Station Casinos Says It Won Last Court Approval Needed to End Bankruptcy

Station Casinos Inc., the biggest U.S. gambling company in bankruptcy, won the last court approval it needs to exit bankruptcy, a company spokeswoman said.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Gregg W. Zive in Reno, Nevada, approved a reorganization plan for Green Valley Ranch Resort, Spa & Casino that would sell the property to a group led by Station’s founding family. Lori Nelson, a Station spokeswoman, said the Las Vegas-based company would exit bankruptcy “in the coming weeks.”

Station is being reassembled by its original family, led by Frank Fertitta and his brother, Vice Chairman Lorenzo Fertitta, who will own 45 percent of the restructured casino company after investing almost $200 million, Station said last month. Other owners include Tom Barrack’s Colony Capital LLC and some lenders.

Station, which filed Chapter 11 in July 2009 after a leveraged buyout by the Fertitta family and Colony Capital, plans to exit bankruptcy protection before the end of June, with 17 of the company’s 18 casinos still controlled by the existing owners.

The Fertitta-led group is paying about $500 million for Green Valley. The resort was co-owned by Station and the closely held Greenspun Corp.

The bankruptcy case is In re Station Casinos Inc., 09- 52477, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Nevada (Reno).

To contact the reporters on this story: Beth Jinks in New York at bjinks1@bloomberg.net; Steven Church in Wilmington, Delaware, at schurch3@bloomberg.net.

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