Ameristar Casino executive board chairman Ray Neilsen will resign his position May 5, the company announced Tuesday.

Neilsen, the son of Ameristar founder Craig H. Neilsen, has held a number of management positions since signing on in 1991 with the company’s original properties at Jackpot, Nev. The elder Neilsen, who suffered a spinal cord injury in an automobile wreck in 1985, died in 2006.

“It is now time for me to shift my attention to The Craig H. Neilsen Foundation established by my father and significantly expand my work on its programs focused on spinal cord injury scientific research, quality-of-life for SCI patients and adult literacy and education,” Ray Neilsen said in a prepared statement. “I am looking forward to a new chapter in my life, and I know I am leaving the company in the hands of talented and capable people.”

Along with its Vicksburg casino, which was opened in February 1994, Ameristar operates casinos in the St. Louis area, East Chicago, Kansas City, Omaha, Denver and Jackpot.

On Feb. 28, Ameristar’s parent company announced its agreement to purchase about 26 million shares of common stock held by the estate of Craig H. Neilsen. The move ended questions about the possible sale of the company that had been floated since 2010.

The $457.6 million transaction, at $17.50 per share, will be financed by $2.1 billion in debt financing, according to the company’s statement. The borrowing also will be used to refinance about $1.5 billion in existing debt and provide additional working capital.

“The Company has never been more successful than it is today,” Gordon R. Kanofsky, Ameristar’s chief executive officer said in a statement Tuesday. “Ameristar owes much to Ray and his family, who over the last 45 years helped transform two small casinos in Jackpot, Nevada, into a leading Las Vegas-based gaming and entertainment company. Ray’s knowledge and insight of the gaming industry and his passion for Ameristar invaluably contributed to our success. We will deeply miss him and wish him well.”

Ray Neilsen at one time was senior vice president and general manager of the Vicksburg operation, where he spearheaded a growth project that included the permanent dry-docking of the casino to facilitate its expansion from 44,500 to 70,000 square feet, a 1,000-space parking garage and additional food and beverage outlets.

He was later named corporate vice president of operations and special projects before being promoted to co-chairman and then chairman of the Board. Ray Neilsen also led Ameristar Council Bluffs to become the first riverboat casino-hotel property to earn the American Automobile Association’s prestigious Four Diamond Award and

Founded in 1954, Ameristar has been a public company since November 1993.