If so, maybe now’s your time– IF you have the scratch!
With Las Vegas continuing to face a stiff economic recession – primarily based on a sharply declining gambling economy where fewer players are wagering less money and staggering, near nation-leading unemployment – it’s significantly reduced a majority of Las Vegas-based company revenues and their ability to refinance their debt.
Caught up in the financial maelstrom are Station Casinos owners, and brothers, Frank Fertitta III and Lorenzo Fertitta. Station, which mainly runs casinos targeted toward residents of the Las Vegas area and has been struggling with managing debt ever since it finished going private in November 2007, are now embarked on a quick mission to sell their 14 casinos in Las Vegas while keeping a minority 46 percent stake in four others.
Their plan was disclosed last Thursday in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing by the Las Vegas-based casino operator calls for mortgage lenders holding debt to become the new majority owners of the Red Rock Casino Resort Spa, Palace Station, Boulder Station and Sunset Station. Station Casinos Inc. said the outstanding debt secured by the four casinos was $1.8 billion.
Palace Station and Red Rock are the company’s two largest properties, with more than 1,800 hotel rooms combined.
Station said the reorganization plan was filed with a federal bankruptcy court in Reno, Nev., where the privately held company’s case was originally filed last July.
Under the new proposed plan, the Fertitta brothers will pay $85.6 million in cash for a 50 percent stake in the four casinos, and then sell a 4 percent share to Colony Capital LLC.
The Fertittas would continue to manage the properties under a long-term deal, according to the plan.
The casinos to be sold include Santa Fe Station, Texas Station, Fiesta casinos in two Las Vegas suburbs, and 50 percent stakes in Green Valley Ranch Resort Spa Casino and Aliante Station, among other properties. Seven of the properties do not have hotel rooms.
The company said it hopes a judge will approve its plan by this summer so the casino operator can emerge from bankruptcy before the end of the year.
Marc Falcone, chief financial officer for Fertitta Gaming, said the Fertittas would also try to buy the assets to be sold.
As would be expected, rivals backed with significant financial resources are entering the Las Vegas casino feeding frenzy, aggressively pursuing the acquisition of the diminished valued assets.
One such rival, Las Vegas-based Boyd Gaming Corporation, reiterated its interest in buying all of Station’s casinos.
He pleaded not guilty on May 29 in Las Vegas; his trial is scheduled for November 16.
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