same denomination of bills to be returned to the player. Dean Petersen died in November 1997, at the age of 63. The Westward Ho was put on sale that month. Dean Petersen's sister, Faye Johnson, continued to operate the Westward Ho. In February 1998, it was announced that the Westward Ho and its property would be purchased by Manhattan-based American Pastime West LLC. Johnson said, "This was an important and emotional decision after our family's longtime involvement with the growth of the gaming community in Las Vegas." The Westward Ho was one of the few Las Vegas hotel-casinos to be owned and operated by a local family. At the time of the sale, the Westward Ho had 650 employees, 777 rooms, a casino and a 900-seat showroom. Frank Zarro, the president of American Pastime, had no immediate plans for the Westward Ho, although he planned to eventually acquire or build a Las Vegas golf course that could potentially be integrated into the Westward Ho property. Up to that point, the Westward Ho had gained a repeat clientele of customers from the midwestern United States, and the casino was known for its low-limit table games in comparison to other casinos on the Las Vegas Strip. In 2003, Texas-based developer Tracy Suttles made a failed attempt to purchase the Westward Ho for $78 million. According to the Westward Ho, Suttles could not provide funding to close the deal, and escrow was terminated in September 2003. According to the Westward Ho, Suttles tried again to purchase the property in 2004, depositing $1 million but failing to make an additional payment of $2 million, after which escrow was terminated again following multiple extensions. Suttles said that he did have the $2 million, and that the Westward Ho agreed to loan him the shortfall, a claim to which the Westward Ho owners said there was no evidence. In June 2005, Suttles filed a lawsuit against Westward Ho Properties LLC, alleging that the owners of the hotel-casino chose not to proceed with his 2003 deal as part of an attempt to get more money for the property, which had increased in value since the time of the initial deal. The Westward Ho responded, "Since the prior deal in 2003 ... Suttles had represented that he had readily available equity and financing to consummate the purchase of the property. Yet it became clear that each of these