It probably belongs to any of the army of lawyers toiling for Station Casinos … or for co-owner Colony Capital … or for individual board members, including director Dr. James Nave. The latter — who used to serve on the Nevada State Athletic Commission alongside Lorenzo Fertitta — was charged with heading up the evaluation the Fertitta Brothers‘ and Colony’s offer. (Ironically, had Nave green-lit the $82/share Fertitta offer his detractors said was too low, Station would have be in better financial shape today.) The rest is history — and a veritable mother lode of legal fees.
Amongst the thicket of law firms — some of whose members are racking up as much as $995/hour — is Washington, D.C. heavyweight Greenberg Traurig (former employer of über-felon “Casino Jack” Abramoff, although the firm would rather we forgot that). Unfortunately for Station’s unsecured creditors, Greenberg Traurig has thrown one air ball after another in its $600K worth of pleadings to presiding judge Gregg Zive. Station’s own lawyers, however, may be fleecing their client to the tune of thousands of dollars in hotel billings which are then charged back to Station. In a case so convoluted it’s taking on Enron-like impenetrability, Station is even footing the legal bill for some of its debtors. No wonder that even lawyers find it a baffling situation.
Station’s lead firm, Milbank, stands to make the most money off the company’s mess, having already rung up a nearly $5 million tab in restructuring assistance prior to the bankruptcy filing. The company’s business methods and even its LBO have demonstrated a lack of fiscal restraint, and that proud tradition continues into the bankruptcy hearings.
Rambis. Local theatre continues to be one of the true “bargain plays” (pun unintended) in Vegas. Insurgo Theater Movement‘s premiere of Rambis is no exception. Two chances remain to see what may be the first play ever written about — among other things — Nevada Palace, arguably the grindiest grind joint ever.
I stopped in Nevada Palace with one of my friends after we went to a UNLV football game out at Sam Boyd Stadium back in the 1990’s when I lived in Las Vegas. Since we both had bets on college football games that day we headed over to the Sportsbook to check the scores. Lo and behold we found the Sportsbook in a corner of the casino near a doorway: one TV, three desks to sit at (they reminded me of the school desks I had in junior high school back in the 1970’s) and the ticket writer behind something that looked like it belonged at a flea market. I tend to agree, the Nevada Palace was one of the dumpiest and seediest casinos in Las Vegas and now its gone. RIP Nevada Palace.
Is it any surprise that in a town full of dead and dying casinos, the only ones getting fat are the vultures?
Don’t worry, Vegas. There will still be the need for a gas station, a convenience store, and a cheap motel (maybe even a Dairy Queen) to serve motorists driving from California, through the wastelands, to Salt Lake City or Denver. Think: Beatty. Without the blissful ambiance.
O’Sheas is a funny property, under Park Place it was underutiized but clean. Under Harrahs, it seems to be chugging along, but it’s a mess inside, like a low budget Casino Royale. The stench of alchohol and puke permeates the place, but it seems to work for the crowd, as it’s night and day compared to when Park Place owned it.
Question: How long must someone play a 25 cent 9/6 video poker (99% expected value) machine, at, say, 2 hands a minute to pay for one hour of a partner at Greenburg Traurig?