Gaming briefs for July 16, 2004

Friday, July 16, 2004 | 11:02 a.m.

Executive stock grants OK'd

Station Casinos Inc. said the compensation and governance committee of its board approved a total grant of 1.1 million restricted common shares to the company's top six executives, according to a Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Las Vegas casino-hotel and entertainment center operator said the restricted share grants are designed to provide long-term incentives to motivate and retain the senior management team. The restricted shares will vest annually in equal installments over a 10-year period.

Station Casinos said because of the recent retirement of former Chief Operating Officer Steven Cavallaro, a total of 754,704 shares underlying unvested options and unvested restricted shares were forfeited by him. The shares became available again for grant under the stock compensation program.

The company said the additional charges of the new restricted stock grants, the reduction in charges due to the forfeited restricted shares and the related increase in the net number of shares of common stock outstanding are reflected in the guidance provided in its Wednesday earnings statement.

Investors eye troubled track

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A California harness racing track company may take over the financially troubled Vernon Downs.

A spokesman said Wednesday that Capitol Racing has an option to buy 52 percent of the stock in Mid-State Raceway, which owns Vernon Downs in Madison County. Mid-State includes the track, a hotel and an empty casino.

Capitol Racing isn't the first out-of-state company to take over the track. Raceway Ventures, of Florida, controls the track now. A Las Vegas investor ran it before that.

In April, the Florida investors bought the stock for $9 million, but newspapers revealed that a partner was a convicted felon with Philadelphia mob ties.

The New York State Racing and Wagering Board denied racing licenses to the previous owners and said the current owners must sell out within three months.

Vernon Downs is about $26 million in debt and must spend about $500,000 a month to survive, according to Mid-State records. The casino, which would hold video lottery machines, hasn't opened yet. It was supposed to open more than a year ago and draw $80 million annually.