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Owners of the land under Binion's Horseshoe are refusing to go along with the proposed sale of the hotel-casino to MTR Gaming Group, even while industry analysts and downtown businesses are applauding Harrah's Entertainment's plans for the property.

MTR and Harrah's on Thursday announced signing a definitive agreement for Speakeasy Gaming of Fremont, W.Va., an MTR subsidiary, to buy Binion's Horseshoe from owner Becky Binion Behnen and for Harrah's to operate the hotel-casino for one year, with two one-year extensions of the operating agreement possible.

The landowners, however, could scuttle the deal.

Local attorneys for two of the five groups of landowners of the property under the Horseshoe who asked not to be identified said there has is still no agreement with Harrah's for the payment of an undetermined amount of back rent or for appropriate leases for the land.

"Harrah's is trying to get us to lower the price on the argument even Jack (Binion) wasn't making money there," one attorney said. "But the landlords as a group are saying they aren't interested in doing that. The leases can be cancelled at any time. They're 100-year leases, but they haven't paid the rent (in months)," he said.

"Harrah's is proceeding along like 'we're Harrah's and we can make you do whatever we want,' " the attorney said.

Both attorneys described the ownership of the Binion's property as a hodgepodge because the parcels were all once railroad lots and individual owners made whatever deals they could early in the last century.

The attorneys said the state Gaming Control Board will have to investigate the question of the lease rights to the land before approving license applications submitted by MTR and Harrah's Wednesday to own and operate a hotel-casino at the downtown site.

"They'll have to show they have the right to be there, and the landowners aren't happy about claims they do, especially with MTR in the deal," one of the attorneys said.

They said MTR is a second-rate operator compared with Harrah's.

Control Board Chairman Dennis Neilander confirmed that his agency will need to review the status of the leases and the rights of MTR and Harrah's to own and operate a hotel-casino on the site as part of its review of the license applications.

"They have to have the legal right to the property. The lease documents should clear up whether the assignments are there or not," he said.

Another source close to the Harrah's negotiators said the landlords are "absolutely right."

"The deal won't go ahead unless everyone agrees, but there's nobody else in the wings. They can agree or they can sue Becky," he said.

The source also said some of the landowners have said individually they are willing to sell their parcels and that negotiations are proceeding.

Harrah's spokesman Gary Thompson confirmed that negotiations with the landlords are continuing.

"(The company is) optimistic we'll be able to come to an agreement that is fair to all concerned," he said.

University of Nevada, Las Vegas professor and casino industry expert Bill Thompson said the battle of wills was a classic bargaining confrontation.

"They're going to have to bargain it out or they'll have an empty property," he said. "Harrah's will come out OK with the (Horseshoe) name and the World Series of Poker, but MTR wants a casino, so it could be a loser."

"If either side wants to go to the the mat without compromising, it could be a dead deal, but the money should bring the two together," Thompson said. "But if we have two unreasonable sides, we lose a casino downtown. Maybe (Mayor) Oscar (Goodman) should get involved as a mediator because this is critical for what he want to so to make downtown viable."

Meanwhile, the two companies did not disclose terms of the transaction, although Harrah's Thompson said his company plans to reopen the downtown landmark by April 1 and convene the World Series of Poker for its 35th anniversary there on April 22.

Sources close to the company, however, said it is likely the poker tournament will be moved in future years, probably to the Rio, until Harrah's develops or takes over a megaresort on the Strip that would be an appropriate long-term site for the tournament.

Harrah's will also acquire use of the Horseshoe brand name in Nevada, while MTR will obtain the rights to use the Binion's name in Clark County.

Analsysts were also enthusiastic about the proposed deal.

Joe Schillaci, president of the Fremont Street Experience, said reopening the Horseshoe under MTR ownership should be a good fit with plans for the revitalization of downtown.

"I'm from Pittsburgh, and they ran a quality operation back there," he said. "They have a good track record and they'll bring new blood to downtown, which I view as very positive."

MTR owns the Speedway Casino at the Ramada Inn in North Las Vegas, Scioto Downs in Columbus, Ohio, and the Mountaineer Race Track and Gaming Resort in Chester, W.Va.

Don Snyder, president of Boyd Gaming Corp., which owns Main Street Station, the California Hotel and the Fremont, said MTR's entry to the market will bring new energy to downtown.

"West Virginia is what the company is all about. I'm very impressed with the management and what they've created," he said.

Joe Greff, gaming analyst for Fulcrum Global Partners, said the deal is much more important for MTR than Harrah's, considering the companies' relative cash flow, a key measure of profitability.

In the 2003 third quarter, the most recent period for which data is available, MTR's had cash flow of $17.6 million, compared with Harrah's cash flow of $1.1 billion in 2003 as a whole. Cash flow is generally defined as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

However, Deutsche Bank analyst Marc Falcone said the evolving transaction is also a good deal for Harrah's.

"They don't want to be a downtown operator. They'll bring in a quality operator and get what they want -- the brand name and the World Series of Poker," he said.
 

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http://cbs5.com/wireapnewsca/Binion.s.closing.2.1341188.html

Nov 30, 2009 2:48 pm US/Pacific
Binion's Closing Las Vegas Hotel; Casino Remains

KEN RITTER, Associated Press Writer
LAS VEGAS (AP) ― The owner of an iconic downtown Las Vegas hotel that hosted the World Series of Poker for 34 years will close the property's hotel rooms, coffee shop and keno operations as a cost-cutting move, a spokeswoman said Monday.

"It's the downturn," said Lisa Robinson, spokeswoman for TLC Casino Enterprises Inc., owner of the 58-year-old Binion's Gambling Hall & Hotel. "We had to make some difficult decisions in order to keep the rest of the property operational."

The casino facing downtown's Fremont Street Experience pedestrian mall will remain open, along with the poker room, sports book and the Binion's Ranch Steakhouse. All 99 rooms in Binion's hotel and 266 rooms in the property's former Mint tower will close Dec. 14, Robinson said.

About 100 of Binion's 800 workers will be laid off.

"This economy has severely affected our operations," Robinson said, citing decreasing occupancy and hotel room rates. "The hotel rooms were just not competitive."

Binion's, also known as Binion's Horseshoe, opened in 1951 after colorful owner Benny Binion moved to Las Vegas from Texas and bought the Apache Hotel and Eldorado Club.

Over the years, the casino became famous for its carpeting and velvet walls, no-limit wagering, a glass display of $1 million in cash, and for the World Series of Poker. Binion's son, Jack Binion, began hosting the tournament in 1970 with 38 invited players.

The champion, Johnny Moss, was elected by his competitors. He was awarded a silver cup.

The aging hotel-casino ran into financial trouble after Benny Binion's daughter, Becky Behnen, acquired it in 1998. It closed in January 2004 after U.S. marshals seized cash from the casino to pay outstanding employee benefits.

Casino giant Harrah's Entertainment Inc. bought the property, kept the Horseshoe and World Series of Poker brands, and sold the casino-hotel to MTR Gaming Group Inc. of Chester, W.Va.

MTR reopened it in April 2004 as Binion's Gambling Hall and Hotel.

The World Series of Poker moved in 2005 to the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino near the Las Vegas Strip. The 2009 winner, Joe Cada, won $8.55 million for beating 6,493 opponents in a no-limit Texas Hold 'em tournament that cost $10,000 to enter.

MTR Gaming sold the property to Las Vegas-based TLC in March 2008. TLC also owns the 694-room Four Queens hotel-casino downtown.
 

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Gosh, if only the walls could talk. There are more stories that could originate from there than anywhere on the strip/
 

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Is it true that nobody dared try pull anything at the Horseshoe??

I've heard all kinds of stories about the place, but I wasn't even old enough to step in the place when they reopened after bennys mom took over
 

"i had a hundy but i bet a grand"
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remember when i was a kid and got my picture taken with the million dollars in the see thru case at the side door....
 

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Had the best delli on the strip!
I ate there a few times. Always made me feel good.

There's such an aura and history to Binion's. I hate to see it turn into some commercialized joint. But that's the nature of things I guess.
 

J2

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Interesting.. Wonder what TLC will do to Four Queens downtown..
 

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Is it true that nobody dared try pull anything at the Horseshoe??

Correct, God help you if you did.
Only place in town, strip or Freemont, where they let you gamble.
By that I mean, you want to me a 5K bet on the BJ single deck table, they'll give it to you without sweating you, just don't pull anything funny, they let you play.

Without question, my favorite of all the casinos.
 

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Closing everything except the casino, yet laying off only 100 of 800 employees. Interesting.

This place has been mismanaged ever since the sister took over. I know some still hold out hope that Jack comes and saves the day.
 
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Closing everything except the casino, yet laying off only 100 of 800 employees. Interesting.

This place has been mismanaged ever since the sister took over. I know some still hold out hope that Jack comes and saves the day.

Jack was the best in that whole family....true gentleman:toast:
 

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Played at Binions in the 80's and 90's quite often. For some reason I didn't venture much into downtown in the last few years.
 

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When we all stayed at the Nugget I kept on wondering over there and walk around. I played poker there at 7am on a friday. But everytime I looked in the room they never had more than 1 table in the poker room. Also the casino just seemed so old and dirty. Old I could see but to not be clean is just no excusing.
 

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The first time I walked into Binion's it was about 9 am Sunday, the morning after my first RX bash.
I registered to play in a poker tournament with a 60 dollar fee.

I got my ass kicked!
Was quite inexperienced as a player, but it was cool to be playing at the same place and tables that so many legends have.
 

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When we all stayed at the Nugget I kept on wondering over there and walk around. I played poker there at 7am on a friday. But everytime I looked in the room they never had more than 1 table in the poker room. Also the casino just seemed so old and dirty. Old I could see but to not be clean is just no excusing.

Well, it is old and dirty. I think most people are thinking about the history of the place really.

Hell, I would tear down the Riviera and Circus Circus before messing with anything else.
 

Conservatives, Patriots & Huskies return to glory
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what does this mean for $ 1 craps?
 

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