Jerry's Nugget owners get two more months to maintain control

1 July 2013

By Tim O'Reiley

LAS VEGAS -- The Stamis family, which has owned landmark locals casino Jerry’s Nugget for five decades, will get two more months in its effort to maintain control.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Mike Nakagawa on Friday turned down a request by lender U.S. Bank to submit a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization plan that would allow it to take control and sell Jerry’s to the highest bidder. The bank claims it is owed $4.3 million on a loan it made to Jerry’s bankruptcy filing last August.

Instead, Nakagawa will allow Jerry’s, at 1821 Las Vegas Blvd. North in North Las Vegas, until Aug. 30 to get court approval for its plan without any competition. After that, U.S. Bank could get the takeover opportunity it has sought for months.

At a Wednesday hearing, U.S. Bank described its tactic as a way to give creditors a choice of which deal they preferred. But attorneys for Jerry’s, backed by two unions, said a liquidation would create major regulatory headaches and lead to the casino’s closing.

“The record demonstrates that (Jerry’s is) making sufficient progress toward confirming a plan of reorganization,” Nakagawa wrote in his ruling.

Giving Jerry’s the extra time was a way to “strike a balance” between competing interests, he wrote.