In Brief

Binion's hosting job fair to fill jobs for Halloween attraction

Binion's is hosting a job fair today and Wednesday to fill an undisclosed number of temporary positions for a Halloween attraction the casino plans to host starting later this month through Oct. 31.

Fright Productions is hiring themed characters, greeters, and hosts during the job fair, which takes place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. today and from noon to 3 p.m. Wednesday at Binion's second-floor mezzanine level.

Applicants must be 18 years or older and must apply in person.

PARK RIDGE, N.J.

Dollar Thrifty accepts offer
of $1.43 billion from Hertz

Dollar Thrifty has accepted a new bid of about $1.43 billion from Hertz, which is battling Avis to acquire the rental car company and a bigger stake of the vacationers' market.

Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc.'s board said late Sunday that it accepted Hertz Global Holdings Inc.'s new $50-per-share offer -- up from the $41 it offered in April -- and amended the companies' merger agreement. The offer was made in an attempt to thwart a rival $1.3 billion cash-and-stock counteroffer by Avis Budget Group Inc., which raised the cash portion of its bid this month.

The transaction would give Hertz a third more sites around the globe, raising its total to 9,800. Hertz is already the world's largest car rental company by locations, so its pursuit of the deal is rooted mostly in its desire to pump up its leisure segment with the Dollar and Thrifty brands.

A $44.6 million reverse breakup fee is still in place and Hertz said it has started working to sell Advantage Rent-a-Car to ensure the deal closes quickly.

Hertz Chairman and CEO Mark Frissora said in a statement that the Park Ridge, N.J., company has already received interest in Advantage from "several unsolicited parties."

Tropicana begins hiring staff to work in renovated areas

The Tropicana on Monday began working to hire 140 employees to staff the first phase of the property's renovation, which will include the Nikki Beach restaurant and nightclub.

Cafe Nikki, the initial phase of the project being developed by the South Miami Beach, Fla., company, is expected to open in November. A nightclub and beach club that are part of the project will open in the spring.

Fred Harmon, vice president of human resources at the Tropicana, said the property will hire close to 300 workers for the project.

He said the Strip resort will also be hiring employees for its Las Vegas Mob Experience, which opens in December.

The Tropicana now employs about 1,100 workers.

Nikki Beach, which is based in Miami and operates beach clubs around the world, including Miami, New York City and St. Tropez in Southern France.

The Tropicana is owned by Toronto-based Onex Corp. and former MGM Grand and movie studio executive Alex Yemenidijan.

WAUKESHA, Wis.

Harley-Davidson unions OK concession-packed contract

Harley-Davidson Inc.'s three Wisconsin unions approved a labor contract Monday laden with steep concessions, reacting defensively after the motorcycle company threatened to move hundreds of jobs out of the state.

The proposed deal freezes employees' pay, slashes hundreds of production jobs and assigns large volumes of work to part-time workers. But it also saves hundreds of other jobs, at least in the short-term.

Some 1,140 union members from a suburban Milwaukee plant voted, approving the contract by a 55 to 45 percent margin. In northern Wisconsin, 293 workers at the Tomahawk plant voted, approving it by a margin of 73 to 27 percent.

Harley-Davidson Inc. executives had said they would move production out of Wisconsin if the contract were rejected, which would have eliminated about 1,350 jobs. They are now set to decide the next steps today .

HARRISBURG, Pa.

Apps for virtual chocolate milk bring lawsuit by Hershey

Hershey says it should be entitled to make virtual chocolate milk.

How now?

The Pennsylvania chocolate maker has filed a complaint asking a federal judge to decide whether an iPhone application it created violates a copyright held by Las Vegas-based software developer Hottrix LLC.

The two companies are battling over respective iPhone apps that both involve making virtual chocolate milk. A Hottrix lawyer said the company expects soon to answer Hershey's complaint along with counterclaims.

Hottrix lawyer Jason Fisher said Monday that Hottrix's app came first and includes plain milk and strawberry milk. Hottrix charges $3 for its app; Hershey's is free.

Hershey's legal filing says the app it launched in October is much different, including its use of a red and white straw to "drain" milk from the phone screen.

Hershey spokesman Kirk Saville declined to comment.