Maverick Gaming Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection

• Filing comes after Washington State casino, card-room operator sought 2024 debt restructuring
• Company has total assets and liabilities of $100 million to $500 million

Maverick Gaming, a privately held regional casino and card-room operator, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday.

The filing arrived after the gaming company sought a 2024 debt restructuring and about a month after S&P Global Ratings pulled its ratings on the operator, citing a lack of pertinent information. In the filing in Texas bankruptcy court, Maverick listed total assets and liabilities of $100 million to $500 million.

S&P Global Ratings today withdrew all its ratings on Maverick Gaming LLC, including the ‘CCC’ issuer credit rating, because of a lack of sufficient information to maintain the ratings. At the time of the withdrawal, our outlook on the company was negative,” said the ratings agency in a June 10 statement.

Washington-based Maverick runs 27 casinos and card rooms in its home state, Colorado, and Nevada. The firm is led by CEO Eric Persson, who is an accomplished poker player.

Maverick Bankruptcy Was Arguably Telegraphed

Under Persson, a former Las Vegas Sands executive, Maverick has been acquisitive in Washington, but some industry observers believe the operator got too carried away with its acquisition strategy.

“The negative outlook reflects that Maverick may default or restructure in the next 12 months and that it depends on favorable business, financial, and economic conditions,” notes S&P.

At that time, S&P upgraded Maverick to CCC from D, but the former is still a highly speculative credit grade and one that implies elevated default risk.

Macroeconomic Factors Pinched Maverick Gaming

In its home state, where Maverick competes with other card rooms and tribal casinos — competition that invites heavy promotional spending – Maverick was hindered by a weak macroeconomic environment.

This is compounded by a weaker local economy due to numerous layoffs in the region at technology companies that has constrained Maverick’s customer base and discretionary spending. In addition, its fixed-cost structure (including large fixed-rent obligations associated with various sale-leaseback transactions) is too high for its revenue base,” said S&P in June 2024.

Washington State’s jobless rate of 4.5% ranks 37^th in the US, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s well above the national average of 4.1%.