Moody’s downgrades debt for Reno’s Silver Legacy

Moody's downgraded its rating for $143 million in debt covering Reno's Silver Legacy resort, saying the hotel-casino joint venture could have difficulty refinancing the notes by their maturity date next March.

The 1,700-room Silver Legacy is controlled by a joint venture between MGM Resorts International and Eldorado Resorts. The property is connected to both Circus Circus Reno and the Eldorado by skywalks.

"The Reno market posted some improvement in visitation trends over the past 12 months which helped lead to stabilization of revenue and earnings at the Silver Legacy," the rating service said.

"However, Moody's expects Reno to recover slowly given the discretionary nature of the gaming expenditure and competition in California that has taken market share," Moody's said.