By Gary Thompson - Nov. 10
LAS VEGAS SUN
Representatives of 27 employers ranging from Strip hotels to an airline held a job fair Tuesday for nearly 800
Maxim workers facing closure of the hotel-casino in just four weeks.
But the Texas-based owners of the 800-room off-Strip resort failed to show up for a scheduled meeting with gaming
executive Ed Nigro, who's been running the financially ailing Maxim for nearly two years.
Attorneys for Premier Interval Resorts Inc. had told Nigro company executives would meet with him either Monday
or Tuesday to discuss the planned Dec. 6 closure of the Maxim. But Nigro said late Tuesday he's heard nothing further
from Premier or its lawyers.
Premier President Michael Kornman said last week the company was making its "best efforts to preserve operations
and jobs beyond Dec. 6" and said his firm was "in negotiations with prospective operators to run the
Maxim."
Nigro has been licensed by state gaming regulators to operate the Maxim for Premier, which bought the hotel-casino
out of bankruptcy earlier this year.
Nigro said he was forced to tell employees the Maxim would close Dec. 6 because Premier had defaulted on its lease
agreement. Under the agreement, Premier was to make up a $300,000 cash-flow shortfall but failed to do so, Nigro
said.
Premier, however, wrote Nigro a letter saying he had defaulted on the lease agreement by refusing to sign an agreement
that would subordinate the Maxim's long-term obligations to those of a Premier investor.
Nigro said he recently sent Premier a "long list" of Clark County Fire Department safety requirements
the company must meet when the property closes. They include maintenance of various safety, emergency and alarm
systems. Premier hasn't responded to the letter, Nigro said.
Meanwhile, Nigro set up a job fair Tuesday for Maxim employees facing the loss of jobs as the holiday season begins.
Representatives from several hotel-casinos and other businesses took job applications.
Participants included Bally's and Paris Las Vegas, all Boyd Gaming properties, Caesars Palace and the Desert Inn,
the Fiesta, Fitzgeralds, the Flamingo Hilton, the New Frontier, the Hard Rock, Harrah's, Imperial Palace, Las Vegas
Hilton, Luxor, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, Mirage and Treasure Island, New York-New York, the Santa Fe, Showboat,
Silverton, Tropicana and Venetian.
Also participating were Southwest Airlines, Nevada Business Services, lowestfare.com, Las Vegas Job Search.com,
and state Employment Security Division representatives.
Dallas-based Premier was formed to buy the Maxim last May from West Coast Mortgage Ltd. West Coast had foreclosed
on previous Maxim owner John Anderson when he defaulted on $75.5 million of bank and mortgage loans.
When Premier took control as landlord after paying $36.5 million to West Coast, it asked Nigro to sign a new five-year
agreement to manage the Maxim for it.