Station Casinos' founding family to remain in control: report

NEW YORK - Bankrupt casino operator Station Casinos Inc. is likely to come out of bankruptcy still remaining under control of its founding family, according to media reports.

A bankruptcy judge determined that a group backed by founder Frank Fertitta's sons Frank and Lorenzo, had made the only qualified bid in an auction for part of the company, leaving them with reins while wiping out much of the company's $5.9 billion in debt, the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.

The Fertittas, who also own the Ultimate Fighting Championship business, had faced opposition from dissident lenders and rival casino operator Boyd Gaming Co. -- in their attempt to keep control of the casino company's assets after it filed for bankruptcy protection more than a year ago, the Journal said.

The company, started with a single casino about a mile west of the Las Vegas Strip in 1976, assumed $3.3 billion in additional debt when the two brothers took it private with Colony Capital for $8.8 billion in 2007, just as the fortunes of the casino market began to turn, according to the report. (Credit: The Wall Street Journal Digital Network)