In 1940, the Cyrill E. Anderson family of Gunnison bought the theater and in the 1950s put up the triangular marquee that remained on the building until the current restoration began.

The Andersons continued to operate the Star until 1973, although it became less profitable as the years passed as it faced competition from TV movies, videos and DVDs.

The Mowers sold the building in November 2004 to the Casino Star Theatre Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to restoring the rather dilapidated structure to its original splendor.

In the late 1980s, before Larson sold the property to Mower, Diana Major Spencer and Lori Nay founded the non-profit organization Save Our Star ("SOS") and tried to purchase and rehabilitate the theater.

When Mower put the theater on the market in 2004, Nay and Spencer formed the 501(c)(3) Casino Star Theatre Foundation to finance the building's purchase and repair.