Station's Bankruptcy

Station Casinos loses $1.13B in 4th quarter



LAS VEGAS — Station Casinos Inc. lost $1.13 billion during the fourth quarter last year after heavy write-downs on its joint ventures, land and other assets, the privately held company said Wednesday.


The Las Vegas-based casino operator said the write-downs cost $1.29 billion, including $125.1 million at its joint ventures and $500,000 for developing new gambling opportunities.

The loss compared with a loss of $3.37 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008, when the casino operator had one-time charges of $3.4 billion.

Station, which filed for bankruptcy protection in July, said its net revenues dropped to $256.5 million in the fourth quarter, compared with $289.8 million in the fourth quarter a year earlier. Gambling, food and beverage and room revenues all declined, the company said.

The company's occupancy rate was 78 percent during the fourth quarter of 2009, compared with 83 percent during the fourth quarter of 2008, despite lower nightly room rates. Rooms cost $67 per night on average during the three months that ended Dec. 31, compared with $76 per night the prior year.

Station said its loss for all of 2009 was $1.68 billion, compared with $3.27 billion in 2008.

The company reported $5.2 million in costs associated with its bankruptcy case, which was filed last July in Reno.

Station recently proposed a reorganization plan that would call for owners Frank Fertitta III and Lorenzo Fertitta plan to buy a 46 percent stake in four of its biggest casinos and sell Station's remaining assets through a bankruptcy sale. The Fertittas have said they would aggressively pursue buying back the casinos if a judge approves the plan.

Station has been struggling since it was taken private in a deal that closed in November 2007. Since then, people have spent significantly less money gambling — reducing Station's revenues and hurting its ability to refinance its debt.

The company said its long-term debt was $5.92 billion as of Dec. 31.