Las Vegas developer buys riverboat casino

The sale of Diamond Jo Casino was announced Saturday evening by the gambling boat's owners, the Greater Dubuque Riverboat Entertainment Co. and Harbor Community Investment.

Shareholders voted on the agreement Friday night. 94 percent voted for approval.

The buyer, AB Capital of Los Angeles, agreed to purchase the Diamond Jo and its equipment, the Portside Building and its restaurants and equipment and more than nine acres of land.

"We are very enthused about working with the city of Dubuque," said Michael Luzich, a Las Vegas-based gaming developer and a major shareholder in AB Capital.

As part of the sales agreement, all employees will keep their salaries and benefits.

This is Luzich's second attempt to buy the casino. Last year, Cambridge Iowa Gaming Co. -- of which Luzich was president -- tried to buy the Diamond Jo for $60 million.

That deal never made it from a letter of intent to a purchase agreement. This time, a purchase agreement already has been approved.

"That's a big step," said Jim Rix, the chief operating officer and general manager of the Greater Dubuque Riverboat Entertainment Co.

The purchase agreement is scheduled to go before the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission when it meets in Des Moines on Thursday.

If all goes as planned, Rix said AB Capital could be the owners of the riverboat by June.

Luzich said the new owners of the Diamond Jo would like to add a hotel, meeting rooms and restaurants. Early plans call for a hotel of at least 150 rooms, he said.

Rix said the Diamond Jo's current owners negotiated with more than a dozen large casino companies over the past year.

"AB Capital was the best company to satisfy our three main criteria for any possible sale: commitment to work with the community on future development in the Ice Harbor, retention of our employees and their benefits and fair market value to our shareholders," Rix said.

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