The owners of the Greek Isles broke off all dealings with a New York real estate group that wanted to buy the off-Strip property weeks ago and his company will continue to operate the hotel-casino, a company executive said Tuesday.
John Marks, president of Chicago-based Mark IV Hospitality, which owns the property, said in a statement that "no earnest money was ever tendered and a final contract document was never executed" between Convention Center Drive LLC, operators of the 206-room Greek Isles, and M&M Real Estate Development.
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Moshe Mor, president of M&M, on Monday said a sales contract, dated Jan. 26, between M&M and Mark IV, was filed with the Clark County Recorders Office on Feb. 8.
On Tuesday, however, Marks released a statement saying, "There is no agreement between Mr. Mor and the owner of the hotel."
No one from the hotel or the owners was available Monday.
"Mr. Mor filed a document with the county recorder, in an attempt to cloud title," Marks said Tuesday.
Marks added that the document filed was, "null and void and all dealings between Mr. Mor and the ownership was terminated weeks ago. Mr. Mor's filing of the document is a part of a pattern of misrepresentations by Mr. Mor."
Marks said the Greek Isles management has retained legal counsel "to explore its options in response to Mr. Mor's tortuous interference and false representation with its operations and prospects; including a possible referral to governmental authorities."
The document filed with the recorder's office was listed as an "Offer to Purchase and Real Estate Purchase Contract" and called for the Greek Isles to be sold for $52 million.
Mark IV purchased the Greek Isles in December 2000 from the World Wrestling Federation for $11.2 million. At the time of the purchase, Marks said he had hoped to develop 1,000 rooms at the site.
The WWF bought the property out of bankruptcy for $10.6 million in 1999 with plans to develop the property into a 35-story hotel with a wrestling theme.
Before those events, the property was known as the Debbie Reynolds Hotel and was run by the actress and popular Las Vegas entertainer.
Reynolds bought the casino in 1992 and performed in the casino's showroom. She also housed her collection of Hollywood memorabilia there.
However, the property ran into financial trouble during her ownership, and she filed for bankruptcy protection in 1997.
Opened originally as the Royal American in the 1970s, the property closed in 1982 but was reopened a year later as the Paddlewheel, which carried a family theme and even included a kids-friendly pizza parlor.
