Gaming executives to join board of Station Casinos

By Steve Green

Monday, Nov. 15, 2010 | 4:40 p.m.

Veteran gaming executives Stephen Greathouse and Robert Cashell Jr. will be joining Las Vegas locals gaming leader Station Casinos as Station emerges from bankruptcy.

Station Casinos LLC, the company created to run the reorganized company, said in a regulatory filing that Greathouse and Cashell are joining the "board of managers" as representatives of key lenders JPMorgan Chase Bank and Deutsche Bank, respectively.

Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan control the new company along with investors led by members of the founding Fertitta family -- Frank Fertitta III and his brother Lorenzo Fertitta.

The other members of the board of managers are already part of the Station/Fertitta organization.

Frank Fertitta III will continue as CEO and president; Marc Falcone will be executive vice president and chief financial officer; Thomas Friel will be executive vice president, chief accounting officer and treasurer; Richard Haskins will be executive vice president, general counsel and secretary; Kevin Kelley will be executive vice president and chief operating officer; and Scott Nielson will be executive vice president and chief development officer.

Other members of the board of managers are current or former Station board members Lorenzo Fertitta, veterinary hospital owner Dr. James Nave and Robert Lewis of Lewis Operating Corp.

The newly-formed Station Casinos LLC will have either 15 or 16 casino properties depending on whether the Wild Wild West on Tropicana Avenue is included. The new company indicated the lease for that property hasn’t yet been assumed.

Not included in the reorganization are two joint ventures with the Greenspun family, owner of the Las Vegas Sun: Green Valley Ranch resort in Henderson and Aliante Station in North Las Vegas. Station, in its filing, reiterated that executives are trying to negotiate new terms with the lenders to those properties -- which like others in Las Vegas have seen their financial performance deteriorate during the recession.

As for the new players at Station, Greathouse has been involved in the Nevada hotel and gaming industry for more than 30 years, serving as an executive at Mandalay Resort Group, Boardwalk Hotel & Casino, Alliance Gaming (now Bally Technologies) and Harrah’s Entertainment Inc.

Cashell has been involved in the Northern Nevada gaming industry for more than 25 years, working at or managing Boomtown Hotel & Casino; the Horseshoe Club in Reno; Northpointe Sierra Inc., owner of casinos at the Alamo Casino-Mill City and Alamo Travel Center; Topaz Lodge and Casino in Gardnerville; Sturgeon’s Casino and Fitzgerald’s Hotel and Casino in Reno.

Also, Station Casinos Inc., the existing company, said Monday it lost $265.8 million in the third quarter after taking $243.4 million in noncash write-downs and other charges, which included impairment charges to write down the value of some of its assets.

Also expensed during the most recent quarter was $21.3 million in bankruptcy reorganization costs, $3.7 million of write-downs and other charges at Station’s 50 percent owned joint ventures and $3.8 million in development expenses.

The loss was an improvement from the $455.4 million lost in the third quarter of 2009, which included $370.7 million in special reorganization costs.

Net revenue of $227 million was down 11.2 percent from $255.7 million in the third quarter of 2009 as high unemployment continued to deter spending at the company’s properties.

Station today said net revenue for major Las Vegas operations, excluding Green Valley Ranch and Aliante Station, was $218.1 million, a 6 percent decrease. Adjusted EBITDA fell 0.7 percent to $57.4 million. EBITDA is a profitability measure meaning earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

The major Las Vegas operations are Red Rock Resort, Palace Station, Boulder Station, Texas Station, Sunset Station, Santa Fe Station, Fiesta Rancho and Fiesta Henderson.

Green Valley Ranch generated adjusted EBITDA before management fees of $9.6 million, an increase of 12.9 percent.