Las Vegas business briefs

HILTON ESCAPES MISSOURI PROSECUTION -- Hilton Hotels Corp. escaped prosecution on allegations that a casino employee bribed a Kansas City official, but the agreement Hilton reached with federal prosecutors has Missouri gambling regulators reconsidering the company's casino license. A federal grand jury had probed allegations that in 1993, an employee of Hilton Gaming paid the head of the Kansas City Port Authority $225,000 to secure a prime downtown location for Hilton's new Flamingo Casino. In the agreement, which effectively stopped the investigation, Hilton accepted responsibility for the employee's actions, but didn't admit guilt. It also agreed to pay the U.S. government $500,000 plus the $155,000 bill for the investigation and to continue requiring ethics training for executives. "Hilton is pleased that this investigation is over with," Hilton attorney Jean Paul Bradshaw said Wednesday. He said the employee in question had left the company.

CAESARS WORLD INSIDER TRADING ALLEGED -- Two men were charged with using inside information from former Bankers Trust Co. compliance officer Alan Stricoff to buy shares of Caesars World before the company was bought by ITT Corp. in 1994. Marvin Stone and Todd Stone, relatives of Stricoff, were accused in New York of illegally making more than $180,000 from the company's sale. Stricoff pleaded guilty to insider trading in April. Daniel Porush, a friend of Todd Stone, and the former president and chief executive of defunct broker Stratton Oakmont Inc., was accused of perjury for telling Securities and Exchange officials that he bought Caesars World shares without any inside information. Stratton Oakmont was expelled from the securities industry last year after a history of abuses.

LV CONCRETE WORKERS BACK ON JOB -- More than 100 workers with Kukurin Concrete were back on the job today after a week-long walkout in protest of what they call unfair labor practices. Workers accused the company of failing to provide water, lunch breaks and 10-minute rest breaks for every four hours worked. However, Rodney Gross, Kukurin personnel administrator, said it has always been the company's policy to provide breaks and water. He said the company provides coolers, has an ice machine at its headquarters and workers are reimbursed if they need to buy water. This was one of three walk-outs by concrete workers in recent weeks. MC Concrete workers staged a two-day walkout in late July. Workers at Precision Concrete have been off the job for about two weeks.

SANTA FE LOSS WIDENS -- Santa Fe Gaming Corp. of Las Vegas reported a third-quarter loss of $4.4 million or 71 cents per share vs. a loss of $2.4 million or 38 cents in the year-ago quarter. Revenue of $28.8 million was up from $27.5 million. Santa Fe reported improved results at its Santa Fe hotel-casino in Las Vegas but declines at the Pioneer in Laughlin.

NEVADA SMALL BUSINESS INDEX DECLINES -- Nevada State Bank's Nevada small business index fell in July to 93.6 from 96.3 in June as the local labor market tightened, making it harder for small businesses to find workers.

To contact Sun Business Editor Steve Green, call 259-4083 or e-mail [email protected]

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