ATLANTIC CITY - William J. Yung III nearly passed on bidding for Aztar Corp., the former owner of the Tropicana casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas, when the company went on the block last spring.

The president and chief executive officer of Columbia-Sussex Corp. said his marketing chief, Fred Buro, persuaded him to visit the gambling resort and to make an offer.

'I hadn't been in Atlantic City in two or three years and hadn't seen how it had cleaned up,' Yung said in a recent interview from his Fort Mitchell, Ky., office. 'It is a much more attractive and competitive environment than before.' Read more