Sister to buy Binion’s casino

Monday, June 8, 1998 | 10:04 a.m.

State gaming regulators have scheduled special hearings for Thursday to approve a pending deal that would allow Becky Behnen to become the sole owner of Binion's Horseshoe Club.

The agreement, if approved by regulators, would end a bitter Binion family dispute over control of the legendary downtown casino that began nearly three years ago.

Behnen, informed sources said, has agreed to drop her mismanagement suit against her older brother, longtime Horseshoe President Jack Binion, if the deal goes through.

Behnen this morning confirmed a deal is in the works.

But she added: "I haven't seen the definitive agreement and approved it. I'm still waiting for my paperwork."

Frank Schreck, lawyer for the Horseshoe Club Operating Co., said the company planned to file an application with the state Gaming Control Board today to get its permission for a series of stock transactions.

Schreck refused further comment.

But sources said the deal allows for Binion, who has a 42 percent interest in the Horseshoe, to buy out the 20 percent owned by his brother, Ted Binion, and the estimated 18.5 percent held by his other sister, Brenda Michael.

Behnen, who also owns about 18.5 percent, then would buy all Jack Binion's stock and become the sole Horseshoe operator.

Both the Gaming Control Board and the Nevada Gaming Commission have scheduled hearings Thursday morning to approve the stock transfers.

The deal is coming together as the Horseshoe corporation races to meet a Thursday deadline imposed by the Gaming Commission to buy out Ted Binion, whose license has been revoked.

The commission banned Ted Binion from the industry earlier this year because of his association with reputed mob figures.

No details on the value of the stock transactions were available today.

The Horseshoe, founded by the late gaming pioneer Benny Binion, has been estimated to be worth as much as $80 million.

Within the past three years, however, its profits have declined amid the bitter family dispute.

Behnen sued Jack Binion in January 1996, alleging he mismanaged the resort while pursuing his lucrative gaming ventures outside Nevada.

Last month, District Judge Nancy Becker refused a Behnen request to appoint an independent receiver to run the Horseshoe during the litigation.

But the judge suggested Binion needed to pay more attention to the downtown casino.

Others, such as New Frontier owner Phil Ruffin, have sought to buy the Horseshoe in the past several months.

But those deals have fallen through.

In a Sun interview last November, Behnen insisted she was the most feasible buyer.

"I know the Binion philosophy," she said at the time. "I want to reinstate what my parents built."

Until the family battle, the Horseshoe had been one of the most popular and profitable casinos in Las Vegas.

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