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Fitzgeralds Proving to be a Tough Sell

``…But for most of the rest of the year, the pending sale is never far from the minds of the operators of the Irish-themed resort, or, of course, its owners.

``Fitzgeralds, located at the base of the famous Reno arch on Virginia Street downtown, has been for sale since December of 2000. That was when its owner, Las Vegas-based Fitzgeralds Gaming Corp., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and put its four casinos on the block.

``They found a buyer for three of them — the Fitzgeralds properties in downtown Las Vegas; Tunica, Miss. and Black Hawk, Colo.

``Majestic Investor LLC, an affiliate of Majestic Star Casino of Gary, Ind., bought the package for $149 million in cash, along with the assumption of certain liabilities.

``Fitzgeralds Reno was never on the table for Majestic, though. The company said its return on investment opportunities were low, the threat of northern California Indian gaming too high, and the planned railroad trench project (right next to the casino) too risky.

``In the meantime, said Steve Trounday, Fitzgeralds Reno's director of marketing, there have been plenty of potential buyers in to kick the tires, but nobody to actually ink a deal.

``…But now, with construction under way on the trench, revenues down across the board for downtown Reno casinos, the country mired in recession and war imminent, market watchers say a sale seems more remote than ever.

``…To make matters worse, Fitzgeralds earlier this month lost a federal lawsuit which alleged that the trench project's environmental impact study was inadequate. The company may appeal…"

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