The company began in 1983 as Hacienda Resorts, Inc., owner of the Hacienda Casino.[3]
Name Changes
The company was first renamed Santa Fe Corporation and later renamed again to the Sahara Gaming Corporation.[1] Sahara Gaming attempted to sell 40 acres (16 ha) of land to Players International in 1994. The deal fell through on February 7, 1995.[4]
Santa Fe Gaming
Santa Fe Valley was announced in 1994, and construction was expected to begin in July 1996. The start of construction was delayed several times because of poor financial quarters for Santa Fe Gaming and because of the company not yet receiving financing for the project. Site preparation started in July 1998, with an opening date scheduled for December 1999, but construction never began. In 1999, the property was sold to Station Casinos, which sold the land a year later for use as a shopping center.[5]
The company changed its name to Archon Corp. in May 2001.[7]
In March 2013, Boston-based private equity firm Esplanade Capital, Archon's second-largest shareholder, offered to buy the company for $101.5 million. Lowden dismissed the proposal as "not really a serious" offer.[8]
Chris Lowden, son of Paul and Sue Lowden, is currently being sued by investors for fraud and racketeering within the Stoney's Rockin' Country organization.[9] The Stoney's trademark is currently owned by Archon Corporation [10]