B.B. King Blues Club files for bankruptcy protection

The B.B. King Blues Club inside The Mirage has filed for bankruptcy protection in a Memphis, Tenn., federal court.

Beale Street Blues Co. Las Vegas LLC, owner of the club and restaurant, cited $3.8 million in debt, compared with assets of $2.57 million in its filing seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.

The largest unsecured creditor listed in the filing is Beale Street Blues Co. Inc., which claims it's owed $2.5 million. The other unsecured creditors are contractors and vendors, as well as the state of Nevada, which is owed $80,000 in sales and entertainment taxes.

Other creditors include the Las Vegas club and restaurant's landlord, MGM Resorts International's Mirage Hotel-Casino. The Mirage's claim of $585,000 is listed as "contingent/disputed."

Gordon Absher, vice president of public affairs for MGM Resorts, said Friday the matter was "being discussed by attorneys for both companies and that it wasn't appropriate to comment publicly at this time."

B.B. King's lease at The Mirage runs through November 2014, according to the filing.