How it started
History
The company was created on December 31, 1998 as part of the merger between Grand Casinos and Hilton's gaming businesses to form Park Place Entertainment. Park Place acquired Grand's three riverboat casinos in Mississippi, while Grand's other businesses were spun off to Grand's shareholders as Lakes Gaming. Lakes's business at the time of its formation included the management of two Indian casinos in Louisiana (Grand Casino Avoyelles and Grand Casino Coushatta) and ownership of 10 acres (4.0 ha) of land on the Las Vegas Strip.
In 1999, Lakes struck a deal to buy the Rainforest Cafe chain for $108 million, but the agreement fell through after Landry's made a higher offer.
Lakes's management agreement at the Grand Casino Avoyelles was bought out in 2000, and its management agreement for the Grand Casino Coushatta expired in 2002. This left the company with no active operations, though it had plans to develop casinos with several tribes.
In 2002, Lakes launched the World Poker Tour (WPT). The company changed its name to Lakes Entertainment to reflect its involvement in the WPT and potentially other non-casino businesses. Lakes sold off a portion of the WPT through an initial public offering in 2004, but retained majority ownership. In 2008, Lakes spun off WPT, distributing its remaining shares to shareholders.
Lakes developed the Red Hawk Casino in Shingle Springs, California for the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, and managed the casino from its opening in 2008 until 2013.
From Wikipedia’s article on Lakes Entertainment, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2