Vegas’ ‘Little casino with big heart’ closes

Thursday, April 1, 1999 | 10:37 a.m.

Stunned casino workers lined up in a cold wind to pick up their last paychecks hours after being told the Hotel Continental would close its doors for good Wednesday night.

At 6 p.m., the doors were shut and by midnight, trustees, under the supervision of state Gaming Control Board officers, counted money and took over the company's business records.

Keith Copher, chief of the Control Board's enforcement division, said today the closure was uneventful and went smoothly.

Although the 380 Hotel Continental employees had heard rumors for years that the company was struggling, Wednesday's closure still caught most workers off guard.

"I've been living with this (closure rumors) for eight years," said one casino worker who asked not to be identified. "We found out it was going to close this morning and it kind of came as a shock."

Actually, most employees had a pretty good idea a closure was possible weeks ago.

"We got a note with our paychecks a couple months ago that said there was a possibility of it closing," said Tony Logan, a 13-year employee standing in line for his last check, which was given out with a case of soft drinks to each worker.

But for some, like blackjack dealer Joe Hendricks, who started work at the Continental two weeks ago, the sudden closure was a jolt.

"Why would they even hire me if they were going to close?" Hendricks asked.

"I heard that it was going to close from some guys at the pizza place across the street," said Thomas Marvin, a coffee shop employee who had been on the job two days. For Marvin, it was his second hotel-casino uprooting -- he also worked at the Hacienda when it closed in 1997.

The sudden closure came after what appears to be a round of wishful thinking on the part of the hotel-casino's management, which has been at the helm since the doors opened nearly 20 years ago.

The Continental filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 1998. Its largest creditor, Crowne Gaming, was to take over the property, which had about 500 slot machines and nine table games in the 22,900-square-foot casino at 4100 Paradise Road.

But Crowne also fell into bankruptcy and American Realty Trust Inc. foreclosed in April 1998, claiming that Crowne owed it $31.2 million. American Realty agreed to lease the property back to Hotel Continental Inc. while it sought a new buyer.

American Realty Trust filed, then withdrew an emergency motion to evict Hotel Continental from the property late last year. Negotiations collapsed and the two parties were at an impasse when American Realty filed a new motion to evict, getting an order instructing Continental to leave the property by Jan. 31.

The two companies agreed to extend the deadline to March 31. That's when employees were first notified that a closure was possible.

As the deadline approached, American Realty sought to extend the agreement to the end of April, but also wanted to raise the rent from $90,000 to $200,000 a month. Continental said it wanted a more definitive agreement extended to the end of May at the old rental rate.

American Realty refused.

That set the stage for a Bankruptcy Court hearing on Wednesday at which Continental attempted to convince a judge that the hotel-casino should be allowed to stay open, mainly for the sake of the employees. But Judge Robert C. Jones said there was no legal basis for him to allow the Continental to stay open.

That's when the calls went out to employees to pick up their last checks.

Continental representatives had very little to say about the closure, offering a short press release from Tory Castellano, director of marketing for the property.

"The Continental Hotel and Casino regrets that due to circumstances beyond its control it will be closing its doors on March 31, 1999," the release says. "Management and employees of the Continental sincerely appreciate the opportunity of serving the people of Las Vegas for the past 20 years. We offer a special thank you to the ladies and gentlemen of the Gaming Control Board and the County Commission without whose permission and guidance it would not have been possible. Au revoir."

Continental President and General Manager Ira Levy declined to be interviewed. Most employees didn't blame Levy for the property's demise.

"He's not just a boss," said Ellen Stein, Levy's administrative assistant. "He's a leader, mentor and teacher. He's always had a terrific relationship with his employees, the gaming regulators and his customers. We always called this the little casino with the big heart."

Inside the casino Wednesday afternoon, employees were saying their last good-byes to co-workers, many of them toasting each other at the casino's long wooden bar adorned with 5-foot renderings of Dean Martin. Someone had put up a sign on a bench in front of the Copa Cafe, saying it was "Closed 4ever."

A handful of customers quietly fed some of the nickel and quarter slots, occasionally turning their heads to see someone carting out a vending machine.

Some employees blamed the closure on Continental management, saying its style was too undisciplined.

But most employees -- who were chilled by Wednesday's 50 mph wind gusts -- had no ill feelings toward Levy or the property. Many of them, in fact, said they would be glad to return if the Continental were able to make a miracle comeback.

"I've already got a job at the Gold Strike (another casino)," said Donna Pacquin. "But I'd come back. It's a great place to work. It's like family. Everybody respects each other."

Most of the employees blamed the tough competitive environment presented by the likes of the Bellagio and Mandalay Bay for the Continental's demise.

"There was nothing wrong with the Continental," said Bru Pietrzak, a four-year Continental employee. "It was just hard to compete against the big guys."