Friday, April 30, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Deal for Aladdin likely to be done in August

The $1.4 billion Aladdin hotel-casino is on track to sell to a new ownership group Aug. 31 and reopen Sept. 1 under the Planet Hollywood banner, company officials and regulators said Thursday.

The required state licensing investigations are on schedule and should be completed in time for license hearings for the new owners in July or August, Nevada Gaming Control Board Chairman Dennis Neilander said Thursday.

So far, the investigations have turned up nothing to delay the Planet Hollywood group from buying the 2,567-room hotel-casino in August as scheduled in the sales agreement, he said.

"The Aladdin is moving along. We haven't turned up anything unusual," Neilander said. "Investigations like this can take six months to two years, and a typical investigation with this many moving parts usually takes nine months to a year."

He said concerns of alleged "conflict-ridden insider transactions and questionable corporate governance" by Planet Hollywood that were raised by outside groups such as Culinary Local 226 are being investigated, but no snags have appeared that should delay the sale of the 4-year-old Strip property.

Planet Hollywood Chairman Robert Earl said all application materials have been submitted to the Gaming Control Board and plans are being made for the scheduled Aug. 31 sale and Sept. 1 reopening of the property adjacent to the Paris-Las Vegas.

"There are absolutely no other snags. We are anxious to get in and talk with the staff, and we're still extremely optimistic about the future there," Earl said.

The Associated Press reported Wednesday that a planned June sale could be delayed, but Neilander, Earl and other sources close to the deal said the sale has been scheduled for August since it was confirmed by U.S. Bankruptcy Court nearly a year ago.

Earl's group, which includes Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Bay Harbour Management of New York, plans to rename the property Planet Hollywood Hotel & Casino, a Sheraton Hotel, after investing $90 million to dramatically improve its Stripfront access, including using Planet Hollywood's logo to create a giant globe entryway.

OpBiz, the name the Planet Hollywood group used to front its offer to buy Aladdin, won the right at auction last June to buy the property for $635 million.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Clive Jones in August confirmed the Aladdin's reorganization plan, clearing the way for the group fronted by Earl to take over the property in August or September.

Aladdin bosses filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors on Sept. 28, 2001, after opening on Aug. 18, 2000. Executives blamed slow initial business that was compounded by the dramatic tourism slowdown that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.