Wednesday, Feb. 26, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
Players International Inc. board members scattered across the country were scheduled to talk in a conference telephone call today in a session that could lead to the sale of the Players Island Resort in Mesquite.
Board members are considering an offer from Robert "Randy" Black, who operates the rival Virgin River hotel-casino in Mesquite.
Players signed a letter of intent with Black to sell the 500-room property on Mesquite's south end. The company retained the right to negotiate and accept offers from other parties until a Friday deadline. John Groom, corporate chief operating offer for Players Island, attempted to find bidders from Las Vegas for the property earlier this month, but Groom said Tuesday that it appears likely the board will accept Black's offer.
Earlier this month, Groom termed the Black bid "a low-ball offer." He confirmed Tuesday that it was less than $30 million, around one-third the approximately $88 million the company has invested in the Mesquite operation.
Speaking by telephone from the company's soon-to-open Maryland Heights, Mo., property, Groom said he expected the board would take Black's deal.
"My best guess is that it will be accepted and Randy Black and his group will be the purchaser," said Groom. "We will probably continue to operate it for a certain time until Mr. Black gets his gaming license and then we'll go through a transition period."
Groom said it seemed the main reason other bidders wouldn't come forward was because of the tight deadline imposed in the letter of intent. He added that the company hopes to close the deal by the end of Players' fiscal year, March 31.
Observers say Players wants to close in March because it must invest a reported $20 million in the Maryland Heights project, a collaboration with Harrah's, next month. Players officials have said they have wanted to jettison the Mesquite property and focus attention on riverboat markets in Maryland Heights, Lake Charles, La., and Metropolis, Ill.
"We're very anxious to close this by the end of the fiscal year and get this thing behind us," Groom said. "We feel we're losing a negative and picking up a positive. We're looking at it (Maryland Heights) producing a big turnaround for the company."
Maryland Heights, which draws from the 2 million population St. Louis market, is about five minutes from the St. Louis airport. The company's biggest competitor is Station Casinos Inc. in that market, but the Players-Harrah's collaboration will be the biggest operation in the area when it opens in two weeks.
"The question is how fast the market will absorb two new casinos," said Groom.
At least two companies expressed interest in outbidding Black, industry insiders said.
Harrah's reportedly offered a stock deal to Players.
A comedian who occasionally performs in Las Vegas also said he was interested in acquiring the property. Gallagher, a comic whose routine includes smashing food with a large mallet, said he attempted to make an offer, but was turned away because he couldn't meet deadlines to complete a deal.
Analysts said a bid of under $30 million for the Mesquite property would represent "a bloodbath for Players' stockholders." Securities and Exchange Commission filings indicate top investors in Players to be the Griffin Group, a holding company operated by entertainer Merv Griffin, and an institutional investor, Neuberger & Berman of New York. Calls seeking comments from those investors were not answered Tuesday.
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