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Monday, April 12, 2010 | 2:10 a.m.
Related Document (.pdf)
Sun Archives
- Residents of Lake Las Vegas told recovery on the way (4-9-2010)
- Wide-open fairways at Lake Las Vegas (3-31-2010)
- Lake Las Vegas: A shining lakeside oasis loses its luster (3-1-2010)
- Population dearth doomed Casino MonteLago at Lake Las Vegas (3-1-2010)
- Casino MonteLago at Lake Las Vegas to close next month (2-16-2010)
- Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas to close in May (2-8-2010)
- Lake Las Vegas proposes bankruptcy plan (9-5-2009)
- Judge approves bankruptcy for Lake Las Vegas golf course (6-29-2009)
- Another golf course to close at struggling Lake Las Vegas (6-25-2009)
- Residents of bankrupt Lake Las Vegas face uncertainty (3-23-2009)
The bankrupt Lake Las Vegas development is seeking court permission to hire a high-powered Dallas law firm to file fraud lawsuits against former investors in Lake Las Vegas, including four Texas billionaires.
Lake Las Vegas, which is financed by financial giant Credit Suisse Group AG, on April 6 asked the bankruptcy court in Las Vegas for permission to hire the law firm McKool Smith, which says that in both 2008 and 2009 it won more Top 100 verdicts than any other law firm in the United States.
Lake Las Vegas, which filed for bankruptcy protection in 2008, is a high-end residential and resort community 20 miles southeast of the Las Vegas Strip in the city of Henderson. Located near Lake Mead and surrounding a man-made lake, the 3,600-acre Lake Las Vegas includes 1,700 homes with room for 5,000 more.
Launched in 1987, the community boomed until the recession hit the nation and Southern Nevada. Land and home values there have plummeted, two of its three golf courses are closed, its lone casino closed in March and one of two resort hotels there -- the Ritz-Carlton -- is closing in May.
Conditions at the community aren't likely to improve soon, Lake Las Vegas says.
"During 2009, 42 new homes have sold at prices that are up to 70 percent less than previous closing prices for the same type of home," attorneys for Lake Las Vegas said in an April 2 court filing. "Conversely, while foreclosures were at a record high within the community, record levels of resales also occurred. For calendar year 2009, 294 resales have been consummated at prices up to 80 percent below their original purchase prices (some of which were purchased less than two years ago)."
Encumbered by $753 million in debt and facing another $228 million in bankruptcy court claims, the development company estimates its raw land holdings and other assets at Lake Las Vegas are now worth just $83.9 million.
With Credit Suisse alone owed some $670 million, Lake Las Vegas now plans to go after former insiders it claims wrongly drained the property of $470 million in equity through a 2004 financing deal that it says later contributed to the bankruptcy.
The targets to be sued by McKool Smith, according to the Lake Las Vegas bankruptcy reorganization plan, include Texas billionaire brothers Lee M. Bass, Robert Bass and Sid R. Bass; and fellow Texan Richard Rainwater, who formerly managed Bass family investments before becoming a billionaire in his own right.
Another target is Carmel Land & Cattle Co., a company Lake Las Vegas says is controlled by attorney William Hallman Jr., whose Kelly Hart & Hallman law firm in Fort Worth has long represented the Bass family.
Also targeted are developer Ron Boeddeker and his company Transcontinental Corp. of Santa Barbara, Calif.
The involvement of the Bass brothers, Hallman and Boeddeker in Lake Las Vegas has previously been reported. The involvement of Rainwater is a new twist and Lake Las Vegas hasn't yet disclosed his role in the case.
Rainwater is known in Las Vegas for investing in the 1990s in slot machine maker Alliance Gaming Corp., now called Bally Technologies Inc.; and for unsuccessfully trying to acquire gaming companies Station Casinos Inc. and Santa Fe Gaming Corp.
Also, Rainwater's Crescent Real Estate Equities in 2004 acquired and later sold the 115-acre Hughes Center office park in midtown Las Vegas, just east of the Las Vegas Strip.
The plan to sue the former Lake Las Vegas insiders is spelled out in the bankrupt development's April 2 disclosure statement seeking approval for its plan of reorganization.
Besides seeking to recover the $470 million in equity that was allegedly paid to insiders in 2004, the reorganization plan calls for:
--Conversion of liens held by Credit Suisse and other lenders totaling about $627 million into equity in the development and 80 percent of any money won in litigation against the former insiders.
--A provision for $29 million in financing to cover the development's operating costs and continued community development work in advance of future home building.
--Cash payments of $1 million to general unsecured creditors owed $22 million, giving them about 4 1/2 cents per dollar owed.
--Funding of $8 million in infrastructure work and vendor claims for a local improvement district called T-16.
--Cash payments, over three years, to holders of allowed construction lien claims; or the exchange of the liens for property secured by the liens. A mediation procedure will be established to resolve about $26.4 million in mechanics' lien claims.
--Additional payments to general unsecured creditors, local improvement district vendors and landowners in Phase II of the development from a 20 percent share of any money won in litigation against the former insiders. The Phase II landowners have asserted claims of about $200 million against Lake Las Vegas, charging the development's failure to develop infrastructure has prevented them from developing their properties.
--Deferral of development in Phase III of the development so Lake Las Vegas can focus on additional development of Phase II.
A June 21 hearing is planned on whether the reorganization plan should be approved.
As for the threatened litigation against the former insiders, the dispute is likely to revolve around whether the $470 million they allegedly withdrew as an equity distribution was proper.
Attorneys for Transcontinental have repeatedly argued that the equity distribution was part of the plan promoted by Credit Suisse when it provided $670 million in financing to Lake Las Vegas during the economic boom. Transcontinental, which handed control of Lake Las Vegas to a Credit Suisse-backed company in 2007, has charged the entire bankruptcy case is a sham since Credit Suisse is the main debtor and creditor.
Transcontinental has argued that in 2004, thanks to hundreds of millions of dollars in equity investments over two decades, Lake Las Vegas was "solidly solvent" with just $48 million in debt.
"Against this backdrop, Credit Suisse approached the equity owners and proposed a credit facility that would pay off the then-existing debt and allow the former equity owners, at long last, to appreciate a return on the hundreds of millions of personal funds they had invested. In furtherance of this loan, Credit Suisse obtained an appraisal of the property for approximately $1.2 billion," Transcontinental has argued.
A lawsuit was also filed in September by First American Title Insurance Co. of Santa Ana, Calif., in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas against Credit Suisse, Cayman Islands Branch. The suit seeks a declaration that title insurance provided for Credit Suisse loans to Lake Las Vegas provides no coverage for mechanics' liens against the project.
That suit, which is pending, charges Credit Suisse provided Lake Las Vegas a loan product primarily designed to allow project owner-developers to take out profits early in the development stage while leaving the property burdened with debt.
This loan product, used in resort projects around the country, involved Credit Suisse apparently acting as a syndicator for non-bank investors, the suit says. The majority of the loan would be distributed directly to the owners rather than to development costs and Credit Suisse would receive "substantial fees," the lawsuit charged.
Credit Suisse developed an irregular appraisal methodology called "total net value," which does not comply with the Financial Institutions Recovery Reform Act of 1989 (FIRREA), the lawsuit said.
The loan program in May was called "predatory" by a Montana bankruptcy judge in the luxury Yellowstone Club case.
But Credit Suisse denies wrongdoing in connection with the Lake Las Vegas loan and similar loans around the country.
Credit Suisse maintains, according to the Lake Las Vegas reorganization disclosure document, that it obtained appraisals (including a FIRREA-compliant appraisal in 2007) showing the 2004 loan was "substantially oversecured."
At one point in the Lake Las Vegas bankruptcy case, the case's Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors had sided with Transcontinental, charging that Credit Suisse willfully overburdened Lake Las Vegas with debt to enrich itself and asking the court to require that unsecured creditors be paid before Credit Suisse be allowed to recover on its $670 million claim.
The creditors' adversary action in the bankruptcy case said: "Credit Suisse's predatory lending practices warrant subordinating Credit Suisse's lien."
But the unsecured creditors later changed sides and now support the proposed reorganization plan.
The reorganization plan disclosure statement says that while the unsecured creditors had no funding to pursue their legal claim, "Credit Suisse has the resources to manage a vigorous and overwhelming defense."
The disclosure document also notes that even if the unsecured creditors won their case against Credit Suisse, there would be no assets remaining for them to recover since Lake Las Vegas is encumbered by a $127 million debtor in possession loan made after the bankruptcy was filed -- a loan arranged by Credit Suisse and that has priority over the unsecured creditors' claims.
"The debtors estimate that their community-related assets are worth substantially less than $127 million," Lake Las Vegas said in its disclosure statement.
"The (unsecured creditors) committee believes that the outcome for unsecured creditors under the reorganization plan (which includes sharing in the litigation against the former insiders and others) is more favorable than a positive litigation outcome, and avoids the risk, delay and cost of litigating with the (pre-bankruptcy) lenders," the document says.
As for the coming litigation, court papers show McKool Smith has agreed to be retained by Lake Las Vegas on a contingency fee basis in which it could earn up to 33 percent of any litigation proceeds.
The McKool Smith attorneys assigned to the case would be in addition to at least 10 lawyers already representing Lake Las Vegas in the bankruptcy. The current attorneys are with law firms in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
In their April 6 court filing, Lake Las Vegas attorneys indicated the lawsuits against the former insiders could include a wide range of claims including breach of fiduciary duty, knowing participation in breach of fiduciary duty, negligence and gross negligence, conversion, unlawful dividend, embezzlement, breach of contract, tortious interference with contract, breach of trust, fraud, negligent misrepresentation, mismanagement, conspiracy, fraudulent conveyance, fraudulent transfer, and violations of state and federal securities and racketeering laws.
In a court filing, Gary Cruciani, a principal at McKool Smith, said he and colleague Lewis LeClair would be leading the case for Lake Las Vegas.
"McKool is recognized as one of the premier trial law firms in the United States based on significant courtroom victories and substantial settlements for domestic and international clients," Cruciani said in his filing. "With more than 120 attorneys in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Marshall, Texas, New York, and Washington DC, the firm handles complex commercial litigation, intellectual property claims, bankruptcy matters, and white collar litigation for companies and individuals across the globe."
I read the earlier article,and all the comments from the posters,and the Optimism the supporters shared was overwhelming.
Well now I would like to hear from those same supporters for LLV after this report
lets see,84 million worth of assets against a debt of close to 1 billion
Yeah,who wouldnt like those odds!
While the reorganization,and the restructuring will no doubt help,that debt is a bit overwhelming for most
peace out
As I said in last week's LLV article discussion board, the money grabbers long ago pulled up their stake in LLV and someone needs to go to prison for a very long time on this perhaps the biggest real estate scam in the history of the US. The victims are the homeowners left holding an empty bag..
This should be interesting to see how it pans out. While it's gut wrenching to watch these people get screwed I'm not sure it's going to be possible to prove the original investors knew the train wreck of the economy was coming and bailed before it hit.
Oh, puhleeeeeeeeeeze! When the WEALTHY see their homes devalued you guys are going "poor, poor, baby". But when it was just "plain 'ol middle America" it's "they KNEW they couldn't afford it! They DESERVE to see their homes devalued - idiots! Those stupid people listening to their realtors!"
Just sue, sue, sue, because it's always someone else's fault.
A quagmire that is becoming disentangled? Giggity, giggity, giggity...
Well, if you took the time to read the exit from bankruptcy plan, it discusses that this lawsuit would be filed againt the Dallas boys. This is part of the chapter 11 agreement. The entire plan is in black and white. Any money they get from the Dallas boys simply goes to the creditors owed money.
The debt discussed in the article will be eliminated in the bankruptcy. LLV comes out with 24 million dollars in hand to reinvest into the community.
Hopefully, this lawsuit will be able to collect back $$ for the unsecured and other creditors. If they don't collect, LLV is not on the hook for it. This is all part of the Chapter 11 exit from bankruptcy agreement.
So, LLV is still turning in the corner in June and still a reason to celebrate!
Here is the link again for the bankruptcy. You can read ALL about this lawsuit and how it does not adversly affect LLV. http://www.kccllc.net/llv
I wonder what venue this will be tried in? Texas, Switzerland? Vegas? By the time it gets to trial the market will be half recovered and half the people will have passed away.
That Texan out there was sure a rude mean person to everyone, he was selling the idea of the "family compound."
I hope he gets the jury he deserves.
It's been very amusing listening to the bagholders (oh--i mean homeowners) at llv. A bunch of people got ripped off bad--as finally correctly reported the homes are selling at 70-80% off rip off levels. What is amazing to me is that the snow job was so well done that even at 20 cents on the dollar of their "investment", these people still think they got a great deal! What a great sales job these real estate scam artists have done. I suspect most of the optimistic posters on these articles are agents who are stuck themselves and trying to talk more people into the area. My opinion is it is still way to early to buy in this area--the bottom is still 18 months or so away--need all these 5/1 arms to adjust the next 18 months to see tons of inventory come into the market--then we will finally see the bottom--i believe.
MrLucky, where in the Las Vegas valley do you live and how far did home values fall in your area?
AngryVoter: The Hunt brothers tried to corner the silver market not the Bass brothers. The Hunts lost their asses.
With regards to LLV: This article is a summary of old news, but fairly accurate for a change. Along with the most brisk resales in the valley, the owner of the Village at Lake Las Vegas is BUYING more properties here. Guess they like that ghost town motif. Last year there were 30 condos in my buidling for sale, there are now 2. You think prices are not going up just a little bit? The fairways are greening, the ponds are filling. The place is coming out of bankruptcy. I am not smart enough to predict the future. No crystal ball here. But I can see with my own two eyes.
H L Hunt was the engineer that wanted to corner the silver market. I loved those days. In 1979 I bought a brand new Chevrolet for a silver tea set.
The hearing before Bankruptcy Judge Linda Riegle, as to whether she will allow the hiring of these Texas lawyers, to sue the prinicipals of the former Lake Las Vegas stockholders, is not until April 21st.
The hearing before the judge, as to whether she will approve a Chapter 11 Plan including pursuit of the lawsuit described in the Sun's story will not occur until June.
The lawyers for the Basses, Rainwater, Hallman and Boedekker have been "plenty smart" for longer than Credit Suisse has been doing business in the United States. As a result, you can bet your last dollar that the paperwork setting up all of these bankrupt entities' stock ownership structure is fairly bulletproof, in terms of anyone getting a money judgment against any of these individuals.
The bottom line is that Credit Suisse and friends now own both the bankrupt landowner companies and the project loans which are delinquent. The creation of this lawsuit is just chimera to sell a bill of goods to the unsecured creditors, to get them to vote for the Chapter 11 Plan. "Gee, you get a piece of the money judgment on this great lawsuit we've thought up."
Credit Suisse and friends as project owner, and Credit Suisse and friends as project lender, want a Chapter 11 Plan approved releasing THEM from all wrongdoing in connection with the Lake Las Vegas property. Credit Suisse doesn't want the unpaid unsecured creditors to sue Credit Suisse, like the unpaid unsecured creditors did to Lehman Brothers still-not-bankrupt subsidiaries in the 30 Lehman/SunCal project bankruptcies in California.
In my opinion, any unsecured creditors lawyers who are advising their clients to approve this Chapter 11 Plan, and tilting-at-Texas-windmills lawsuit are doing a disservice to their clients.
Excellent post, as usual, tester.
No matter how much common sense you throw at so many of the compulsive-poster Wendy Whiners, they will never concede to reason. They would rather remain disgruntled and fight non-existent battles of class welfare.
@bldblu -
I am an LLV supporter, happy to educate you properly. Nothing in this article is new, with the exception of one thing: that LLV is retaining a big, bad lawyer (we already knew that they filed a suit against Boeddeker's TransContinental & Bass bro's last fall). As you state: "debt of close to 1 billion." Okay, stay with me here. That's why they filed for Ch. 11 BK protection. They will pay only pennies on the dollar for what is owed. Credit Suisse, according to the article, will take 80% of what is recovered from the suit against Boeddeker/Bass bro's and some land holdings as settlement for their $670M DIP financing. And, as Cynical pointed out, CS was the architect of this plan, so they are assuredly 100% fine with it. The rest of the lienholders will get table scraps, as is ALWAYS the case in a BK.
Here's what else: Lake Las Vegas won't need much money to operate after the BK is complete because they have a staff of probably about 20 people in a modest admin building (if you haven't seen it, don't retort) and raw land. So, all they have to do is sit tight until the market turns and the raw land market gets its sea-legs back. Then, turn and burn, and voila! Profit!
In the meantime, the City & County will work with LLV on LID & tax payments because they are looking at the BIG picture...9,000-12,000 households of higher-than-average value paying property taxes indefinitely.
isn't anybody going to say "old bouvier must be happy as a clam"?
"I suspect most of the optimistic posters on these articles are agents who are stuck themselves and trying to talk more people into the area."
lol, ya think?
@NotAsSmartAsHeThinksHeIs -
Let me spell the history of all this out so that you can understand since you still don't get it:
Lake Las Vegas was doing FINE, thriving during the boom times, just as the entire valley was as well. Then, Boeddeker's TransContinental and the Bass bro's EMBEZZLED (it will be interesting to find out how this charge will shake out in the suit filed last fall) $540M to repay themselves for their personal investment into the project and stopped paying the bills. In January 2008, CS foreclosed upon LLV, and handed operations off to their puppets, Freddie Chin & Jimmy Coyne of Atalon. A few months later, Atalon filed for Ch. 11 BK protection for LLV.
So, even though I've mentioned this time after time after time before, the above EMBEZZLEMENT is the reason why LLV ended up in such a quagmire. Sure, I am reasonable and will concede that things would have taken a hit out there without the embezzlement, but YOU ARE NOT SMART if you argue that $540M is not a GAME-CHANGER. Stupidity.
Note to Cynical - I'm not so sure that there isn't a settlement coming down the pike against Boeddeker/Bass/Rainwater. Top tier law firms like McKool Smith don't take these type of cases on contingency without being pretty confident. My bet is that they know something we don't know.
Aw, poor little old man Art, your ignorance never disappoints.
Given your Titanic analogy, I would just LOVE to hear what you think is LLV's iceberg.
Don't say it's the economy, because that's affected the entire city, region, and country.
Don't say it's funding because LLV has proved time after time to get lenders to fund the project - even +$127M JUST AFTER the BK was filed.
Don't say it's a bad concept because it worked - quite well - for a very long time before Boeddeker & Company stole $540M.
Don't say it's a lack of assets because - say it with me now - the developer doesn't own any assets except for raw, undeveloped land, and therefore, all separately-owned assets (ie: Loews, Ritz, casino, golf courses, retail Village, the Lake itself, etc.) are not a party to the BK.
What you don't understand, LITTLE Artie, is that the reason why Sisolak, A. Hafen, H. Reid, and dozens of other public officials are behind the recovery of LLV is because it is already too much of an asset to fail. Don't read that as "too big to fail." Read it as too unique, popular, marketable, and too much of a tax base to fail. The Loews isn't going anywhere. The Ritz & casino aren't going anywhere (just changing owners). The lake itself isn't going anywhere. The majority of property owners aren't going anywhere. The MonteLago Village isn't going anywhere (in fact, Pacific Capital Management is actually looking to expand over the next few years and is in the process of purchasing an adjacent parcel for such purpose). The golf courses aren't going anywhere. The master association is in great shape, fiscally speaking, and isn't going anywhere. And, last week, the City of Henderson, Clark County, and State of Nevada all came out to show support for the community on their own time (albeit an almost complete waste of time). So, dull little Art, there will no band playing as women and children board lifeboats. Drama queen.
"Then, turn and burn, and voila! Profit!"
oh man, that says it all.
I am still happy as a clam!!! However, I am not old. I can tell you that I personally know most, if not all of the LLV posters here and they are residents of LLV. Not agents or otherwise. Like me, they are trying to combat all of the false information people are barfing out here. (barf- my word of the day)
Tester, as usual, you are absolutely right. Condos sell like hotcakes! Other than tiny studios with no kitchens or views, things are selling quickly! The courses are becoming green, the ponds and fountains are filling up along LLV Parkway, sure seems like a good sign to me?
BlondeinGV, thank you for elaborating on my Readers Digest version and the the background information. This is the stuff that the typical poster here just chooses to ignore.
Cynical, nice post. However, if LLV filed chapter 7, the creditors had no chance of getting anything. At least with this arrangement, there is the chance of collecting something back from the Dallas Boys.
I too heard about the Pacific Capital buying up the vacant land adjacent to the Marina. This is PRIME water front property that is zoned for retail and condos/townhomes. Awesome views too!
Viva Lake Las Vegas!
ha,ha,ha... like hotcakes!
Cut it out Bouvier, yur killing me man.
Okra: Last time I checked profits were not illegal, although lately I've been checking with greater frequency.
WizardOfOz: This has nothing do to with the content of your comment, but why write in all CAPS? Studies have proven the words take longer to read and are more often ignored.
tester,
I've got nothing at all against profits. Trust me, I'm not a LLV hater. I just can't believe how ridiculously over the top some of you sound. "Selling like hotcakes"? "Turn and burn, and viola, profits!"???
Remember watching the news during the Iraq War when we were closing in on Baghdad? CNN would show that crazy guy, Baghdad Bob, giving press conferences. You could hear the bombs dropping in the background, yet he kept saying U.S. troops were nowhere near the capital, Iraq was slaughtering the infidel Americans, etc...
Just sayin. If you guys would tone it down a bit, you might sound more credible.
Oh, and Wizard buddy, nobody wants to read your comment when you post it like that. All I saw was CRAZYWORDSALAD
@okra -
You might want to do just a bit of research before making such misleading posts: "ha,ha,ha... like hotcakes!"
A quick tax record search reveals that 95 of 346 (that's right, nearly one in three) of the Village condos have sold to new, permanent owners in the past 12 months. This number doesn't include foreclosure (trustee) sales. In addition, a quick search at Realtor.com shows 13 non-short sales and 17 short sales currently on the market.
But, not like hotcakes at all, right?
@okra -
Re: "...turn and burn, and voila! Profits!"
If you weren't so intent on trying to "gotcha" me with the internet equivalent of out-of-context soundbites, then you would have read the sentence prior. To refresh your memory, it was: "So, all they have to do is sit tight until the market turns and the raw land market gets its sea-legs back."
Once the market is a lot better, and the debt load on LLV is vastly reduced, new buyers WILL contract for land. And, that is when they make...Profit! I didn't insinuate next week or even next year. What else would you expect the developer to make when they eventually sell land?
Hey, that's great Bob, er, Blondie, but hotcakes? As in "you better move on this baby now, cuz they're selling like hotcakes...
Please, stop it.
Ha, Okra -
Sure...Attack me personally because your facts are, well, not factual, and you're trying to spin this comment string.
Post accurate info, and I won't have to make you look stupid.
Then too, petty bickering with nitwits (like me) doesn't help the cause. It reeks of desperation when (one would think) dignity is called for?
Not trying to spin anything, and I was joking about the Bagdhad Bob thing. The real estate spiel just doesn't sit well w/me.
Under civilized circumstances, I would agree with your sarcasm, okra.
But the general public reading these comments doesn't know your history of posting completely irrelevant comments, for the sole purpose of stirring the pot.
So, it is for them - not you - that I correct the record. And, as I've said before, I will debate you until you stop making stupid, misleading posts.
I can read Blondie, and the sentence "...viola!.."--as if by magic perhaps! sounds even more preposterous in its full context.
And you accuse me of spinning?
ok, so "turn and burn...viola!" is NOT stupid and misleading.
It's settled then.
Yes, Okra, hotcakes. My condo had 5 offers within 4 days of being on the market. Any of the 2/3 bedroom lakeview units or any lakeview in Viera or Luna are under contract within a few days. The only ones that sit are the tiny studios, ones with parking lot views or a short-sale situation where the banks take forever to approve. This is not my opinion but fact. You can access any MLS for listed date and contract pending/contigent date.
Art, as usual, you offer no factual information. Your long-winded paragraph spews out the same garble on every post you make on every topic. Do you intentionally not create paragraphs to annoy the readers for the 18 words (or less) that most of them read of your posts?
looks like about 4 iraqi ministers of information spew out misinformation about llv home situation and just keep at it until they hope everyone believes their bs. Must be 4 "real estate professionals" with not much to do selling crappy condos nobody wants!
"this area has a lot of potential!"--"real fixer upper brown golf courses"--empty hotel/casinos are "selling like hotcakes"
Yes BlondeinGv is a big LLV supporter along with being a big Athletic Supporter.
POOR OLD ARTSWANSON!!! YOU SAD OLD MAN!! HOW lonely of a person (can't say man!) you must be to resort to your childish insults. Your personal attack on referring to all LLV residents as "SCHMUCKS" is not my worth commenting on. You seek your pleasure in your insults-WHY NOT CHANNEL YOUR FRUSTRATIONS IN A MORE POSITIVE LIGHT??? WITH ALL YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE WHICH YOU CLAIM TO POSSESS...LET'S CHALLENGE YOU TO DO SOMETHING WORTHY AND KIND TODAY!!!!!! Check out all the volunteer jobs which are available on Henderson's website. The Homeless shelters, libraries, catholic charities, and endless community services need help. You may actually get some fulfillment out of contributing all of your know-it-all ... instead of resorting to being yourself!! This may fill up your lonely days! Bouvier and BlondeGV...thanks for all of your FACTUAL INFO. As a part-time resident of LLC, I can depend on reading your posts and getting a great update on LLV's progress. Keep up on your great reporting...
@ NotAsSmartAsHeThinksHeIs -
You must be SOME reporter! You just broke something Earth-shattering: "LAKE LAS VEGAS IS BROKE."
Ha, ha, ha! You mean to tell me they filed for CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY PROTECTION because they don't have the money to pay their bills?? Say it ain't so!
You just made my point for me. Yes! Lake Las Vegas is BROKE because its former captains STOLE $540M. That's why they're going through bankruptcy. After bankruptcy, they'll have single-digit fractions of the debt they used to have. And, guess what that means? New lenders will be happy to give them money in exchange for equity in the project. This is because it is a VIABLE project...so viable in fact, that CS obtained a CushWake appraisal stating its value was $1.2B in 2004-ish. Inflated? Yes. Fake? Nope.
If you look at ALL of my posts, I don't deny the outright terrible situation Lake Las Vegas is in currently. But, any reasonable (operative word) person looks at the indisputable, reported facts and concludes that there are a number of clear pathways out of the woods for the development. It has the support & financial backing of juggernauts (City, County, & State officials, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, and now according to this article, one of the most successful corporate lawfirms in the country working on CONTINGENCY) to ensure this happens.
If you follow the money, you know there's plenty already in Lake Las Vegas, and plenty more to come.
Billable hours. Hmmmm. About $213,000,000? for law firm?
Thanks BlondeinGV!!! LLV Resident, thank you too!
Art, this time I got 5 words into your last post and moved on. It was 18, now 5. Still saying nothing interesting.
I met BlondeinGV at a recent social function. Her description of her and her hubby are correct. Sorry Art.
This might be adding salt to Artimus MINImus' many wounds, but Bouvier is every bit as genuinely happy in person as his posts denote, much to the shagrin of all the Bitter Bobs who consistently attack him.
Not sure when you'll make it out to your balcony again, Bouvier, but rest assured that it's going to be 70 degrees & sunny today, and I can hear the baby birds chirping from my office window. I'm sure they'll call that "spin." Ha, ha, ha!
i personally really like LLV, but you overzealous LLV supporters protest too much. if you weren't at least a little worried that all the haters are making some good points you wouldn't be so rabidly fighting and arguing. who cares what all the haters say if you know you're right about LLV?
Art and BlondeinGV your posts are very entertaining. Especially yours Art. The supporters of LLV do make interesting points but they "doth protest too much."
Thank you bam, and 9ball, That's what I've been saying all along. The fact that they post such effusive blather in response to every crackpot and crank that comes down the turnpike spells d-e-s-p-e-r-a-t-i-o-n.
Think about it. If they think it's important or even remotely effective to salvage LLV's reputation by posting corn pone real estate cliches on the Sun message board... hoo boy.
I want to buy one of these properties at .20c on the dollar. Anyone have a link to the MLS for one?
Shylock, nice try. This your post is totally contrived and a total fake. Like we're all supposed to be scared? This is your first post on here too! Funny, you know SO much about Art, but then you say he must have some interest. For someone that knows him that well, it seems you would know for sure his alleged interests in LLV.
Your post is written in 1 long paragraph and the use of quotes, just like Art does. This smells like a NedNougat/Bdover double alias.
Again. Nice try! I think enough has been said above about this topic that this lawsuit does not adversely affect LLV.
"Hats off to Bouvier"! You move forward with dignity and grace... "Oh", and much respect! One day we will meet at a social gathering too: You will be surprised! Good people!
Man oh man The lawsuits in Lake Las Vegas will never end.That is such a tangled mess it will yake years.One thing they might investigate is how much it will cost to demolish the whole project and start over.
Doesnt this state have regulations and laws that hold all entities responsible for x amount of years.So my question is this who is the main body holding the bag in Lake Las Vegas.I feel sorry for the people who bought into that project.Of course there are many other scam developments here in Las Vegas and one of those is Las Vegas Itself.A town based on gambling and credit Is their on project in this town that is not mortagaed to the hilt
Yowsa! I had no idea Artie's ego was so bruised! He had to call in for reinforcement...from his own split personalities.
Good point, Bouvier. I also noticed that "shylock" admits to knowing Artie for 20 years, yet can attest to his associations and reputation for 50 years (60s & 70s comments). Riiiiight. And, I'm sure you were Hughes' biggest, baddest errand boy back in the day.
Geeze, Artie, I know I shouldn't have expected more from you, but I am an eternal optimist. Due to your (hopefully temporary) schizophrenia, you are apparently in WAY over your head on these comment strings. You should take some time off since it's affecting you so terribly. If you can't stand the heat, get out'the kitchen.
Blonde you are just like a child that has to have the last word.
@9 -
Not interested in the last word; just interested in exposing Artie for the fraud, "poser," and bully that he is. Artie consistently strikes the first blow, and then cries for reinforcement when he's backed into a corner. Coward.
Since you've predictably tried to smear my reputation once again, here are many of the comment strings to which I've contributed in 2010 without needing or having the last word:
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/apr...
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/mar...
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/mar...
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/apr...
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/apr...
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/apr...
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/apr...
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/jan...
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/mar...
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/mar...
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/mar...
...and many, many more.
Blonde you are supremely intelligent, look like a supermodel and your point of view on these posts is 100% true and accurate.... Now are you happy?
Did you hear that, Artie!? Shylock said you actually exist. What a breakthrough.
Next week, we'll address the existence of who you call "shylock" and his effect on your super-ego, as well as self-consciousness.
Art Swanson / "shylock": "I post, therefore I am."
Hey BlondeinGV, I dont know if you really are a guy or a gal! But, geez, you are sounding like a real nutcase here. This guy Art has been playing you and the other numbnuts Bouvier. Your posts are getting more and more hysterical! Frankly, you both protest too much and advocate too hard for a cause that is just plain dumb! This whole Lake Las Vegas deal will play out whatever! But, your comments are showing that you are the ones who cant take the critics comments! Art has been playing you like a violin. We are all laughing at your taking the bait! Wow how dumb can you really be?
@9 -
You've posted a question like that before in defense of your buddy Artie. As I've answered before, I will answer again.
I care about the community of Lake Las Vegas and its residents going through such tough times. The development is unequivocally an outstanding asset to the Las Vegas valley, as has been indicated by Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak, Henderson Mayor Andy Hafen, and Senator Harry Reid. Sure, I have business interests there, but I could work virtually anywhere (and have consulted in 5 other states...don't attack me for tooting my own horn, I'm just stating a fact). I choose to participate in the Lake Las Vegas business climate.
It is your right (& Artie's) to post on the Sun's editorials about the development's condition. But, it's also my right to challenge when the "facts" presented aren't factual, the "expertise" isn't from an expert, and when Artie & Company try to slant the consensus on the community without substantiation to their argument.
Indisputably, Artie is the one who changed the tone and launched some disgusting, vile, and reprehensible personal attacks (sadly, he's proud of this). And when attacked, I will attack back. If ignoring a "sheep in wolf's clothing" like Artie was effective, I would have gladly adopted such a tactic. But, he is a coward who engages in terrible personal lambasting whenever his substantive argument is weak. Luckily, I'm not offended by someone so insignificant.
BTW, I'm a pretty sharp tack, I know my LLV info because I invest a lot of time & effort to research the goings-on, and I'm pretty cute. But, I don't rest on that. As the saying goes, "beauty is temporary, but stupid is forever."
Blonde you are definitely entertaining.
Sun Staff. Dont understand why comments removed? No direct personal attack. Just opinion and conclusion on motive based upon reading the postings on this subject by the most vocal proponent. I happen to agree with other posters regarding tone and agenda of the poster in question. Thanks
@Jackoz, I read you comment removed by staff. You were on the money about everything and you said it in a very diplomatic way. BLONDEinGV does more harm than good for LLV. Doesn't seem like a peaceful community, when you listen to her.
Jackoz I also read your comment and was very surprised that it was removed. You were right on the money. Your comments were no different in tone than many made by her yet her comments were not removed. Something's up....
So, Woo & 9 -
Let me get this straight. Art has your blessings to post ridiculously vile comments about me personally (he accuses me of infidelity & "BlondeinGV sounds like one hardboiled case mama," & he knows which of his posts was the absolute worst & therefore immediately pulled down by Sun), post that I am a lesbian dozens of times (which BTW, is downright bigotry since he presents it as such a denigration...but, hey, look the other way on that), slings mud at my family by calling my husband a cuckold (look it up, it's detestable, but I'm not surprised a guy like Artie uses it so often), & is obviously an enabled misogynist ("misguided musings of my shemale friend BlondeinGv" & "I am women, hear me roar!" making fun of the women's rights movement...guess I shouldn't get to challenge him or vote, among others).
Not only that, but you evidently support Artie's infamous "misstating" of facts regarding Lake Las Vegas. Here are just a few:
1) "no local or regional financing was ever able to be raised for this project" - 100% WRONG.
2) "the project [was] funded with funny money" - 100% WRONG. Every dime was on the books from legitimate developers who built about a dozen highly-successful projects throughout the US: Lake Arrowhead @ SoCal, Waikoloa @ the Big Island, McCormick Ranch @ Scottsdale, etc.
3) "The Bk Plain notes that it is possible, for the whole project...parcels, I, II and III...to be liquidated and sold" - 110% WRONG! As many posts stated, Phase I is SOLD. Lake Las Vegas' BK cannot in any way impact the ownership of the lake itself, the golf courses, the Ritz, the Loews, the MonteLago Village, etc. Those parcels are owned separately, & are not even a party to the BK.
4) "[LLV land could be] Rezoned for low income apartments, industrial uses?" - Again 0% true. Hon. Linda Riegle speaking specifically about the golf courses said that a zoning modification request wouldn't even be considered by the city. Further, Mayors Jim Gibson & Andy Hafen have both stated that LLV's proposed amended masterplan (included in the BK docs) will be accepted. Instead of apx. 12,000 homes, there will be apx. 15,000. This is also in part because they will not be developing the 4th golf course, Tom Fazio's Rainbow Canyon. Those are the ONLY 2 zoning changes for LLV.
5) "There isnt enough reserve capital capacity to jump start any of these LLV's or other mega projects in the next decade if even then" - this one's laughable. For someone who worked in/around the financial sector for years, Art has NO CLUE how much money is being laid down everywhere, esp. Vegas. He said it himself, values are 80% off.
As long as Artie keeps spinning his web of untruths about LLV, I'll be around to hold him accountable. I'm acquainted with an awful lot of residents in LLV, & they are very good, kind people. They have lost a lot of hope in their community in the past 2 years, & they deserve better than the "they're rich, so they're just getting what they deserve" consensus that plagues many of these comment strings. I sat back & read the horrible comments, many with ill-wishes & factual inaccuracies, authored by Art & his ilk for years before getting engaged. You might not like my style, but you're not the ones being targeted. I'm here to set straight the wrongdoings by Artie & his ingrate buddies who bash & bash & bash anyone who disagrees. Just look at what he's done to Bouvier over the last 6 months...it's not right.
Blonde calm down.... I never disputed your facts or information. Your egomaniacal and arrogant attitude is what rubs some of us on these postings the wrong way. Just letting you know... Rock on!
I agree with BlondeinGV that as long as posters want make non-factual comments about Lake Las Vegas or any other topic that matter, someone needs to right the wrong. BlondeinGV, you do just that. Thank you!
@BLONDEinGV , I agree with "billiard boy", as you called him. I have never researched your facts and findings in LLV. But, I understand your business point of view. It's great that you have facts and info. But, if anyone has any other opinion or ideas other than yours... They better take a back seat,. BLONDEinGV: Gonna tear and break them down! She is gonna be as nasty as she can get! Some people like to hear themselves talk:, And your one of them (I think you answer yourself too)!
About, two years ago, my husband's relator came over and dragged us to LLV, Took us to a house, that 1st went for 8 hundred thousand: We could pick it up for 3 hundred thousand. My husband was all "Let's check it out", . We did and it was not the right house for me, but we are opened minded. I love the house we live in... BLONDEinGV, lose the arrogant attitude and maybe,,,,, people might believe in you!
@BLONDEinGV, Art is a "great guy". as you are a "great girl"! Ha...
RJ reporting good news on Village.