Station announces missed Bond payment $14.6M

[doublediamonddlx]

http://www.mesquitelocalnews.com/viewnews.php?newsid=2026&id=2

   
Station Casinos In Trouble

By Morris Workman 02-05-2009



For years, one of the most popular rumors in town has been the idea that the Station Casinos organization is on its way to Mesquite, with plans to open a new casino, or to buy out one or all of the Black Gaming casinos.

After Wednesday’s announcement, it appears those rumors are put to bed for good.

Like several other well-known casinos in Las Vegas, Station Casinos is on the brink of bankruptcy.

On Feb. 3, the Station Casinos announced that they are going to miss a bond payment of $14.6 million.

It’s similar to the tactic used by Black Gaming recently, which also missed a scheduled bond payment in January.

The difference is that Station Casinos may be destined for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as part of their plan to renegotiate the terms of that bond, according to a Securities Exchange Commission statement filed by the company on Feb. 3.

Another difference is the amount of debt.

Black Gaming, which owns the CasaBlanca, Virgin River, Oasis, and Mesquite Star properties, has a staggering total debt of approximately $200 million.

However, that’s pin money compared to the debt load maintained by Station Casinos.

According to the company’s SEC filing, Station Casinos has more than $2.3 billion in bonds.

The company owns and operates a large variety of casinos in Las Vegas, including Palace Station, Boulder Station, Santa Fe Station, Texas Station, Fiesta, Sunset Station, Gold Rush, and part ownership of Green Valley Ranch.

The Fertitta family also owns the UFC Ultimate Fighting organization which frequently features mixed martial arts fighting on pay-per-view.

Station Casinos is expected to negotiate with its bondholders on the missed payment to avoid a default, similar to Black Gaming’s negotiations with bondholders which helped the Mesquite casinos remain in business.
 

[whinkle]

This ought to be real interesting.  Station Casinos is supposed to be partnering with the Gun Lake Band of Potawatami Indians to open a casino In Bradley, MI which is about 5 minutes from where I live.  The just got past their last legal hurdle and are going to anounce a construction date soon.  Wonder what this is going to do to their plans.

[uniman]

Went to Green Valley Ranch last week of January on a Tuesday morning. Stopped at their outdoor shopping mall looking for someone to give directions to a post office. It was about 9:50am. No stores open, no one in sight. It was like being in The Twilight Zone!
Went into the casino and it was empty too.
I can't see how a huge place like this could ever survive.
Granted it was a Tuesday morning, but as empty as the casino was, couldn't have been hardly anyone staying there.