Friday, Jan. 24, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
London Clubs International, a developer of European and Middle East casinos that resemble gaming houses from James Bond movies, will help give the Aladdin hotel-casino a $700 million makeover.
The firm, the largest casino operator in London's west end gaming market, announced Thursday it will invest $50 million in exchange for 25 percent interest in the Aladdin, an undisclosed interest in a related entity controlling the real estate and a seat on the Aladdin's board of directors.
"We are delighted and excited about entering into this venture with one of the premier gaming companies in the world," said Aladdin Chairman Jack Sommer, who in 1994 obtained the long-beleaguered Strip hotel from bankruptcy receivership.
"We think it will be a terrific compliment to what we have been doing to make the Aladdin one of the top places in Las Vegas."
The Aladdin's construction and renovations will include a 2,600-room hotel, a 125,000-square-foot main casino, a 450,000-square-foot shopping mall and an 800-room specialty hotel-casino at Harmon Avenue and Audrie Street, one block east of the Strip.
The Aladdin will remain open during construction, hotel officials said.
The LCI/Aladdin venture is the first U.S. gaming investment by London Clubs and the first major operational involvement in a Las Vegas Strip hotel by a European gaming company.
The Aladdin is owned by Aladdin Gaming Corp., with the Sommer family acquiring a substantial majority of the ownership interest in the Aladdin, which is held by an affiliate of Oaktree Capital Management of Los Angeles.
Sommer, who was in New York on Thursday when the announcement was made, noted in a news release that with LCI's European influence, "we will offer our guests a level of personal service that is only available at the most elegant European gaming establishments."
LCI is the innovator of the "salle privee" style of luxury gaming, similar to what Americans would see in elegant casino scenes from James Bond spy movies.
Its properties include London casinos such as the Ritz Club, Sportsman, Les Ambassadeurs, The Palm Beach, the Rendezvous and the London Park Tower. The company also operates the Carlton in Cannes on the French Riviera and has interests in casino operations in Egypt and Lebanon.
Sir Timothy Kitson is chairman of London Clubs, which in its most recent annual report on June 7, 1996, noted: "There are significant opportunities within the gaming industry both at home ... and overseas with the expansion of gaming opportunities throughout the world.
"We therefore continue to view the future for the group with confidence."
LCI's market equity capitalization has grown from $322 million in 1995 to $725 million this year. Its initial share flotation on the London Stock Exchange was in June 1994.
Alan Goodenough, chief executive officer for London Clubs, noted in a news release Thursday that "the redeveloped and expanded Aladdin ... will allow London Clubs to offer an entirely new standard of luxury in the Las Vegas market."
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