Tuesday, March 18, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
Local
* STRATOSPHERE CASH FLOW -- Stratosphere Corp. said consolidated cash flow rose to $983,421 in the four weeks ended Feb. 23 from the $553,622 reported for the four weeks ended Jan. 26. But it said average cash flow for the five months ended Feb. 23 slipped to $1.62 million from the $1.77 million average of the four months ended Jan. 26. Under the prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization plan filed by Stratosphere and its majority owner, Grand Casinos Inc., Stratosphere needs to average $2.267 million in monthly cash flow for Grand to proceed with the restructuring. If it does, Grand would invest up to $75 million to build another 1,000 rooms at the site. The minimum cash-flow requirement would enable Stratosphere to make interest payments on $203 million of first-mortgage notes. The plan calls for the interest on those notes to be cut to 11.25 percent from 14.25 percent.
* FIRST SECURITY ACQUIRES BANK -- First Security Corp. agreed to buy American Bancorp of Nevada in a stock transaction. Terms weren't disclosed. First Security, a Salt Lake City-based bank holding company, said it expects the purchase of Las Vegas-based American Bancorp of Nevada, which has a market capitalization of $72.57 million, to be completed in the third quarter. Spokesmen for both companies refused to disclose the value of the transaction. A First Security spokesman said the transaction amount would be disclosed when shareholder proxy materials are completed, which he estimated would be within the next month.
* ITT SHEDS ASSETS -- ITT Corp. said it may sell its majority stake in its educational services business, valued at about $562.5 million, as part of a plan to fend off a $10.5 billion hostile offer from Hilton Hotels Corp. ITT, which owns the Sheraton hotel chain and the Caesars World casinos, has an 83.3 percent stake in ITT Educational Services Inc., which provides technical school training. It said it may sell the stake in a federal filing.
* ELSINORE LOSS NARROWS -- Elsinore Corp. said it posted a fourth-quarter net loss of $636,000 compared with a $29.6 million net loss in the year-earlier quarter. Fourth-quarter revenue rose to $15.4 million from $13.9 million. The loss for 1996 narrowed to $1.6 million from a $45.8 million net loss in 1995, while revenue rose to $61.2 million from $57 million. Owner of the Four Queens Hotel & Casino, Elsinore has emerged from a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization that saw bondholders gain control of 96.3 percent of the new company's shares. The company is being managed by Riviera Gaming Management-Elsinore Inc., a unit of Riviera Holdings Corp.
* ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUP -- The U.S. Department of Energy's Nevada Operations office has awarded a contract worth about $107 million to IT Corp. The contract is for performing architectural and engineering services for the environmental cleanup and remediation areas on the Nevada Test Site, parts of the Tonopah Test Range, an area at Nellis Air Force Range, and some off-site locations in Nevada and other states where underground nuclear testing occurred in the past.
* AMERICAN CASINO NET RISES -- American Casino Enterprises Inc. said net income rose to $1 million, or 6 cents a share, in fiscal 1997's second quarter ended Jan. 31 from $300,000, or 3 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter. Second-quarter revenue fell to $2.2 million from $2.6 million, according to the Las Vegas-based company that has consulting contracts with two California Indian tribes.
* PAUL-SON SIGNS CONTRACTS -- Paul-Son Gaming Corp. said it has signed $1.2 million in contracts to supply more than 1.3 million decks of playing cards to casinos including Showboat Indiana, Players International and the Isle of Capri in Biloxi. Paul-Son produces its playing cards in Las Vegas and San Luis, Mexico.
To contact the SUN business news desk, call 259-4083 or e-mail [email protected]
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