Corporation to acquire downtown property

Friday, Aug. 20, 1999 | 4:05 a.m.

The Lady Luck Hotel & Casino will be coming under the umbrella of Lady Luck Gaming Corp.

Lady Luck announced today that it has signed an agreement to purchase the downtown Las Vegas casino from Andrew Tompkins for $45.5 million. Tompkins is the chairman of Lady Luck Gaming, holding 45 percent of the company's stock.

The purchase also includes the trademark "Lady Luck," now held by Tompkins.

"This is an excellent opportunity to consolidate our related assets under one corporate roof," said Lady Luck Gaming President and Chief Operating Officer Alain Uboldi. "By making Lady Luck Las Vegas an actual part of the company, we can benefit from economies of scale."

The company said the transaction was negotiated by a committee of three outside directors.

Lady Luck Gaming said it is attempting to line up financing to fund the Lady Luck purchase, as well as its previously announced purchase of the Miss Marquette riverboat casino in northeast Iowa for $41.67 million.

The Las Vegas casino will be Lady Luck's first in Nevada. The company operates riverboat casinos in Mississippi and Iowa.