Abstract
The UNLV Libraries Collection of Elsinore Corporation Reports and Publicity Materials includes annual reports, financial reports, press releases, promotional materials, and newspaper clippings for Elsinore Corporation in Las Vegas, Nevada, dating from 1979 to 1995.
Finding Aid PDF
Date
Extent
Related People/Corporations
Scope and Contents Note
The UNLV Libraries Collection of Elsinore Corporation Reports and Publicity Materials includes annual reports, financial reports, press releases, promotional materials, and newspaper clippings for Elsinore Corporation in Las Vegas, Nevada, dating from 1979 to 1995. This collection contains items previously described as "Annual report," "Form 10-K: annual report pursuant to section 13 or 15 (d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934," and "Memorandum."
Access Note
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.
Arrangement
Materials are arranged by material type.
Biographical / Historical Note
Elsinore Corporation owned and operated the Four Queens Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, from 1972 to 2003, and the Hyatt Lake Tahoe from 1972 to 1988. Its headquarters were located in the Four Queens. Elsinore Corporation began as a subsidiary of the Hyatt Corporation in 1972. Revenue for the Four Queens steadily grew in the first few years of ownership, and, in 1979, Elsinore Corporation became an independent company. Elsinore Corporation entered into a joint venture with Playboy Enterprises Inc. to build what would become the Atlantis Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. This began a period of financial issues for the company that led to bankruptcy in 1985. Elsinore Corporation sold its subsidiaries at the time, which allowed the company to focus on the Four Queens with moderate success into the early 1990s. In 1994, Elsinore Corporation formed a new joint venture with the S'Klallam tribe and the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians of California to build the 7 Cedars Casino in Sequim, Washington, and the Spotlight 29 Casino in Coachella, California. Elsinore Corporation took out several mortgages to fund expenses for not only these projects, but also to pay off debt and operations at the Four Queens. Poor financial performance at the Spotlight 29 Casino coupled with the construction of the Fremont Street Experience led to another bankruptcy in 1995. In the same year, Spotlight 29 installed 60 to 70 electronic slot machines, which are illegal in California, without informing Elsinore Corporation. Nevada licensee's involvement in illegal tribal casino operations in California gave a negative impression of Nevada gaming regulators. Then California Attorney General Dan Lungren addressed these implications in a letter, adding that this controversy demeaned Nevada's "tough licensing standards." When the news broke, Nevada gaming regulators gave Elsinore Corporation 30 days to end its contract with the Spotlight 29 Casino or risk its gaming license. Elsinore Corporation filed lawsuits against the property and ended the contract with Spotlight 29. Within a year, the company underwent bankruptcy reorganization. Riviera Holding Corporation assumed management of the Four Queens until 2000. Elsinore Corporation struggled to make enough money to pay off its debts and find a buyer for the Four Queens. In May of 2003, Magoo’s chain owner Terry Caudill agreed to purchase the property for $20.5 million.
Sources:
“Elsinore Corporation.” FundingUniverse, n.d. http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/elsinore-corporation-history/.
“Elsinore Corp. Earnings.”
“Four Queens Sale Set to Close.”
Waddell, Lynn. “Indian Tribe Gives Nevada Gaming Firm Black Eye.”
Preferred Citation
UNLV Libraries Collection of Elsinore Corporation Reports and Publicity Materials, 1979-1995. MS-00963. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
Materials were acquired periodically by UNLV Special Collections and Archives from a variety of sources; accession number 2019-086.
Processing Note
In 2019, as part of an archival backlog elimination project, Miguel Dominguez and Autumn Bassett compiled the materials from multiple sources that included subject files and previously cataloged material. Autumn Bassett wrote the finding aid.