Seattle-Tacoma casino in bankruptcy

Monday, Sept. 23, 2002 | 9:14 a.m.

SEATTLE -- Funsters Grand Casino Inc. has filed for bankruptcy protection little more than a year after opening what promised to be the first in a chain of Las Vegas-style gaming centers, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported.

The company, co-owned by Seattle restaurateur Gerry Kingen, founder of the Red Robin restaurant chain, cited debts between $1 million and $10 million in a voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing last week.

Less than six months ago, the Washington State Gambling Commission filed a complaint alleging that the company's SeaTac casino in the Seattle-Tacoma area didn't have enough money on hand to pay its progressive jackpots or to pay winners for their chips, and that it was behind on paying its gambling taxes.

Funsters intends to reorganize and ultimately emerge from bankruptcy protection, Jan Ostrovsky, a lawyer for the company, told the Post-Intelligencer. The casino is expected to remain open during the bankruptcy.

The casino, which looks to travelers for a sizable portion of its business, was hurt by factors including the decline in air travel following the Sept. 11 attacks, Ostrovsky told the newspaper.

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