Suit seeks class-action status, alleges ventilation system inadequate
Thursday, July 23, 2009
A proposed class-action lawsuit was filed in Las Vegas Wednesday against Harrah's Entertainment Inc. and Caesars Palace, alleging Caesars isn't doing enough to protect casino workers from second-hand tobacco smoke.
At least two parties have a serious interest in investing in the bankrupt, 70-percent complete Fontainebleau casino resort in Las Vegas, Fontainebleau has disclosed.
A federal judge has dismissed a massive proposed class-action lawsuit against Station Casinos Inc. alleging current and former Station employees are owed wages for unpaid hours they claimed to have worked. But within days of the dismissal, the proposed class-action lawsuit was refiled, this time in Clark County District Court. In dismissing the lawsuit July 16, U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks cited a little-known jurisdictional rule for class-action lawsuits.
Hearing set for August could still result in transfer to Las Vegas
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Subcontractors for the bankrupt Fontainebleau development in Las Vegas have lost Round One in their bid to move the case from Miami to Las Vegas, but will have another chance to press their arguments next month.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge A. Jay Cristol in Miami on Wednesday rejected the subcontractors' argument that the case can be more efficiently handled in Las Vegas because most of the affected parties are based in Southern Nevada.
Second quarter earnings reports from four big operators of banks in Nevada illustrated the effects of the recession, with the companies writing off billions of dollars worth of bad loans nationwide.
Company says legal action could delay property renovations
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
The new owners of the Tropicana hotel-casino in Las Vegas moved Monday in two courts to assert their rights to use the "Tropicana" name without paying millions of dollars in licensing fees. In a lawsuit in Clark County District Court, and a filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, Tropicana Las Vegas said it was outrageous that it would have to pay a fee to use its own name. The case has far-reaching implications, Tropicana Las Vegas lawyers said.
Wynn Resorts Ltd. today confirmed it joined Las Vegas Sands Corp. in exploring a potential public stock offering in Hong Kong -- apparently to be backed by some of its assets in the Chinese gambling district of Macau.
Disputes between creditors and the bankrupt Rhodes Homes group of companies are headed to mediation after a hearing Friday in Las Vegas. Thirty-two related Rhodes companies filed for bankruptcy protection March 31. Blaming the economic downturn, the Rhodes companies said they were unable to meet a principal and interest payment due on a $500 million loan received in 2005 from a group of lenders led by Credit Suisse.
Fontainebleau Las Vegas is canceling numerous meetings and conventions scheduled there for the first half of 2010. The company also sought permission from the court to cancel employment contracts with several employees who left the company after last month's bankruptcy filing.
Foreclosure filings up more than 9 percent from May
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Home foreclosure filings accelerated in Nevada in June, suggesting further trouble for the state's real estate market. RealtyTrac, an Irvine, Calif., company that tracks foreclosure activity, today reported 8,726 notices of default were filed in Nevada in June. Total filings, including notices of default and notices of intent to auction, reached 18,764 in Nevada in June -- up 9.37 percent from May, RealtyTrac said.
A new issue emerged in the Fontainebleau Las Vegas bankruptcy case Tuesday when the resort's general contractor asserted it and the resort's subcontractors hold liens superior to those of the Fontainebleau lenders.
Another trademark dispute is brewing on the Las Vegas Strip, this one over the sale of “Palazzo” clothing items such as T-shirts at the Palazzo hotel-casino. Las Vegas Sands Corp.'s Palazzo hotel-casino sued Palazzo Design Corp. of Houston on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas.
A lawsuit was filed Tuesday over allegedly unpaid Fontainebleau construction costs, this one naming resort developer Jeffrey Soffer personally. Subcontractors claiming to be owed money by Turnberry West have been filing lawsuits in Clark County along with claims against a Turnberry West bonding company.
A dispute has erupted over rights to the trademark "XS" -- the name of a nightclub at Steve Wynn's Encore resort. Wynn Resorts Holdings LLC filed suit against NYLO Hotels of Atlanta after NYLO asserted rights to the trademark and offered to let Wynn pay a licensing fee for use of the XS name.
Bank holding company to use name of '1st Commerce Bank'
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Businessman Jason Ader and one of his investment companies today announced a plan to take over the Nevada branches of Colonial Bank as well as 1st Commerce Bank of North Las Vegas.
Construction superintendent claims he's not being paid under separation agreement terms
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Fontainebleau Las Vegas casino-resort builder Turnberry West Construction has not filed for bankruptcy protection -- but it's claiming to be protected from creditors anyway. That's what one Turnberry executive has told a creditor, according to documents in a newly filed lawsuit. Court papers show construction superintendent Carl Sheets was hired at a salary of $160,000 per year in March 2007 and left Turnberry West's employment in February 2009. Under the separation agreement, he was to be paid $4,394 biweekly for one year.
Downtown Las Vegas casino owner TLC Casino Enterprises has been sued by another group of landlords alleging it's behind on rent payments for its Four Queens hotel-casino.
Group notes how recession will alter company values
Monday, July 13, 2009
A new gaming industry analysis group issued its first public research today, with Las Vegas-based MGM Mirage and Bally Technologies among its top picks. Union Gaming Research, a subsidiary of Union Gaming Group of Las Vegas, announced today the formal launch of coverage on 17 gaming companies. Union said it will not use traditional ratings and price targets, focusing instead on client-specific information.
Even as Nevada's labor commissioner heard testimony this week in the long-running dispute over tip sharing at Wynn Las Vegas, attorneys for casino dealers pressed the issue in a different forum: federal court.
The owner of the Riviera hotel-casino in Las Vegas said today it missed another interest payment on its debt -- but continues to talk with its lender as it looks for a way out of its financial predicament.
Attorneys for the Fontainebleau Las Vegas resort leveled new allegations Wednesday against banks that terminated funding for the $2.9 billion hotel-casino, which now sits unfinished and in limbo while a bankruptcy court decides its fate.
Nevadans have been victimized by deceptive telemarketers claiming to be raising money for charities but keeping most of the money for themselves, the state charged in a lawsuit this week. The state, represented by Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto and Senior Deputy Attorney General Jo Ann Gibbs, sued Community Support Inc. (CSI) of Milwaukee in Clark County District Court.
Las Vegas among 10 riskiest areas in country for falling home prices
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Home prices in Las Vegas will almost certainly continue to fall through 2011, a new mortgage industry report shows. Las Vegas is among as many as 324 of the nation's 381 metro areas facing increased risk of lower home prices.
Bankruptcy court filing indicates Miami developer could add money to project
Monday, July 6, 2009
Developers of the idled Fontainebleau resort in Las Vegas are hinting at a couple of strategies to help get the project back on track -- and keep them in control of the development. In a filing Thursday in Miami's bankruptcy court, Fontainebleau Las Vegas Holdings LLC and affiliated companies revealed they are considering design changes to the $2.9 billion resort to contain its soaring construction costs. Lenders say they've been told by Fontainebleau the financing cost alone is approaching $3.175 billion.
Clark County has sued a local architectural firm, claiming errors and omissions on its part led to delays in construction of a project at McCarran International Airport. The county filed suit over problems with construction of the C Annex Security Checkpoint.
Crystals retail and dining area to open Dec. 3 at CityCenter
Monday, July 6, 2009
More big names in the upscale retail and restaurant worlds are joining the retail center at MGM Mirage's CityCenter on the Las Vegas Strip, MGM Mirage announced today. The retail and dining center, Crystals, will open Dec. 3 at the $8.5 billion CityCenter resort that includes gaming, hotel, entertainment and condominium components. A spokeswoman said Crystal isn't disclosing what percentage of the retail and dining space has been leased, but is pleased.
Banks say project's worth would be much less than financing costs
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Big banks have offered new evidence backing their refusal to further finance the Fontainebleau Resort in Las Vegas. The bottom line, they assert, is that the project doesn't make economic or business sense.
194 layoffs are on top of others announced in March
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
The Venetian and Palazzo hotel-casinos in Las Vegas have laid off 194 employees since Monday in response to the continuing economic downturn and the resulting drive to cut costs. "It's an effort to continue to right-size our business," Las Vegas Sands Corp. spokesman Ron Reese said, adding the layoffs affected a variety of positions in multiple departments at the adjacent resorts on the Las Vegas Strip. On March 27, Las Vegas Sands said 283 people had been laid off.
The Streamline Tower bankruptcy case is winding down, but disputes continue over canceled condominium-purchase contracts at the downtown property. About 40 buyers filed a lawsuit June 26 against Titleone of Las Vegas, which the buyers say is holding their deposit money.
With scores of empty storefronts, unoccupied office buildings and vacant warehouses, lawsuits continue to pile up over troubled commercial real estate projects in the Las Vegas Valley.
Index shows home price decline greater in Las Vegas than other cities
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Las Vegas home prices continued to fall through April at a rate far greater than most big cities -- but the pace of decline slowed both here and nationwide. That's according to debt rating agency Standard & Poor's, which today released its S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices covering 20 big U.S. markets. Housing analysts, however, have warned in recent weeks that further declines in home prices are likely as foreclosure activity remains strong.
An attorney suing Harrah's Entertainment Inc. on behalf of disgruntled bondholders has lost his law license after pleading guilty to felony charges -- and the case against Harrah's has been voluntarily dismissed.
The Las Vegas company that franchises the Purrfect Auto name is in the news again, this time because of a dispute with a franchisee. Last week, local media outlets reported Internal Revenue Service agents had served search warrants at multiple Purrfect Auto locations as part of a tax investigation.
Two homebuilders active in Las Vegas offered good-news, bad-news scenarios in their second-quarter financial reports. Still, reports were issued as new data showed continuing problems for homebuilders.
The lender, Canpartners Realty Holding Co. IV LLC, plans to press its case to immediately auction the Greek Isles during a hearing July 16. Greek Isles, with 202 hotel rooms and a small gaming operation, was forced into bankruptcy by other creditors April 6. A receiver appointed at the request of Canpartners has been running the property on Convention Center Drive between Las Vegas Boulevard and Paradise Road. Greek Isles, with 202 hotel rooms and a small gaming operation, was forced into bankruptcy by other creditors April 6.
One day after receiving a 6.9 percent rate hike in Southern Nevada, NV Energy was on Wall Street's radar Thursday because of the weak Nevada economy and the company's debt load.
The Reflection Bay golf course at Lake Las Vegas is scheduled to close June 30 and its employees will be laid off, Lake Las Vegas revealed in a recent court filing. With the earlier closure of the Falls golf course, this will leave just one operating course at the struggling high-end development in Henderson.
Be careful about comments you post on eBay, or you may end up in court. That was illustrated Wednesday when Nikki Foote of Henderson was sued over comments she allegedly posted charging that the Gucci handbag she purchased for $495 was a fake. The seller, Ruhanieh Badi’i of Austin, Texas, insists the bag is authentic and says the comments have hurt the eBay trading business that is the plaintiff’s livelihood.
Global Cash Access Holdings Inc. of Las Vegas said Wednesday it further distanced itself from two of the company's founders -- men sharply criticized by Arizona regulators who want to stop Global Cash from doing business in that state.
Real estate developments in Henderson and northern Las Vegas are among the latest to be hit with loan default notices -- and one has filed for bankruptcy. Henderson condominium developer Aspen Peak LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Lower room rates have helped, but condo sales stay low, experts say
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Skeptics have been suggesting for decades that Las Vegas has built more hotel rooms than can be filled, and still with every economic downturn, the Strip bounces back with remarkable occupancy rates, stoking even more construction.
Two more Fontainebleau subcontractors have sued the resort's general contractor, charging it has wrongly failed to pay them for their work on the Las Vegas resort.
An Arizona agency says Global Cash Access Inc. of Las Vegas can't be trusted as a casino vendor because it committed theft and fraud years ago -- and in recent years has lied to regulators about that scandal and other issues.
Company seeking to extend forbearance period until July 17
Monday, June 22, 2009
Las Vegas locals gaming leader Station Casinos Inc. today said it remains in talks on restructuring its debt. Since Feb. 3, the company has been in discussions with noteholders and lenders on a proposal in which they would make concessions and affiliates of the company's owners -- the Fertitta family and Colony Capital -- would invest another $244 million in the company. Since then, the lenders and noteholders have granted forbearance agreements in which they agreed not to take action against Station because of the company's decision not to make certain debt payments.
Attorneys for a group of Fontainebleau subcontractors are suggesting the resort filed for bankruptcy in Miami, rather than Las Vegas, in hopes of excluding small creditors from meaningful participation in the financial restructuring.
Two more Fontainebleau subcontractors have sued the resort's general contractor, charging it has wrongly failed to pay them for their work on the Las Vegas resort.