The suits, filed in March by shareholders Robert Glasmann and Plumber Local Union No. 519 Pension Trust Fund, allege Aztar and its board of directors breached their fiduciary duties by not setting up an auction "or active market check" before contracting March 13 to be acquired by Las Vegas-based Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary, PNK Development 1 Inc. Aztar eventually paid Pinnacle $78 million to kill their $51-per-share merger deal and hook up with Columbia Entertainment.

Aztar's prize possessions are its Tropicana resorts in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. The 34-acre Tropicana resort in Las Vegas is viewed as one of the last big redevelopment opportunities on the Strip. The property is located at Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue. The aging resort is surrounded by the MGM Grand, Excalibur, Luxor, Monte Carlo and New York-New York mega-resorts.

In its most recent annual report, Aztar said it planned to raze the Tropicana, develop a billion-dollar resort on the north half of the site and sell the remainder into a joint venture. As tentatively envisioned, the north site would hold 2,725 hotel rooms and suites; 200,000 sf of dining, entertainment and retail facilities; a 100,000-sf casino; a 3,800-car parking garage; and a four-acre rooftop pool recreation deck overlooking the Strip.

Columbia Sussex president William Yung has said the company has no intentions of tearing down the Tropicana any time soon, in part because it fills a key mid-market niche that is being eaten away by redevelopment. The more likely scenario will be an addition to the property that could require partial demolition of one or two existing structures.