Ramada Separates Hotel and Casino Businesses, Establishing Aztar Corporation

In 1989, Ramada Inc. underwent a corporate restructuring that separated its hotel and restaurant operations from its casino gaming interests. The transaction followed years of diversification beyond the company's original roadside lodging business, which had been established in Arizona during the 1950s. Ramada's gaming assets were retained under Aztar Corporation, a newly established corporate identity associated with the former Ramada organisation. These interests included casino operations in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and other gaming markets. The restructuring created a distinction between Ramada's hospitality brands and its casino business, allowing the two activities to operate under separate corporate ownership structures. The separation was connected to the sale of Ramada's hotel and restaurant businesses to New World Development Company of Hong Kong for approximately $540 million in 1989. The hotel transaction transferred Ramada's lodging operations away from the corporation that retained its gaming interests and adopted the Aztar name. Aztar subsequently continued operating casino properties, including the Tropicana in Atlantic City, while the Ramada hotel brand developed under different ownership arrangements. The restructuring marked the end of Ramada Inc.'s combined hotel and gaming business structure and established separate corporate paths for its hospitality and casino operations.