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IN BUSINESS GAMING COMPANY GETS OK FOR PLAN TO OPERATE MESQUITE CASINOS By Richard N. Velotta senior staff writer The state Gaming Control Board has recommended the licensing of a new company to oversee Randy Black’s bankrupt Mesquite casino holdings: CasaBlanca, Virgin River and Oasis. The unanimous recommendation for Mesquite Gaming LLC to operate the properties will be considered for final approval by the Nevada Gaming Commission July 28. Under the company’s plans, reviewed earlier by US Bankruptcy Court and Wednesday by the Control Board, Black would continue to be the face of the company as chief operations officer and maintain a 10 percent ownership stake. Investment company Newport Global Advisors LP of Woodlands, TX, would hold 40 percent of the company. Black’s business partner, Anthony Toti, who serves as CEO of the new company, would own 25 percent, and South Point owner Michael Gaughan’s family would own 25 percent and operate the Mesquite casinos’ sports books. The Control Board has recommended licensing of five board managers for Mesquite Gaming, including Black, Toti, Timothy Janszen and Ryan Langdon for Newport Global and Katherine Banuelos for the Gaughan family. SUCCESS OF EDC MITIGATED LOSS OF TWO BASKETBALL EVENTS LVCVA, FROM PAGE 11 Chairman Tom Collins, a Clark County commissioner. “The participants were the most polite young kids that I’ve ever been around.” Christenson said authority staff is still 7:30 evaluating the economic impact of the June 24-26 event, which is considered the largest music show in state history. He said his associates have discussed developing an electronic music conference in conjunction with the event and having related events in the city. Others discussed showing off the success of the event and inviting other musical genres to stage festivals here. Board member Tom Jenkin, a Caesars Entertainment executive, said room rates and occupancy rose and guests were well-behaved. Christenson said the success of the event partially mitigated the city’s loss of the USA Basketball Showcase and the National Basketball Association Summer League this year. The basketball events were canceled because of the NBA lockout that began July 1 after the league failed to agree on a labor deal with its players union. In other business, the board approved spending $260,000 to market La Cumbre, a major conference directed at attracting Latin American tourists. Cathy Tull, senior vice president of marketing, also reported that the National Auto Dealers Association signed a six-show contract with the city from 2016 to 2026. The event, which draws 20,000 participants to Las Vegas and has had a nongaming economic impact of $21 million in past years, is conducted every other year. Last week’s meeting was the first for several members who were sworn in for new terms in what is believed to have been the largest board turnover in its history. Joining were Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman and Councilman Steve Ross, replacing former Mayor Oscar Goodman and Councilman Gary Reese; North Las Vegas Mayor Shari Buck, replacing former Councilman William Robinson; and Henderson Mayor Andy Hafen, replacing Councilman Steve Kirk. Boulder City Councilman Cam Walker retained his seat. PRICES EXPECTED TO CONTINUE DROP THROUGH END OF THE YEAR Prices are expected to continue falling HOME SALES, FROM PAGE 11 homes in Southern Nevada using the Realtor-based MLS. Non-Realtor transactions are released later in the month by local research firms. Foreclosures continue to drive the market, with the GLVAR reporting 47.2 percent of existing-homes sales in June being bank-owned properties, up from 43.8 percent in May. In a sign that investor activity remains strong, about 50 percent of homes sold in June were purchased with cash, down from 51.4 percent in May. 12 until Las Vegas works its way through its supply of foreclosure inventory, and there’s no sign of that happening yet. California-based Clear Capital released its market report July 8 that forecasts the price drop will slow in Las Vegas in the second half of the year. It predicts a 2.4 percent decline in Las Vegas prices between July and December compared with a 6.1 percent drop between January and June. The 2.4 percent decline is the same as the forecast for the nation as a whole. | 18 JULY 2011 |