Ormsby House deal falls through

Friday, June 25, 1999 | 3:26 a.m.

"Our feeling is if we want to negotiate, we don't want to deal with Mr. (Kevin) Genda," Avi Shah, Day's controller, said of the Cerberus representative in charge of selling off the Ormsby House. "After our due diligence and meeting with him, we decided to withdraw our offer of $4.2 million."

Day emerged for the first time as a potential Ormsby House buyer at the May 26 auction, where he was the only bidder for the troubled hotel-casino. Cerberus rejected his initial $2 million bid and Day upped the offer to $4.2 in mid-June.

"We're still in discussions with several different bidders for well above the price we did not accept," Genda said, adding the bidders include an unnamed local group of investors and two offers from doctors in Boston and California.

"As far as I'm concerned, the two viable candidates are the local group and Tom Day," Ormsby House CEO Bob Cashell said.

Day owns the Silver City Recreational Vehicle Park in Minden. From Riverside, he builds homes and apartments in many locations, including a current project in San Diego.

Cashell, whose state license at the Ormsby House is good until April 2000, said he'd be willing to stay on at the Ormsby House until a new owner gets a license. Cashell is a former lieutenant and long-time casino owner and operator.