Parent of Binion’s says property needs lower rent to survive

The survival of Binion's Gambling Hall and Hotel is in doubt if landowners don't reduce the cost of rent on the ground beneath the property.

That's according to Brian Arlin, senior executive director of finance for TLC Casino Enterprises Inc., parent company of Binion's and the Four Queens.

Arlin's statement was in a letter attached to a lawsuit by the landowners against TLC that accuses the casino company of violating terms of its ground lease.

TLC owner Terry Caudill declined repeated requests for comment.

But if Arlin's letter is accurate, the future of the historic Fremont Street casino depends on major rent concessions by the landowners.

"We are now faced with the difficult decision of having to ensure that the business which is essential to all of our livelihoods continues in operation," Arlin wrote in a Feb. 13 letter to the landowners. "We need to discuss the adjustments in our rental obligation that will permit the casino's survival through this very difficult period and continuing into the future and ask that you ... give this matter your immediate attention."

According to a followup letter dated March 13 TLC offered to pay $48,784 annually in rent. The current lease rate is $252,000 annually, according to the lawsuit.

The landowners' lawsuit was filed April 30 in district court in Clark County.

The case is The Doris E. Hamilton Family Limited Trust and several other landowners versus Speakeasy Gaming of Fremont, Inc., and TLC Casino Enterprises, Inc.