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IN BUSINESS HEALTH CARE MALPRACTICE CASES AGAINST HENDERSON DOCTOR WILL BE HEARD BY REGULATORS By Steve Green senior staff writer A Henderson doctor linked by medical authorities to the deaths of eight patients after prescribing them narcotics may soon have four malpractice complaints adjudicated by state regulators. After twice unsuccessfully suing the Board of Medical Examiners of the State of Nevada in 2010 and this year over its November 2008 suspension of his authority to prescribe controlled substances, Dr. Kevin Buckwalter and the board are finally on track for a hearing on the board's four malpractice cases against him. The proceedings before a board hearing officer could begin within a few months, said Jacob Hafter, one of Buckwalter's attorneys. THE ECONOMY BANKRUPT GOLF CLUB TRIES TO BOOST MEMBERS By Steve Green senior staff writer With its lender agitating for improvements, the bankrupt Spanish Trail Country Club golf course has announced an initiative to retain and attract members. Spanish Trail, which has a well- regarded Robert Trent Jones Jr.- designed 27-hole course and associated amenities, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization August 24 to block takeover and foreclosure attempts by its mortgage holder. The course has said it expects to remain cash-flow positive through the bankruptcy process and Bankruptcy THE ECONOMY MOODY'S LOWERS RATING FOR STRATOSPHERE OWNER By Steve Green senior staff writer With the casino market still struggling with extra capacity and the economic downturn, Moody's Investors Service lowered one of its ratings for the owner of the Stratosphere. Moody's changed its Speculative Grade Liquidity rating for American Casino & Entertainment Properties LLC to SGL-3 from SGL-2. The company's B3 Corporate Family Rating, B3 Probability of Default Rating and B3 senior secured note ratings were affirmed. The outlook remains negative, Moody's said. In lowering the liquidity rating, Moody's said this reflects a reduction in American Casino's cash balance and the company's lack of a revolving credit facility that could provide liquidity. The lower cash balance is due largely to the company repurchasing about $20 million of its outstanding notes. The B3 corporate rating reflects factors including the company's small size and leveraged balance sheet, Moody's said. "It also recognizes the company's revenue concentration in the depressed gaming markets in and around Las Vegas," Moody's said. "The negative rating outlook reflects our view that operating results will remain weak as the operating environment in the Las Vegas gaming market will remain challenging at best and vulnerable to any weakening again of the economy," Moody's said. The company, which is carrying some $340 million in debt, owns the two Arizona Charlie's locals properties besides the 2,427-room Stratosphere. theplatinumhotel.com 702.365.5000 INSIDE STIR LOUNGE 4PM TO 8PM NIGHTLY Judge Bruce Markell has approved routine requests that it continue to pay wages and normal operating expenses. In a court filing questioning plans to use its cash collateral, lender Hermitage Management LLC said it "remains very concerned about the debtor's significant decrease in membership and why the debtor has not hired a third-party professional golf management company to operate the property." Hermitage Management says it's owed $16.1 million under a 2007 loan—a loan the club defaulted on after steep membership declines. Spanish Trail says it has about 400 members, down from about 700 in 2007. "This was definitively not an action Spanish Trail wanted to take. We negotiated ingenuously and intensely with our lender for months. We were unable to reach a fair and satisfactory resolution and to protect our members and Spanish Trail Country Club, we had no choice but to take this action that so many other companies in Las Vegas, as well as around the nation have had to pursue," Mark Hedge, president of the board of Spanish Trail, said. The club initiated a Special Membership Committee to increase membership and overall revenue. Both sides blame the other for delays in resolving the four complaints. Regardless of who is at fault, a move by the Board of Medical Examiners may have cleared the way for the case to get back on track. The board agreed to lift the 2008 suspension of Buckwalter's ability to prescribe, administer and dispense controlled substances. This was pitched to the board as a procedural move aimed at avoiding having to have two hearings on the same issues: One a "post-deprivation" hearing and another a hearing on the underlying malpractice complaint. Hafter had sought a post-deprivation hearing hoping to prove the board lacked justification to suspend Buckwalter's drug-prescribing abilities – a suspension he says was made without notice and has deprived Buckwalter of his career. Hafter has said that at most Buckwalter's medical practice had record-keeping problems, there's no evidence that Buckwalter harmed anyone, that Buckwalter was the victim of over-zealous newspaper coverage and that the Board of Medical Examiners used him as a scapegoat after the hepatitis crisis erupted in 2008 at the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada. The upcoming hearing on the four malpractice complaints filed in 2008 "will sufficiently protect the public should a violation or multiple violations be found by Dr. Buckwalter," Bradley Van Ry, deputy general counsel for the board said. AFTER YOUR PLATINUM MEETING ENJOY 50% OFF YOUR TAPAS & COCKTAILS