Last week's announcement of the purchase of the Tropicana Hotel and Casino by Pinnacle Entertainment was premature. On Monday April, 3 Ameristar Corp said it offered about $1.5 billion in cash to acquire Aztar Corp., a Phoenix-based casino operator, trumping previous offers from Pinnacle Entertainment Inc.

Ameristar owns casinos in six States including Nevada but does not have any properties in Las Vegas or Atlantic City, NJ. Gaining control of both Tropicana properties would give them properties in those markets.

Ameristar said the deal is "clearly superior to Pinnacle's and Colony's," and the combined operations would form the fifth largest public owner and operator of gambling properties in the United States.