Station Casinos files for Chapter 11

Station Casinos filed for Chapter 11 yesterday. This day has seemingly been around the corner for a while now and it was only a matter of time for this to happen. Chapter 11 doesn’t mean that a company will shut down. Rather, it gives a business time to recover from their economic struggles with government protection.

Bill Lerner, an analyst for Union Gaming in Las Vegas, said the bankruptcy filing will give Station more time to negotiate with lenders. Under bankruptcy law, Station likely will have several months to exclusively propose a plan of reorganization.

The real question is what Station Casinos will look like if it makes it through chapter 11. Odds are that it will become a little more streamlined as they sell off some assets to pay off debt.

Lerner said he is sure Las Vegas-based Boyd Gaming Corp. will seek some of the assets during the bankruptcy process, and said he wouldn’t be surprised if Penn National Gaming — which is interested in expanding to Las Vegas — also takes a look at the assets.

I’m obviously not a Las Vegas local but I have a soft spot for the locals casinos. I like the option they provide for the local consumer and for me when I travel in. The Gold Coast is almost always a stop for me when I visit Las Vegas. Competition is always good for the customer. Whether Station keeps all of their casinos or they sell some to Boyd I hope the competition lives with good management and good service for all.