New York (AP) -- Empire Resorts Inc. says it may not be able to manage financially if it isn't able to renegotiate or find other means to pay off debts that are set to mature soon. The gaming company has a credit facility with the Bank of Scotland that matures on May 29 and it has holders of its senior secured convertible notes who are entitled to demand repayment in July. However, New York-based empire does not have the money to repay the credit line and says it may be unable to arrange financing...

Los Angeles (Reuters) - Casino operators, many loaded with debt piled on when credit was easy, are offering bargains to lure gamblers, but the odds for more bankruptcies are rising in the industry as fewer people try their luck. Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc last week filed for its third trip to bankruptcy court as business at its three Atlantic City casinos continues to sour.

Greektown Casino may halt operations unless it gets bankruptcy court approval to borrow another USD 46 million to stay open and finish its new 400-room hotel, according to a court filing. Creditors are balking at the terms of the financing, which includes millions of dollars in additional fees, calling the terms astounding. The creditors and Greektown appear to be heading for a showdown in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Detroit on Monday.

The latest sign that Las Vegas bets are buckling under the tough economy? One of the strip's marquee casino operators is on the ropes. Las Vegas Sands Corp., the owner of the Venetian Hotel and Casino, has warned in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that if it can't raise the money it needs to meet certain debt agreements, it could "raise a substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern" -- or, in other words, to keep doing business.

Standard & Poor’s dropped the credit qualification on the international Spanish gaming company Codere to “B+” (poor quality) from “BB-“ (questionable quality), which had been assigned previously, due to its “aggressive” financial profile and the situation of uncertainty of its shareholders. "Codere drop reflects its aggressive financial profile and a probable trade deficit in achieving its objectives of leverage ratio to the closure of 2008 exercise"...

New York (AP) -- Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson said Wednesday he is seeking to raise USD 2 billion in debt financing from Asian banks to complete work on expansion projects planned by Las Vegas Sands Corp. in the Chinese gambling enclave of Macau. Adelson disputed reports that that Las Vegas Sands, which operates the Venetian and Palazzo resorts in Las Vegas and the Sands Macao and the Venetian Macao in China...

It’s likely that Macau will join Las Vegas in dispelling the conventional wisdom that gambling is a recession-proof business. Efforts to change things are brewing. The planned Vegasization of Macau can be seen in the ambitions of Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands. A year ago, few quibbled with Macau bulls such as Steve Wynn, Sheldon Adelson and, long before the Vegas tycoons showed up...

New York (Reuters) - Tighter credit conditions have delayed financing for a massive casino, hotel and retail project planned for the Chinese territory of Macau, the head of project partner Taubman Centers said on Friday. The [[USD]] 1.3 billion in financing was to have been completed by now. "Given the current capital market conditions, it has taken much longer," Taubman Chairman and CEO Robert Taubman said.

Nevada’s foreclosure crisis claimed a high-profile victim last week, as investment bank Deutsche Bank took the first step toward foreclosing on the USD 3 billion Cosmopolitan Resort & Casino project. Developer and owner Ian Bruce Eichner said his company, 3700 Associates, was working with Deutsche Bank and Merrill Lynch to find new investors. The construction loan from Deutsche Bank of USD 760 million went into default Wednesday, the company said.

The financing of Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd's (PBL) Macau casino joint venture has been restructured as a consequence of the global credit crunch. Melco PBL Entertainment Ltd (MPEL) says it has signed a USD 1.75 billion senior debt facility with a syndicate of six major international banks rather than the original USD 2.75 billion finance deal announced in June.

Las Vegas (AP) -- The ongoing shake-up in debt markets won't slow plans by the owners of The Plaza hotel in New York to build a USD 5 billion luxury casino resort on the Strip by 2011, the project's new director said Monday. The investors, Elad Group and IDB Development Corp. Ltd., both of Israel, are "substantial partners" with adequate access to capital, said Daniel Wade, who was named as chief operating officer of the Las Vegas project on Monday.

Plans by James Packer's Macau casino business to raise USD 2.75 billion (AUD 3.5 billion) to finance its expansion plans have been hit by the turmoil in US credit markets, which has shut off new lending for the casino business in the city. The nervousness in the US lending market has compelled the joint venture partners to shelve plans for the main USD 1.5 billion portion, which was to have been raised in the US markets in September as part of a three-tranche financing deal for their Macau investments.