IN BRIEF

TOPEKA, Kan.

Penn National again applies to run casino

Penn National Gaming has filed a second application with the Kansas Lottery Commission to manage a resort casino, this time in Sumner County.

The lottery's director of gaming, Keith Kocher, confirmed an application for Sumner County was received Wednesday, the fifth received so far by the commission.

Penn National, based in Wyomissing, Pa., filed the first application with the Lottery Commission on Aug. 31 and proposed a $295 million hotel-and-casino complex in Cherokee County in southeast Kansas. The law allows companies to file in more than one location.

Binion Family Trust in Las Vegas also filed with the county and will file with the Lottery Commission before the state's Dec. 28 deadline, spokesman Lloyd Buzzi said.

Also in the running in Sumner County are Sumner Casino and Resorts, made up of Harrah's Entertainment and a group of Topeka investors, and a group that includes Foxwoods Development Co. and MGM Mirage.

Columbia Sussex taps senior vice president

Columbia Sussex Corp. on Tuesday named Theodore Mitchel senior vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer of the parent company its subsidiary, Tropicana Casinos and Resorts, effective Friday.

Mitchel replaces John Jacob who is leaving the company Friday after only 120 days with the company to assume a similar position with a nongaming company in Ohio.

Mitchel previously held the position of secretary-treasurer of Fort Mitchell, Ky.-based Columbia Sussex since 1989.

Jacob replaced former CFO Richard FitzPatrick, who resigned this summer after a year in the position.

The change comes as the company is undergoing a licensing renewal hearing in New Jersey, negotiating a new contract with the Culinary union, renegotiating bank loans and trying to secure financing for a $2.5 billion redevelopment of the company's Strip property.

SACRAMENTO, Calif.

Ford Motor will settle class action lawsuits

Ford Motor Co. on Wednesday ended an era of litigation over its rollover-plagued Explorers when it agreed to settle class action lawsuits covering plaintiffs in four states.

The settlement applies to about 1 million people in California, Connecticut, Illinois and Texas who claimed their Explorers were prone to flip, said Kevin Roddy, a New Jersey attorney and co-counsel for the SUV owners who brought the lawsuit.

Ford has faced wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits across the country stemming from a series of rollover accidents that involved earlier models of its popular Explorer.

Company files for bankruptcy protection

Americana, a limited liability company doing business as Prudential Americana Group Realtors, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late Tuesday.

The company, owned by Mark Stark, reported owning $5 million to Zions Bank and $10 million Peninsula Capital Partners. It also owes $353,000 to Tunstall Consulting of Tampa, Fla. Other large creditors include Prudential R E Affiliates, which is owed $228,000 for franchise royalties, and Barbara Zucker, who is owed $163,000 in commissions.

The company employs 1,200 sales executives.

DALLAS

Airline to spin off regional carrier in '08

The parent of American Airlines said Wednesday it plans to sell or spin off its American Eagle regional carrier next year. Its shares rose 6.9 percent.

Investors have been pressing AMR Corp. to sell the regional airline and other assets, moves they say could raise money and lift AMR's stock price.

American Airlines is the nation's biggest airline. The industry has been under pressure from record fuel prices. But AMR has posted six straight profitable quarters as planes were more full and passengers paid higher average fares.

Analysts said it was too early to put a price on American Eagle, but that high fuel costs could make it hard to get top dollar.

American Eagle operates regional jets that connect American Airlines hubs such as Dallas-Fort Worth with smaller cities. It has about 300 planes and operates about 1,700 daily flights to more than 150 cities in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.

NEW YORK

Treasury prices drop as stocks keep surging

Treasury prices dropped Wednesday as the stock market ran up a second straight day of gains, spurred by a Federal Reserve official's hint that more rate cuts may be in store.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell 0.59 points to 101.84 with a yield of 4.02 percent, up from 3.95 percent late Tuesday.

Prices and yields move in opposite directions.