The legendary Binion's Horseshoe hotel-casino will reopen April 1 after the Nevada Gaming Commission voted unanimously to grant West Virginia-based MTR Gaming Group a gambling license.
The commission required MTR and seller Harrah's Entertainment to put $3 million aside so gamblers could redeem any outstanding chips at the downtown property and complete pre-opening cash statements and financial projections.
Harrah's Entertainment will manage Binion's Horseshoe on a day-to-day basis for a year and has the option of extending the agreement for up to an additional two years.
MTR would own Binion's Horseshoe through a subsidiary called Speakeasy Gaming of Fremont Inc.
Ted Arneault, MTR's president and chief executive officer, said after the specially-arranged meetings that the sale price was about $20 million.
MTR owns Mountaineer Race Track & Gaming Resort in Chester, W.Va., and the Speedway Casino at the Ramada Inn in North Las Vegas.
Under the agreement, Harrah's will retain the rights to the lucrative Horseshoe name and the World Series of Poker. The 35th annual poker tournament is scheduled to begin next month at Binion's Horseshoe.
Harrah's officials said it will hire about 900 people to work at Binion's Horseshoe, with at least 70 percent of those being former employees. Senior management will consist of Harrah's employees already working at the company's Las Vegas hotel-casinos.
Nevada Gaming Commissioner Arthur Marshall said before the vote it was "important to get this thing done ... and get downtown back into action." |
