That sounds like a hell of a situation, but we wonder where your information comes from.
Affinity Gaming, formerly Herbst Gaming, acquired Primm Valley Casino Resorts from MGM Mirage for $400 million in 2007. Affinity categorically denies that any such thing is going on.
Chief Marketing Officer Vince Lentini told LVA that signage had not been taken down, although Affinity is repaving and repainting parking spots, and is remodeling rooms at Whiskey Pete's (with Primm Valley Resort next in line).
"Year to date," he said, "we haven't fired 150 employees … we've actually added employees, because we brought housekeeping in-house."
As for signing new contracts, the only employees Lentini says that applies to are the casino hosts, who are now being paid on a salary-plus-incentives basis. And the "dining room is still open." (LVA was even invited to visit it and have a meal there.)
One Affinity employee who spoke off the record also denied it. "That's not true at all," he/she said, "or I would have known about it."
Your question does remind us of some ominous remarks that plurality shareholder Z Capital Partners made when it announced, just last month, that it had reached an agreement to acquire all the outstanding shares of Affinity. Z Capital CEO James Zenni said, "We look forward to leveraging our broad expertise across the hospitality, restaurant, retail and consumer sectors to help Affinity continue to expand, while driving profitability through operating improvements and enhanced efficiencies."
From the sound of that, Z Capital will run Affinity with a heavy and meddlesome hand – and private equity funds have had a terrible track record in the casino industry.
