Evergreen Gaming Corporation of Vancouver, British Columbia has recently filed for bankruptcy. This would cause both Evergreen and all its subsidiaries such as Washington Gaming Inc. to fall in the same category. Currently these casino operators have about 1600 people that will now be forced to look for other employment.
The filing for bankruptcy will be handled by Deloitte and Touche Inc, as they try to swiftly settle the situations in both Vancouver and Seattle.
The cause of this casino downfall began allegedly when its subsidiaries defaulted on a $29 million loan. According to the court records $30.1 million is now shown as unpaid with Federal Credit Corp of New York.
According to a statement last fall, Evergreen said “Management believes the reduction in revenue is due to factors in the U.S. economy at large and does not represent a long-term change in our market position or expected future results. The region in which (Washington Gaming) operates has experienced an economic downturn and our revenue shortfall is a reflection of reduced spending by individuals throughout the economy.”
Although the courts have given Evergreen until May 15th to comply, bankruptcy has a way of being drawn out, especially in the casino business. Large sums of money cross hands frequently and oftentimes, the casinos just need time in order to get things squared away.
“While under … protection, creditors and others are stayed from enforcing any rights against the companies, to provide time to enable the companies to restructure their affairs,” Evergreen said. “The filing also permits the companies’ operations to continue in the normal course, while a business restructuring to address debt levels is developed. The implications for creditors of and other stakeholders in the companies will not be known until the terms of the restructuring plan have been determined and the restructuring process is complete.”
The last report for Evergreen showed it was down $1.4 million of its $12.7 million the previous year.
