Hearing delayed on Cosmopolitan owner’s request to deregister as public company
The Nevada Gaming Control Board on Wednesday delayed a hearing on a request by the parent company of The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas to de-register as a publicly traded company.
Chairman Mark Lipparelli referred the item back to the board's staff for further investigation.
Nevada Property 1 LLC, the privately held parent company of The Cosmopolitan, also wants gaming regulators to approve an institutional waiver that will allow it to stop filing quarterly financial reports for the $3.9 billion resort. Other privately held companies are not required to release financial information.
The Cosmopolitan, which opened on Dec. 15, 2010, has yet to turn a profit. For the third quarter, the luxury resort posted a $58.4 million loss. For the first nine months of 2011, it lost $169.6 million on net revenue of $357.7 million.
As of Wednesday, Nevada Property 1 had yet to file a financial report for the fourth-quarter and 2011 with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Deutsche Bank AG is the parent company of Nevada Property 1, having inherited the 8.5-acre property in 2008 after former owner Bruce Eichner defaulted on his $768 million construction loan.
Deutsche Bank reported a $177.5 million "impairment charge" in the fourth quarter of 2011 related to its investment in the Cosmopolitan.
In other business, the three-member board unanimously recommended approval of the licensing of Michael Gaughan Jr. to operate a race and sports book for Hotspur Resorts Nevada Ltd. and Affinity Gaming LLC at the Rampart Casino at the Resort at Summerlin.
"This is a tremendous opportunity," Gaughan said.
The board also approved Thaddas Lee Alston as president, secretary, treasurer and director of Hotspur Resorts, and Affinity Gaming's application to manage Rampart Casino for a percentage of the gaming revenue.
"We are not here to feed them, we are here to teach them how to fish," said Ferenc Szony, president and COO of Affinity Gaming.
Szony said Affinity Gaming has managed the property for eight months. The Las Vegas-based gaming company was hired to assist Hotspur Resorts change from a management firm into a casino operator.
The Nevada Gaming Commission will consider the board's recommendations relating to the Rampart on March 22.
Contact reporter Chris Sieroty at csieroty@review
journal.com or 702-477-3893
