Court approves sale of Downtown Grand Casino in Las Vegas

A Clark County District Court judge approved the sale of the Downtown Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on October 7. The judge had placed the casino under receivership in January. The new owner of the property will be Vegas Ventures LLC.

The sale price and whether the transaction has been completed are not included in the court documents. Approval from Nevada gambling regulators is required for the deal to close. The property's owners were unable to repay a $90 million construction loan in December. A receiver was appointed a month later at the request of Banc of California. The bank had sued the casino's owner, CIM Group. The defaulted amount now exceeds $105 million.

Massachusetts-based Vegas Ventures is headed by Boston contractor William Keravuori. On August 13, the company deposited $2.7 million into an escrow account to acquire the property. The plan includes taking over the lease agreement with the casino operator FifthStreet Gaming. Vegas Ventures will separately choose the company that will operate the hotel, restaurant and other areas.

Paul Huygens of Province LLC served as receiver. At the end of his review, Huygens stated that he found the Keravuori offer to be the most suitable. Eighteen limited partners objected, but the judge found the objections baseless and ruled that the partners had no standing in the case. The property will change hands free of any liens or claims. CIM bought the former Lady Luck in 2007 for $100 million and carried out a $100 million renovation in 2013.