Aladdin hotel-casino, which is coming to
the end of a marathon run in bankruptcy,
reported a profit of $3 million in July.
Executives for the company planning
to take over the 2,567-room hotel
located on The Strip in Las Vegas will appear before the Nevada Gaming
Commission for licensing Thursday.
Commissioners will meet in Carson
City to determine the suitability and
licensing for Robert Earl, co-founder of
the Planet Hollywood restaurant chain,
Douglas Teitelbaum, managing principal
of Bay Harbour Management LLC, New York,
and Barry Sternlicht, chairman and chief
executive of Starwood Hotels & Resorts
Worldwide, White Plains, N.Y.
BH/RE LLC is officially named as the company
wishing to buy the Aladdin, which
entered Bankruptcy Court in September
2001. Last year Earl's group came out as
the winning bidder for the property,
purchasing it
for $637 million.
Since then, state Gaming Control
Board investigators scrutinized Earl and
Teitelbaum as new applicants to the
gaming industry in Nevada. Sternlicht
and Starwood were already being
investigated as the hotel operator of
the Westin Casuarina, formerly the Maxim
hotel-casino.
Earl was questioned by the Control
Board in a six-hour hearing earlier this
month, mostly regarding some concerns it had
with Planet Hollywood's two previous
bankruptcies. But finally, the board
recommended approval for Earl and his
partners.
Tuesday, a representative of the Aladdin stated
that if the Gaming Commission approves
the application, the transition to
Earl's control would happen on Sept. 1. A
spokeswoman for Earl has said that the
transition to the property as the Planet
Hollywood hotel-casino wouldn't occur
immediately.
What is anticipated as being one of
the final monthly operating reports for
the Aladdin showed the property had July
revenue of $21.7 million, expenses of
$17.8 million and bankruptcy-related
expenses of $842,426.
In the same month a year ago, the
company reported revenue of $21.9
million, expenses of $23.1 million and
bankruptcy expenses of $1.2 million, for
a net loss of $2.4 million.
During the 35 months the resort has
been in bankruptcy, the property lost
$96.3 million while generating revenue
of $691.4 million. Bankruptcy expenses
totaled $53.2 million during that time
frame.
Figures presented to the Control
Board by Earl showed the new owners
expect $276 million in revenue with cash
flow of $43.1 million the first year,
growing to $434 million in revenue in
year five with $121.4 million in cash
flow.
