about $71 million in stock. That deal is pending.
Jackpot President Don Kornstein said the two deals would boost the company's expansion into new markets for gambling.
Jackpot runs about 4,000 card game and slot machines at stores, bars and restaurants in Nevada and operates two small casinos there - the Owl Club in Battle Mountain and the Pony Express in Jackpot.
Players, which also operates riverboat casinos in a joint venture with Harrah's in Missouri, is being watched by regulators in Louisiana after a friend of the governor's son admitted he took $550,000 from the company for casino licenses, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Under the deal, Jackpot agreed to pay $8.25 a share - $6.75 in cash and $1.50 in Jackpot common stock - for Players, which is based in Atlantic City, N.J.
In midday trading, Players stock rose 11/16 to 6-11/16 on Nasdaq while Jackpot edged down 1/16 to 9-3/16 on the New York Stock Exchange.
The deal is subject to approval by regulators and shareholders of both companies. 
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