Abstract
The UNLV Libraries Collection of Showboat, Inc. Promotional Materials and Financial Reports includes annual reports, quarterly financial reports, equity research reports, Securities and Exchange Commission Form 10-Q, Securities and Exchange Commission Form 10-K, prospectus, press kit, press releases, promotional materials, and newspaper and magazine clippings for Showboat, Inc. based in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Atlantic City, New Jersey, dating from 1968 to 2002.
Finding Aid PDF
Date
Extent
Related People/Corporations
Scope and Contents Note
The UNLV Libraries Collection of Showboat, Inc. Promotional Materials and Financial Reports includes annual reports, quarterly financial reports, equity research reports, Securities and Exchange Commission Form 10-Q, Securities and Exchange Commission Form 10-K, prospectus, press kit, press releases, promotional materials, and newspaper and magazine clippings for Showboat, Inc. based in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Atlantic City, New Jersey, dating from 1968 to 2002. This collection contains items previously described as "Promotional and publicity material: Showboat Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada and Atlantic City, New Jersey," "Annual report," and "Showboat: forty-four years of fun and friendship, 1954-1998."
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
Showboat, Inc. was a gaming company that operated hotel-casinos in Las Vegas, Nevada; Atlantic City, New Jersey; and Pyrmont, South Wales, Australia. It was known for its large bowling alleys that hosted multiple bowling tournaments. The flagship hotel and casino, the Showboat, opened on September 03, 1954, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Located inside a reproduction of a Mississippi-style riverboat, it cost $2 million to build, financed by the Las Vegas Club headed by J. Kell Houssels and William J. Moore Jr. In 1959, Houssels, and his partner Joseph Kelly formed an investor group to fully manage the property and incorporated it as New Hotel Showboat, Inc. The company went public in 1969.
On April 03, 1987, Showboat, Inc. opened the Showboat Atlantic City Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Showboat, Inc. also operated the Star Casino, the first riverboat gambling facility in Louisiana, from 1993 to 1995. Showboat, Inc. opened the Showboat Mardi Gras riverboat on Lake Michigan in East Chicago, Indiana in April 1997. On November 26, 1997, Showboat, Inc. opened the Star City riverboat in Darling Harbour in Pyrmont, South Wales, Australia at a cost of $1 billion. On April 23, 1998 Showboat, Inc. finalized a deal with Harrah's Entertainment to be purchased for $1.5 billion. Harrah’s Entertainment kept the New Jersey and Chicago locations but sold the Las Vegas property to VSS Enterprises in 2000. The property was renamed Castaways Hotel and Casino, and closed in January of 2004 after VSS Enterprises filed for bankruptcy. It was eventually sold to Station Casinos, Inc. and was demolished on January 11, 2006. The Showboat Hotel and Casino in New Jersey closed on August 31, 2014, but reopened as a hotel on July 08, 2016.
Sources:
“Harrah's in $519 Million Deal to Buy Showboat.”
“Castaways Was Imploded 13 Years Ago in Las Vegas”
“Shows to Start At Midnight at New Showboat.”
Preferred Citation
UNLV Libraries Collection of Showboat, Inc. Promotional Materials and Financial Reports, 1968-2002. MS-00983. 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 2019-114.
Processing Note
In 2019, as part of an archival backlog elimination project, Miguel Dominguez, Autumn Bassett, Kyle Gagnon, and Joey Puentes compiled the materials from multiple sources that included subject files and previously cataloged material. Autumn Bassett wrote the finding aid.