Nevada Gambling Tycoon Seeks Debt Relief in Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

July 26, 2012

By: John Clark

Almost one year after his company, Mesquite Gaming, Inc., left bankruptcy, Randy Black filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy this Fourth of July, according to a report from the Mesquite Citizen in Nevada.

Sources indicate that Black’s wife joined the filing, which was sent electronically due to the national holiday, and that the couple’s debts are primarily related to business, rather than consumer finance troubles.

Black appears to have been in desperate need of debt relief, as the couple's total liabilities could be as high as $50 million, while they only have assets worth $50,000. The Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing also indicates that the couple's income over the last six months was below Nevada's median, allowing them to qualify under the means test.

In Chapter 7, the couple may be able to liquidate some property in order to repay creditors, but they will likely be able to exempt much of their property from such a sale. Black’s decision to file bankruptcy came just a day after a federal judge gave Bank of America permission to seize lease information for three tenants who reside in a building that Black owns.

In 2005, the casino owner personally guaranteed a massive loan that allowed him to build a 70,000 square foot building. In his guarantee, Black agreed to pay the difference between the amount owed on the building and its actual value at the time the loan matured.

This hen eventually came home to roost this year, when Bank of America claimed that the loan was worth $14.6 million, while the building was only worth a little more than $10 million. As a result of his 2005 guarantee, Black was on the hook for some $4 million.

Unfortunately for Black, his finances were already stretched to the limit thanks to the 2010 bankruptcy filing of his company, Black Gaming Inc, which owns three different Nevada casinos.

After the company left bankruptcy last year, the name was changed to Mesquite Gaming Inc., and Black’s ownership interest was reduced to a paltry 10 percent.

Sources say, however, that Black continues to play a prominent role in television commercials for two of the casinos, but this is little solace for a successful businessman who has clearly fallen on hard financial times.