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Gaming Briefs for April 9, 2001

New Orleans -- Harrah's New Orleans Casino wants to keep a tract of land near the gambling hall that has been considered a prime site for a casino-owned hotel.

JCC Holding Co., which owns the casino, has asked a federal bankruptcy judge to dissolve its agreement to sell the land to the company that owns the nearby Wyndham New Orleans Hotel.

Judge Thomas Brahney has set a hearing for April 24.

In February 2000, JCC Holding agreed to sell the 30,000-square-foot parcel to Wyndham International of Dallas for $6.5 million. The sale was never completed. Wyndham had planned to develop 300 rooms on the site.

Officials at Wyndham International declined comment on the casino's move.

The casino's ability to develop its hotel was limited until the Legislature approved a package of concessions last month that included a tax cut. Previously, the casino could own its own hotel, but was forbidden to offer discounted rooms to gamblers.

Now, the casino can have its own discount hotel with a maximum of 450 room. JCC Holding chief executive Fred Burford has said the company would want to operate its own hotel within two blocks of the casino.

S&P downgrades credit ratings

Standard & Poor's downgraded Aladdin Gaming Holding's credit ratings Thursday, just days after a similar downgrade by Moody's Investors Service.

S&P lowered the Aladdin's corporate credit rating from triple-C-plus to triple-C-minus, and its senior unsecured debt rating from triple-C-minus to double-C. The rating on the Aladdin's publicly traded senior discount notes was lowered from triple-C-minus to double-C.

The outlook is negative, raising the possibility that S&P will announce further downgrades in the future. Last week, the Aladdin reported it may not be able to service its debt later this year.

The S&P report cites the Aladdin's weak operating performance over its first 136 days of operations. While noting London Clubs International and the Sommer Trust invested $12 million in the project in the first quarter, "it is unclear whether the equity holders will continue to support the resort if operating performance fails to improve in the near term," S&P analyst Craig Parmelee wrote.

"Aladdin continues to face significant operating risks and has a very tight liquidity position," Parmelee wrote. "Ratings could be further lowered if internally generated cash flow appears insufficient to achieve modest coverage of debt service requirements."

The triple-C-minus and double-C ratings are at the lower end of what is considered "junk bond" range.

Extension signed with GES

GES Exposition Services Inc. of Phoenix announced it has extended its contract with the World Gaming Congress to 2005.

GES is the official general services contractor for the Las Vegas-based trade show, owned by GEM Communications. GES also announced it has signed a four-year contract to provide general contracting services to GEM's Bingo World Show, starting in 2002.

The World Gaming Congress is moving from its traditional home at the Las Vegas Convention Center, and will be held this October at the Sands Convention Center. The show will feature more than 200,000 square feet of convention space.

Magazine shifts to quarterly

Casino Executive magazine has been converted from a monthly to a quarterly publication, as part of an effort to reposition it as a more in-depth, research-driven publication.

Renamed "Casino Executive Reports," the magazine will release its next edition in June. Editions will now contain more in-depth, technically oriented feature pieces, surveys and research data.

"We wanted to create a dynamic research magazine with information that will be useful today, and formatted in such a way that the publication will become a research tool that our readers will save and can refer back to at will," said Jamie McKee, the magazine's editor.

Casino Executive, formerly published by Casino Journal Publishing Group, was one of several magazines acquired by GEM Communications from Casino Journal earlier this year.

LV company may be upgraded

Standard & Poor's placed Alliance Gaming Corp. of Las Vegas on CreditWatch Wednesday with positive implications.

The move potentially affects $330 million in Alliance debt. Alliance currently carries corporate credit and senior secured bank loan ratings of B, and a subordinated debt rating of CCC+. All are considered "junk bond" status.

S&P's report cited the company's stronger-than-expected operating results for the first half of the fiscal year, and from the agency's "expectation that management continues to take substantial positive steps in its efforts to reverse negative operating trends" over the last two fiscal years.

Alliance's placement on CreditWatch does not affect its current ratings, but the move is the first step in a ratings upgrade.

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