The saga may be coming to a conclusion. Las Vegas locals casino favorite, Station Casinos, filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection way back in July of 2009. Since then they, their creditors, and their competition have been in and out of the courts. At one point in time the presiding judge, Judge Gregg Zive, was very vocal about his opinion about how the proceedings were going, and how they were being drawn out. However, steps have been taken in the last few weeks of the summer that are leading to the end of the process, and hopefully, the beginning of a new era for the Station Casinos group.
The founders of the Station Casinos group, the Fertitta family, want to retain control of some of their most valuable casinos. However, the massive amounts of debt and the dismal economy in the United States has sucked the life out of their business. Once they filed for bankruptcy competitors moved in, namely Boyd Gaming. The wanted to buy the properties for the low auction prices but circumstances kept them from being a viable bidder.
A little more than a week ago Station Casinos got the go ahead from close to 90 percent of their creditors for the reorganization plan. This plan allows the Fertittas to retain some of their Station properties under the new holding company, Fertitta Gaming. Once they gained support from the creditors they had to gain approval from the courts.
At the end of August, Judge Gregg Zive gave his approval. Judge Zive has always maintained his position of wanting to find a “fair and equitable,” solution for Station Casinos. With so many of the creditors signing off on the reorganization plan, he felt that fairness could be achieved. He did say, though, that the plan for Station Casinos and the Fertitta family was complicated. However, it will help erase almost $4 billion in debt, and still allow the casino group to pay off what remains.
