Binion firm moving to Vegas

Monday, Feb. 17, 2003 | 11:05 a.m.

SUN STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

Horseshoe Gaming Holding Corp. will relocate its corporate office to Las Vegas from its existing location in a Chicago suburb.

The Tinley Park, Ill.-based company -- owned by longtime casino executive Jack Binion -- is making the move primarily because it no longer operates a casino in Illinois and because it prefers to locate in the nation's gambling capital, executives said.

"Las Vegas is the center of the gaming industry," Binion, Horseshoe's chief executive, said in a statement Friday. "Although we have no plans to establish another Horseshoe property in Las Vegas, many of our suppliers and vendors are headquartered in Las Vegas, so from a business standpoint it is the best location for us."

The move is expected to take place in summer. An exact location hasn't yet been determined, the company said.

Kirk Saylor, the company's chief financial officer, said the company also wants to move closer to Binion, who lives in Las Vegas.

Binion, 66, sold his interest in downtown Las Vegas casino Binion's Horseshoe to his sister, Becky Behnen, in 1998 to settle a contentious lawsuit by Behnen that claimed her brother intentionally mismanaged the property. The Horseshoe is a downtown landmark founded by Behnen's and Binion's father, gaming legend Benny Binion, and is known for hosting the annual World Series of Poker tournament.

Industry observers have noted for some time that the privately owned property is in financial trouble and is in need of capital, though Behnen has denied that the property has problems.

Binion has not expressed interest in buying out or otherwise investing in his sister's property, Saylor said. The company also isn't moving to scout out casinos in Las Vegas, he said.

"(Binion) has said, 'I'm never going to say no to an opportunity if it arises,' " Saylor said. "But we're not moving out there to operate one."

After buying the twin Empress casinos in Joliet, Ill., and Hammond, Ind., in 1999, Binion sold the Illinois property rather than fight a finding by Illinois regulators in 2000 that he was unsuitable to hold a gaming license in that state. Investigators for the Illinois Gaming Board said they uncovered questionable business practices and compliance issues involving Binion in Nevada, Louisiana and Illinois. The news triggered an investigation in Louisiana but Nevada regulators chose instead to monitor the situation.

Much of the Illinois report was based on Binion's activities while owner of Binion's Horseshoe, which he managed from 1964 to 1998.

The Louisiana Gaming Control Board will consider this week whether to renew the license of the company's Horseshoe Casino in Bossier City, La., in a special three-day hearing on charges that the riverboat broke state laws by making unauthorized ownership transfers and doing business with shell companies. Also at issue are the same business practices by Binion in Nevada that were criticized by Illinois regulators.

The Times-Picayune newspaper in New Orleans reported the Horseshoe, the state's highest-grossing riverboat, has been operating under a conditional license since 1999 while state regulators investigated the casino's business dealings.

That inquiry turned up charges that the Horseshoe transferred limited partnership stakes without the gambling board's knowledge, paid people who performed no tangible work, and did business with suppliers that had no trucks, warehouses or assets, in order to meet procurement goals with minority- and female-owned companies, the Times-Picayune reported.

Hearings are planned Tuesday through Thursday.

The gambling board can deny the renewal of the license, renew the license, renew it with conditions to deter improper behavior in the future, or take "any and all other relief justified by the facts and the law," according to a report filed by Ray Lamonica, a special assistant attorney general appointed to handle the matter, the newspaper said.

Attorneys for the Horseshoe declined comment. But in a response brief, Horseshoe attorneys denied or took issue with most of the allegations, and differed in their interpretation of facts.

Horseshoe Gaming, the nation's largest privately held casino company, also operates a casino in Tunica, Miss.