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Delaware North Companies Acquiring the Jumer's Casino & Hotel
Located in Rock Island, Ill., for $180 million

 
ROCK ISLAND, Ill., Sept. 9, 2010 -  Delaware North Companies, a global hospitality company that owns and operates several U.S. casinos and gaming venues, the Jumer family and Jumer's Casino officials today announced that Delaware North is acquiring the Jumer's Casino & Hotel located in Rock Island, Ill., for $180 million. The agreement is subject to general conditions, including the approval of the Illinois Gaming Board.

Since opening in December 2008, Jumer's Casino & Hotel has become a premier casino resort in Illinois' Quad Cities market and remains one of the leading destination casinos in the Midwest. Jumer's has been privately owned by the D. James Jumer Trust and operated by The Rock Island Boatworks, Inc.

Jumer's features a Las Vegas-style casino that features an art-moderne design. It offers more than 1,100 slots and 24 table games, as well as a live poker room, high-limit slot area and a VIP lounge. Amenities include a 205-room hotel with an indoor pool and fitness center, salon and day spa, events center with meeting rooms for up to 600 people, four restaurants, a nightclub, a sports bar and lakeside fire pit.

"This casino resort was the vision of the Jumer family. The family has great pride in the property and it has done a wonderful job overseeing its evolution over the last two years. Jumer's Casino & Hotel has everything we look for in a gaming destination and will be an excellent addition to our expanding portfolio of gaming assets," said William Bissett, president of Delaware North Companies Gaming & Entertainment. 

Ron Wicks, president and CEO of Jumer's commented, "Our strong performance in a difficult economic environment underscores the strength of our casino product offering and quality management team. These two factors are the reason that the Jumer's property is the market leader in the Quad Cities region."

Delaware North owns and operates several gaming and entertainment venues in New York, Florida, Arkansas and West Virginia. In addition, its Gaming Hospitality Group provides hospitality and food service at the Choctaw Casino Resort in Oklahoma.

Bissett said Delaware North will integrate its core business systems and processes, such as its highly regarded customer service program, GuestPath®, and its environmental management program, GreenPath®, into the operation. He said Delaware North will also explore opportunities to enhance the marketing of the venue in the region.

"We are hopeful to close the transaction before the end of the year and look forward to coordinating with the city of Rock Island to continue to promote Jumer's Casino & Hotel as an exciting entertainment destination. We look forward to a smooth transition over the next few months," Bissett said.

About Jumer's Casino & Hotel

Jumer's began operation in Rock Island, Ill., in March 1992 at the foot of 18th Street in downtown Rock Island. It was one of the first riverboat casino operations in Illinois. It operated as Jumer's Casino Rock Island from March 1992 until the operation moved to its current location at the intersection of I-280 and Hwy 92 in Rock Island in December 2008. Jumer's constructed a new casino/hotel complex and renamed the operations Jumer's Casino & Hotel.
 

"Built on Tradition" (http://www.jumerscri.com)

During the 1950�s D. James Jumer was a successful franchisee and corporate officer of Chicken Delight Restaurants in Detroit, Michigan and Washington, D.C. In addition, he had successfully developed an exclusive restaurant and club in the Costa del Sol of Spain. Originally from Duluth Minnesota, Mr. Jumer became eager to return to his Midwest roots. So, in 1960, he acquired Kramer�s Restaurant in Peoria, Illinois, having selected this community due to its thriving business and energetic pace. He successfully converted and expanded Kramer�s into the Jumer�s Castle Lodge, Peoria, Illinois.

Later hotel business expanded to include Jumer�s Castle Lodge, Bettendorf, Iowa, built in 1973; the Castle Lodge of Urbana, Illinois; and in 1988, the Jumer�s Chateau opened in Bloomington, Illinois. A former Sheraton Hotel in Galesburg, Illinois was acquired in 1982 and was renovated to become Jumer�s Continental Inn. 

1n 1988, Mr. Jumer, now with a successful chain of hotels in operation, expanded his business ventures by constructing The Peoria Boatworks Complex. This unique entertainment complex featured the Spirit of Peoria, an excursion boat with restaurant facilities seating over 400. That operated daily excursions along the Illinois River. The excursion boat was complemented by two permanently moored tug boats. One vessel was the Katie Hooper. This tug boat was converted into a restaurant and the second tug, the Belle Reynolds, was converted to a nautical museum. This development greatly enhanced the Peoria waterfront and was strongly endorsed by the City Council and the citizens of Peoria. A year later in 1989, the state of Iowa became the first state in the union to allow riverboat casino gaming. This precipitated the state of Illinois to pass similar legislation and provided the opportunity for Mr. Jumer to begin a new career in casino gaming.

Riverboat gaming became operational on April 1, 1991 in the Quad Cities. The cities of Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa were the first communities to offer this new entertainment experience. One year later, in March of 1992, the Rock Island Boatworks, featuring the Casino Rock Island, began its gaming cruises.

The Rock Island Boatworks borrowed its facilities concept from the successful Peoria Boatworks Complex. Located in Rock Island, Illinois, the Boatworks was a series of four connected individual floating vessels. They were the Casino Rock Island Riverboat Casino, the Ockerson, the T.G. Gerow and the Effie Afton Tugboat. The last three vessels were all permanently moored. The Casino Rock Island Riverboat and the Ockerson were utilized as a casino. The T.G.Gerow housed the primary Administrative Offices and the Effie Afton Tugboat was a restaurant for the project. 

Casino Rock Island had a dramatic impact on the City of Rock Island. The Jumer operation made a concerted effort to work with the businesses in the local community, and from that, the downtown Rock Island business area became �The Rock Island Arts and Entertainment District.� The District currently, is an alive, vibrant place to enjoy night life as well as additional retailing opportunities which are available during the day. There was approximately 70 new or expanded businesses in downtown Rock Island since the Casino Rock Island opened for business in March of 1992.

During the mid to late �90�s, Casino Rock Island was challenged to survive in a competitive gaming market due to many regulatory conditions, most notably, the lack of dockside gaming. However, once Illinois passed dockside gaming, Casino Rock Island was once again back on track and looking to its future and the possibility of expanding its casino operation.

On December 1, 2008, Jumer�s opened a new facility and re-branded itself, Jumer�s Casino & Hotel. The all new, state-of-the-art development features a 43,000 one level casino floor; a 205 room hotel with 11 luxury suites; an events center; the Edje nightclub; and four restaurants, the Top Hat Deli, the Lakeside Café, the Player�s Buffet and DJ�s Steakhouse, named after our founder, D. James Jumer.

About Delaware North Companies
Delaware North Companies is one of the world's leading hospitality and food service companies. Its family of companies includes Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts, Delaware North Companies Gaming & Entertainment, Delaware North Companies Travel Hospitality Services, Delaware North Companies Sportservice, Delaware North Companies International and Delaware North Companies Boston, owner of TD Garden. Delaware North Companies is one of the largest and most admired privately held companies in the world with revenues exceeding $2 billion annually and 50,000 associates serving half a billion customers in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. For more information, visit www.DelawareNorth.com

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Contact: 

Delaware North Companies
http://www.delawarenorth.com

 

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Also See: Delaware North Acquires Yellowstone Park Hotel and the Gray Wolf Inn & Suites in West Yellowstone, Montana / May 2010
Delaware North Companies Bucks Lodging Downturn; Outperforms the Lodging Market, Acquires Properties in 2010 / February 2010
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