Station Casinos files for bankruptcy

Station Casinos Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, after failing to reach a full agreement during months of negotiations for a debt restructuring. Its bondholders control $2.3bn of the company’s $5.7bn in debt. A decline in tourism after years of booming profits for the industry has compounded its challenges and now is one of the latest victims of the current downturn, which has severely impacted the gambling industry.

Although it still profitable, Station’s Casinos revenues have dropped and it was no longer able to service its massive debt load. The debt carried by the company stems from the company's November 2007 $8.8 billion leveraged buyout, executed by the Fertittas family, the gaming company's founders, and Colony Capital. At that time, Casino and real estate properties were valued near historic highs.

“This is a global economic issue that has forced us to have to go back and reset our debt,” chief operating officer Kevin Kelley said during an interview.

The company was able to save some of their casinos from being included in the bankruptcy dealings. Stations has eighteen casinos on the West Coast, and they are glad that the casinos did not have to be included in the bankruptcy.