Aruze Gaming to close Las Vegas HQ, lay off 100: report

Jul 17, 2023 Newsdesk Industry Talk, Latest News, World  

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Casino slot machine and electronic table game supplier Aruze Gaming America Inc is due to close its Las Vegas, Nevada, headquarters next month and layoff 100 workers, according to a report from the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The media outlet cited a notice filed by the company with the authorities in that U.S. state.

The closure is expected to be effective August 18, according to the document submitted to the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, reported the newspaper.

The move comes just over five months after the equipment manufacturer filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the United States’ Bankruptcy Code.

In February, Aruze said it was opting for voluntary financial restructuring, in “the wake” of a legal matter, though it stressed at the time that it intended “to continue operating normally”.

The firm said the bankruptcy protection was related to a “judgement against Aruze resulting from a separate judgment against Aruze’s shareholder”. It did not give further details about the judgement.

Aruze said at the time that the Chapter 11 filing was “a critical business strategy … due to external factors outside” the company’s control.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Aruze’s sole shareholder is Japanese businessman Kazuo Okada.

The media outlet reported that the judgement that had led to Aruze’s bankruptcy protection request was related to an unpaid ‘success fee’ owed by Mr Okada to Bartlit Beck LLP. The latter is a law firm that represented the Japanese businessman in a legal dispute against Wynn Resorts Ltd: that dispute ended in a 2018 settlement for US$2.4 billion in favour of Universal Entertainment Corp, a firm founded by Mr Okada.

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