Lakeside Hotel & Casino in Osceola will soon have new owners after Iowa gambling regulators approved the change during a meeting last week, as seen and heard on Radio Iowa.

The sale, which according to Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission administrator Brian Ohorilko, involved a company that was already active in the Iowa casino, is near completion. Ohorilko said, “The private equity company Z Capital had previously owned about 40 percent of the company. There was a transaction announced a few months back where Z Cap would be purchasing all of the shares,” according to the report.

Investors in the Las Vegas-based Affinity Gaming LLC, which in addition to Lakeside owns eleven casinos in four states throughout the U.S., purchased the outstanding shares. According to Ohorilko, while part of the casino is already owned by Z Capital, the acquisition required a review by the Racing and Gaming Commission. He said the purchase resulted in a new ownership group, which passed the gaming commission background checks to enable the transition.

According to reports, Ohorilko said that he doesn’t anticipate any material changes, and, “They have committed to try and spruce that property up a little bit — so it is good news anytime there is discussion about putting capital expenditures into one of the Iowa properties.” He added that the sale has already been approved by regulators in Colorado and Missouri and that the company expects to receive the nod from regulators in Nevada this week. Ohorilko said, “Within the next few weeks, I would anticipate that it would become official,” according to the report.

Affinity Gaming LLC was established in 1987 as a slot services firm prior to opening its first casino a decade later.

In addition to the Lakeside Hotel and Casino in Osceola, the company currently operates Missouri’s St Jo Frontier Casino and Mark Twain Casino and its Nevada properties include the Silver Sevens Hotel and Casino, formerly Terrible’s Hotel and Casino; Whiskey Pete’s Hotel and Casino, Primm Valley Resort and Casino, Rail City Casino; and its largest, Buffalo Bill’s Resort and Casino, in Sparks. The company’s three Colorado properties are located in the town of Blackhawk and include the Golden Gulch, Golden Gates, and Mardi Gras casinos.