Featured Articles Archive - Page 161

MGM advises shareholders to not vote for hedge fund candidates

LAS VEGAS -- MGM Resorts International told shareholders Friday not to vote for any of the board of director candidates offered by a New York hedge fund that suggested this week the casino company convert its land holdings into a real estate investment trust.In a preliminary proxy filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, MGM Resorts rejected the board candidates offered by Land and Buildings Investment Management, which owns less than 1 percent of the company’s outstanding stock.Among the candidates offered was Land and Buildings founder Jonathan Litt, who said MGM Resorts could reduce its debt by $5 billion and increase its valuation through REIT conversion.MGM Resorts asked shareholders to approve its slate of 11 current board members, including company chairman and CEO Jim Murren...read more

Game on: Elaine Wynn files formal proxy to regain board seat

LAS VEGAS -- Ousted Wynn Resorts, Limited board member Elaine Wynn filed her formal paperwork to regain her position with the casino company Friday, but changed one item from the preliminary proxy that was released a day earlier.According to the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Wynn said former Gov...read more

Deal Me In: Your chances of busting are not as great as you think

Dear Mark: Your reference to splitting 10s in the last round of a tournament reminds me of my favorite casino story: Dice isn’t my game (I have only one game — 21) but once I stopped by a dice table to witness the last roll in a tournament...read more

IGT signs deal with $3.5 billion Baha Mar resort

Slot machine giant IGT - International Game Technology signed a deal with the $3.5 billion Baha Mar resort in the Bahamas to provide games to half of the casino’s slot machine floor.IGT will install more than 500 of the company’s slot machines and deploy its management system in the casino, which is set to open later this month.Terms of the deal were not announced.Baha Mar will have casino floor that is more than 100,000 square feet...read more

Filing: Elaine Wynn learned of board issue from ex-husband

LAS VEGAS -- Ousted Wynn Resorts, Limited board member Elaine Wynn said Thursday she first learned she was not being re-nominated to her position through phone conversations with her ex-husband, company chairman and CEO Steve Wynn.In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Elaine Wynn said “the tenor” of a January telephone call with Steve Wynn “led me to wonder” about being ousted from the board.Elaine Wynn has filed a proxy challenge and is asking company shareholders to re-elect her to the board...read more

Full House reports wider net loss, decline in revenue

LAS VEGAS -- Full House Resorts, Inc.’s first quarterly earnings report under new management saw an increased net loss and a decline in revenue, but officials with the Las Vegas-based company said it will take much of 2015 to change the casino operator’s direction.CEO Dan Lee, who has been on the job since December after leading a proxy challenge for control of the regional gaming company, told investors Tuesday that refinancing debt and boosting Full House’s stock price are the primary concerns.“We may be a tiny company and we may have a debt coming due shortly (but) we are actually financially relatively strong for a small company,” Lee said on a conference call with analysts and investors to discuss fourth-quarter and year-end results.“We want to refinance the debt...read more

Inside Gaming: New Orleans readies smoking ban, but it won't happen here

LAS VEGAS -- Caesars Entertainment Corporation can’t seem to catch a break.Next month, New Orleans will ban smoking in most public venues within Orleans Parish, including bars, hotels, sports stadiums and restaurants (where the activity has been curtailed since 2007).Harrah’s New Orleans Casino is also on the no-smoking list.Louisiana’s only land-based casino — and its second-largest gaming revenue producer — will soon become the state’s only smoke-free casino.And Caesars Entertainment isn’t too pleased.Last year, the ownership in Harrah’s New Orleans was transferred to Caesars Growth Partners and the casino is not a party in the bankruptcy reorganization covering Caesars Entertainment Operating Co...read more

Caesars says lawsuits raise 'going concern' doubts

LAS VEGAS -- Caesars Entertainment Corporation said in a securities filing late Monday the numerous lawsuits filed by bondholders over the bankruptcy restructuring of its largest operating division could “raise substantial doubt about (the company’s) ability to continue as a going concern.”In the company’s year-end filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Caesars said the numerous lawsuits are related to transactions the company has made with its Caesars Entertainment Operating Co., going back to 2010.Many of the claims against the CEOC “have been stayed” because the operating division was placed into a pre-packaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January in Chicago.“At the present time, we believe it is not probable that a material loss will result from the outcome of these matters,” Caesars told investors in the filing.However, Caesars said the lawsuit “could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.”The language was the first time that Caesars, which has a gaming industry high $22.8 billion in long term debt, has used the “going concern” language.Caesars said it believed the lawsuits “are without merit.” Most of the lawsuits involve second-tier noteholders who are challenging the bankruptcy and many of the steps Caesars took to restructure the business unit in the last few years.“The noteholder disputes are in their very preliminary stages and discovery has begun on the unsecured note lawsuits,” according to the filing.The restructuring of CEOC will reduce the division’s $18.4 billion debt load by almost $10 billion...read more

Hedge fund proposes REIT split for MGM Resorts

LAS VEGAS -- A New York hedge fund proposed Tuesday that MGM Resorts International convert its casinos and land holdings into a real estate investment trust, a move that would allow the Strip gaming giant to cut its debt by $5 billion and increase the company’s valuation.The move was proposed by Land and Buildings Investment Management, an investment firm headed by Jonathan Litt...read more

Corporate concerns cited in not renominating Elaine Wynn to board

LAS VEGAS -- Wynn Resorts, Limited said Monday it could be forced to repurchase a portion of its corporate debt under unfavorable terms if now-ousted board member Elaine Wynn prevails in her lawsuit over a shareholders agreement with her ex-husband, company Chairman and CEO Steve Wynn.In the filing of its definitive proxy materials with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Wynn Resorts said “a change in control provision” could be triggered if Elaine Wynn was allowed to “sell, gift or otherwise dispose” of some or all of her more than 9.5 million shares in Wynn Resorts.“There can be no assurance that the company will be able to refinance the senior notes on terms as favorable as currently exist,” Wynn Resorts said...read more